Too Fast (Boys of Lake Chapel #2)

by Abby Millsaps

“It was easier to hate you than to admit I wanted you, too. You’ve been in my head since the moment we met, Jojo. I’m done fighting it. I know the deal. I don’t know the details yet, but I want in, too.”

Shit on a crumbly cracker.Of course it’d be the grumpiest among them to also be the most emotionally intelligent.

“Don’t forgive me yet, Mama. I’m going to fucking earn it. You deserve to be fought for, not fought over. You deserve to be vindicated—which is exactly what I’m gonna do. The motherfucking South Chapel Sharks need to know what happens when they try to take what’s ours.” “Ours?” I ask, hypnotized by his closeness, his presence, the intensity of his gaze. “Ours. We were a mess without you, Jojo. When I saw how the boys all responded, saw how they need you… I couldn’t keep denying that I need you, too.”

“I won’t hold you captive, Josephine. But I’ll do everything in my power to make you stay.”

Wringing my hands, I search for Kylian in the small crowd, desperate to connect with him now in case he shuts down before it’s all over. I’ve promised myself that I’ll give him time, space, distance… whatever he needs to process all this. Even if it hurts me. Even if it affects our relationship. Even if it all ends because of this. He deserves that much. And I hope, more than anything, that he understands that it was real. What we shared. How he made me feel. If everything changes tonight, I want him to know that he was worth it. And that I would do it all again if given the chance. He’s been my safe place. He’s been so much more than I ever imagined I could have with another person.

“I see you, baby. Always. You’re safe by my side. Nothing and no one is getting to you ever again.”

Trauma knows trauma when it sees it. A person can only shine so brightly for so long before the truth peeks through the cracks.