Page 24 of Fight for You

"Yeah." I tip my head backward, closing my eyes. "She kissed me."

"Did she?"

"Yeah, then she ran off."

"Hmm."

Hmm? What is that supposed to mean?

I tip my head forward and crack my eyes open to find Ma Lucia smiling at me over the rim of her coffee cup. She doesn't seem disappointed or mad. Maybe a little worried…but there's also a touch of amusement twinkling in her eyes.

"You're not mad about it?" I ask, just to make sure.

"You've been in love with that little girl for years," she says with a laugh.

I shrug, my cheeks burning. Like I said, Ma Lucia knows everything. She may be old and frail, but her mind is as sharp as a tack.

"Just promise me that you'll wait until she's older to do anything more than kiss her," she says, reaching out to wrap my hand in hers. "You're both too young for any nonsense, you hear me? I don't want you making Jana a grandmamma before January's even out of high school."

"Yes ma'am," I mumble, blushing again. It's not even like that. Well, I mean maybe I want to do that stuff with her one day, but not right now. She's way too young. Her mom would kill both of us. Actually, Titan would kill me and then her mom would kill her. Either way, there would be bodies to hide. I'd prefer to keep both of our bodies intact.

"Go talk to your girl, sweet boy," Ma Lucia says and pats me on the cheek. "I'll wait for a little while to start dinner."

"Thanks, Ma Lucia. But you don't have to cook. I'll do it after I check on January." I kiss her on the cheek once more and then fly down the stairs to go check on January. Her mom works late during the school week so she can be at home with January and Titan on the weekends, so I know January is probably in there by herself, freaking out about kissing me.

I jog up the steps to her front door and knock.

"Go away, Cade!" she yells from inside.

I smile and shake my head. She can't believe that's going to work. It never does.

"You know I'm not going away," I call softly and tap on the door again.

She doesn't say anything, but I hear her shuffling around inside.

"Don't make me use the hid-a-key, little monster."

She cracks it open a second later. Her eyes are red and puffy. Knowing she's been crying makes my chest ache.

I press my palm to my sternum, trying to rub away the little pain, but then a tear slips down her cheek. As soon as I see it, I push the door open, forcing her to let me inside with her.

"Don't cry," I plead, pulling her into my arms before she can turn away from me. "Please don't cry."

She burrows her face into my shirt but doesn't return my embrace.

"I'm fucking glad you kissed me," I blurt, rubbing her back.

"You are?" she whispers, her voice muffled.

"Yeah." I smile.

She's quiet for a minute. "You're not mad at me?"

"I'm never mad at you, baby girl."

"You said I was just a kid."

"I was jealous," I admit, running my hands through her hair. It's so soft. It slips through my fingers like strands of silk. I could play with her hair all day and never get tired of it. "He asked you to the dance and you didn't tell him no. It pissed me off."