Temper Him by Caitlyn Dare

Chapter Thirty-Two

Conner

"Are you finally ready?" Cole asks when Kenny and I join him, Ace, and Hadley in the kitchen after dumping our bags in the hallway.

"Yeah, we're ready. Where's Remi?" I ask, noting that we're not the last ones down.

"Went for a pee, seeing as you were making her wait so long."

"Jesus, didn't you two get laid last night or something?" I ask as Kenny snorts quietly beside me.

"We're just eager to get spring break started, and you two are dragging your heels."

"We're all ready. Remi," I holler. "Pee faster, we're going."

Her light footsteps sound out as we all turn to leave the kitchen. The house is in silence seeing as James and Sarah had a middle of the night flight to some mystery destination he was whisking her off to as a surprise, and Ellen is having a much needed holiday from the lot of us, so we've been left to lock up on our way out.

"Here, this came for you," Remi says, handing over an envelope.

"What is this?" I ask, my brows pulling together when I see a college stamp on the front.

"Acceptance letter, maybe?" she suggests with a shrug.

"But I—"

"Come on, let's get moving. You can open that on the way. It'll give us something else to celebrate," Cole says, pushing me from the kitchen, but I'm not looking at where we're going. I'm too confused about what's in my hands.

I threw all my applications in the trash. It can't be what I think it is.

"Are you okay?" Kenny's warm hand lands on my forearm and her wide eyes stare up at me.

Not wanting to bring the tone down by talking about our time apart when we're meant to be enjoying ourselves, I plaster on a smile and tuck the envelope under my arm as we follow the others out to the car.

As usual, Ace and Remi head for his bike, although not before dumping their bags in Cole's trunk. Ours join theirs before we climb into the back of Cole's car, Cole and Hadley taking their seats in the front.

"I'm so excited for this," Hadley almost squeals as Cole starts the car.

Kenny and I didn't go back to school this week. After everything, James kindly decided to turn a blind eye to the fact that we skipped—assuming he'd already talked to Vager and got Kenny back in, that is.

I couldn't have been happier to spend a few days in bed with my girl, allowing her to recover while I tended to her every need.

But now, I can't help but agree with Hadley. I'm so ready to get out of this place for a couple of days and to put the past few weeks behind us.

We had no idea that anything had been planned, but it turned out that James had arranged with Ellen for us to have the beach house she organized for Ace and Remi last year for her birthday.

Before anyone else gets a chance, I sync my cell to Cole's car and hit play on Imagine Dragons for the journey.

Stretching my legs out, I wrap my arm around Kenny and pull her into my side. Her small hand lands on my thigh and it warms me from the inside out.

Her bruises have started to fade, the visible evidence of what she went through thankfully disappearing with every second that passes, but I'm not stupid to think that the scars on the inside will fade so quickly.

She hasn’t really talked about most of it yet, I don't think she knows how to even start, but that's okay, she's got all the time in the world to open up. I'm more than happy to let her go at her own pace. All that matters now is that he's gone and we're back together.

She's yet to mention going back to the dorms after spring break, but I already know my answer, and I've already told James what’s happening. After everything, I figure he owes us. Kenny might not know it yet, but the Jagger house is as much her home now as it is mine.

I've still got so many questions for our dad. There are so many things he's keeping from us and I hate the constant knot that's twisting my stomach because of it. He says he's keeping us safe, that he's protecting Ace from having to take over whatever the fuck it is. But still, none of it makes sense.

I glance at Hadley, concern lacing through me that whatever this Gravestone shit is, involves her and her family. She might have turned her back on them, but still. Does she know more than she's letting on?

I haven’t had a chance to interrogate her yet, but I will.

And then there's Bexley and the other faces I didn't recognize on that board.

I shake my head, making about as much sense of it all as I did when I was standing in that warehouse.

"You gonna open that or what?" Cole asks, catching my eye in the mirror and dragging me from my thoughts.

"Yeah, babe. Open it," Kenny encourages.

"I-I think I'll wait until we're there."

"Conner, are you nervous?" Kenny whispers, her delicate hand landing on my abs and making my entire body flinch.

"I... um... yeah, I guess."

"Aw, you're so cute. You know they'll want you."

I love her confidence in me. I might have a little in myself if I knew I'd actually sent the applications.

"You're being a pussy, bro. Just open it."

"Leave him be," Hadley says, fighting in my corner and thankfully distracting Cole from pestering me.

"What's wrong, babe?"

I suck in a breath, debating what to say. In the end, I lean down and whisper in her ear. "I didn't send the applications," I admit.

She gasps in shock, her eyes flying up to meet mine.

"Why?"

"I just... I couldn't think about the future when you were..." I trail off, not needing to say the words out loud.

"So it’s not an acceptance letter?" She keeps her voice low so it's only us who can hear her. "What is it?"

"I have no idea."

She snuggles back into my side and I breathe a sigh of relief that she's not going to pressure me to open it.

The drive to the beach house is short, and just as Ace and Remi promised, it's a slice of heaven.

The house itself sits into the side of the cliff, overlooking the beach and ocean below. It's stunning and the perfect place for us all to hang out and forget about the stresses of life for a few days.

"Wow," Hadley breathes as she takes it all in. "I want to live here."

"It's a bit different to what I'm used to," Kenny says, her nose practically pressed against the window.

In only a few seconds we're out of the car and Ace and Remi are climbing from his bike. Ellen promised us that she'd organized for the place to be fully stocked and that all we had to worry about was our clothes and ourselves.

"Come on!" Remi practically bounces on the balls of her feet in excitement. "I want to show you the inside."

She threads her arm through Hadley's, who in turn reaches out for Kenny, and the three of us watch as they head for the front door.

Cole and Ace come to stand on either side of me.

"This is it, you know?" Ace muses. "We graduate in a couple of months and we're all going in different directions."

His words cause a lump to form in my throat. As much as I'm ready to jump into Betty with Kenny and head off into the sunset, I'm not sure I'm prepared for a life where the three of us are possibly living in different states.

It's always been the three of us against the world. I'm not even sure I know who I am without them.

"Con, you coming?" Kenny calls from the doorway. The sun shines behind her and she looks like an angel. My angel.

A smile curls at my lips as the tether that's always between us pulls tighter and I take a step toward her. I might be apprehensive about what the future holds, but I know one thing for certain: whatever happens, wherever we end up, it'll be together. Because Kennedy Lowe really is it for me.

"Come see our bedroom, it's incredible."

She spins on the balls of her feet and bolts for the stairs. I take two steps to her one and catch up with her in no time, wrapping my free arm around her waist and pulling her back into my body.

She giggles as I nuzzle her neck as she leads me toward an open doorway.

"Look at that view." She gestures toward the floor-to-ceiling windows, but I pay them no attention as I back her up against them.

"Looks pretty perfect to me," I mutter as I stare down into her eyes.

"Con, look at the ocean, it's beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you, K." A shy smile pulls at her lips. "I could look at you forever and never get bored."

"Conner," she breathes, leaning into my touch as I cup her cheek.

"I fucking love you, Kennedy Lowe." I drop my lips to hers and pin the length of her body against the glass.

The envelope, still under my arm, flutters to the floor, momentarily forgotten as I lift her so her legs wrap around my legs.

My hard length presses against her core and a groan rumbles up her throat.

"You two had better not be fucking already," Cole barks up the stairs, making us both pull away so we can laugh.

"Fat chance with your cockblocking ass," I call back.

"You're welcome. Hadley and Remi are making food. I know you're hungry."

My stomach growls right on cue, making Kenny giggle in a way that makes my heart constrict.

"Come on, let's go eat. We've got time for this later." She drops her legs from around my waist and I reluctantly stand back.

"I'm sure the food could wait a few minutes," I mutter, fake sulking as I take in the view I should have been looking at as we entered.

"And what about this? Can this wait?" When I turn around, I find Kenny holding out the envelope to me. "Don't you want to know what's inside?"

My lips part to respond, but I soon find that I don't have an answer because mostly I'm too confused to even make a serious guess as to what it is.

Taking it from her, I drop down onto the side of the bed and blow out a long breath.

"It's okay, babe. I'm right here."

My hand trembles as I open it and pull out the stack of papers inside, staring down at the top sheet.

"You got in," Kenny squeals as my head spins.

"How? I don't understand. I threw all the applications in the trash. I was so angry and I couldn't think about a future that didn't have you in it."

"As sweet as that is, Con, are you really sure? It had to have been sent. Colton wouldn't have just guessed you wanted to attend. Maybe Cole found it or something."

I stare down at K, my heart racing and my head spinning.

Would Cole do something like that? I can't see it, but I guess crazier things have happened.

"Does it really matter? The biggest question is which one are you going to go to?"

"I... I have no idea. I just can't believe—"

"Believe it, babe. The world is your oyster. You've just got to decide where to start."

Reaching out, I pull her into my arms and breathe her in.

I don't understand this, not even a little bit, but I can't help the wide smile that spreads across my lips as I think about what's to come. Despite everything, we might just have our dreams come true.