Page 43 of Play for Power (Central Sparks #3)

I think he feels how stiff I am, though.

That I’m not hugging him back, because he quickly disentangles our bodies, shaking out his hands and giving me a tight, if not worried, smile.

I force myself to drop eye contact, shifting away ever so slightly.

If only to put a bit of distance between us as I look back at my father.

“That’s…nice,” he says, a light curl of his upper lip, a response I anticipated. “But I don’t?—”

“Nice?” Caleb seethes. “She was basically breaking career records tonight… Nice !?” Before he has more of a chance to dig our respective graves, I reach out and grip his wrist, nails digging in and burning my eyes through him.

I silently beg him to just shut the fuck up with a subtle shake of my head. Feeling my heart race. My father is not going to take being scolded lightly, and I need Caleb to understand his place right now.

“He’s going to come to the opening with me—us…

” I stop Caleb’s raging crusade with my words and I feel him go stiff next to me.

I find myself taking a little step closer to Caleb again, hoping his presence continues to fuel the confidence I need when facing this man in front of us.

“Uh…as umm…” Breaking away from his stare-down with Caleb, my father turns his attention to me, and I practically shrivel.

Feeling a whole lot of shame and embarrassment that Caleb is here to witness this, that I’m not all that I make out to be, that he can finally see what my mask hides.

“Spit it out, Rosita, we don’t have time for this.”

I take a breath, steadying my nerves and hoping Caleb still wants to be associated with me after this, though I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t.

“He is coming with me as my date.” I say it all in one breath, a bit of my usual sass and anger lacing the words in a last-ditch effort to keep my facade in place.

“I don’t really care about your little date, Rosita.

With or without him, just get in the damn car.

You are so beyond late and my patience is thinning with every second you delay me.

Alan will drive you.” He gestures to a car by the curb, before climbing into one himself.

In the moment it peels away from the side of the road, my face drops into my hands.

I can feel Caleb close the distance to stand in front of me. Prying my hands away, I scowl up at his annoying persistence and use said annoyance to mask my embarrassment.

“You weren’t meant to follow me.” I look over his shoulder to avoid looking into his all-knowing eyes.

I know he has a million questions. That he wants to know what just happened, why I am a completely different person, why it feels like I have a hundred secrets, so I’m thankful when he heaves a sigh, holding my hands and letting me just stand there in silence.

Allowing me a breath to put myself back together.

“He doesn’t get it.” I whisper the words, still not meeting his eyes.

“He doesn’t understand how hard I’ve worked.

He treats it like it’s my hobby, not my career.

It’s not permanent to him, it’s just for now.

He doesn’t understand that I need this.” I don’t know that I’m really telling him anything, just reminding myself.

That the life I’ve been living isn’t real.

And maybe having someone witnessing the words will allow me to spread the burden so that it won’t weigh so heavily and make me feel so alone.

Caleb says nothing, just stands taller, continuing to stare deeply into my soul, giving me the grace to say whatever I need to.

Perhaps I’m more exhausted than I thought, because something dislodges and I unload everything—almost everything.

“I do, I need this, this is all I have, this is everything. I poured my entire soul into this, I worked for it, I earned it, and I deserve to celebrate it. This is mine, he shouldn’t be able to take this from me. ”

“He can’t.” It’s the first thing he says, face hardening with determination.

“He cannot take it from you, if you don’t let him.

You’re right, everything you said is true, it’s yours, you deserve it, you worked your ass off, and you earned all of it and more.

” He leans forward, pulling gently on a curl before brushing a thumb over my cheek and tucking his hands back in his pockets.

“ That is your power. Don’t give it away, to anyone,” he whispers, searching my eyes for acknowledgment.

I feel his words against my frayed nerves like a balm.

Soothing my jaded edges, holding me back from the ledge.

I hang on to his every word, nodding, feeling rather validated to hear another man say it all back to me, that I’m not deranged or selfish for wanting and taking this for myself.

I search his eyes for lies or judgment and all I see is Caleb.

Relief hits me again.

“Well…you’re here now.” I gesture to where he stands and subtly take a step in the direction of the car, an easy smile on my face. He smiles to match, my chest warming with that same sensation as when I first walked into the room and saw him.

“I am.” He follows my retreating steps and I narrow my eyes playfully, really wanting to at least make the most of the rest of the night.

“Still want to play?” I pop a hip, tilting my head with a coy smile.

“With you, Rosebud? I always want to play.” His sexy, playful look slides back into place before taking a few steps to the car. He pulls open the door, stepping back for me to get in. “Shall we?”

“We shall.”

Caleb smiles at me as he closes the door, looking awfully smug, but I don’t see him climb in beside me because once he’s out of my sight, all I see is Dick-bag Daniel, standing at the entrance of the building, leaning against a pillar, and smirking like he knows some kind of secret.

I hate that he possibly witnessed all of that.

I hate even more that it now looks like he has something he can use against me.

What, though, I have no idea. I’m sure his puny little idiot brain is crafty enough to think of something to make my life hell though.

I let my head fall back against the seat and squeeze my eyes closed.

Maybe if I manifest hard enough, the rest of the night will go by in a blur, without me remembering all these horrible details.

I’m jolted from my mental spiral when a warm hand clasps mine, and my eyes snap open to find Caleb watching me intently.

I raise a questioning brow, working overtime to hide all the vulnerable feelings that won’t stop rising to the surface, trying like hell to pull back on my mask despite the accidental slip of it before.

“A Garcia event with all your family and close friends? I knew you were obsessed with me, Rosebud, but this feels like a big step in our relationship.” His playful sarcasm mixed with that grin full of warmth is exactly what I needed, and I feel the tension in my body ease.

It’s easy to fall into playfulness with him.

It’s weird how easy most things are when it comes to Caleb.

“Oh, shove it, sex pest.” I unclasp our hands, slapping playfully at his chest. “This isn’t even my family’s event, and I didn’t invite you, you stumbled upon convenient timing.

” I rest an elbow against the window, letting my head fall against my hand, and pause the words ready to flow of their own free will.

I usually like to remind Caleb that we aren’t anything, we’re barely friends.

We use each other and that’s that. But after everything he’s witnessed tonight…

maybe he deserves a little upgrade. I’ve decided I’m too tired to care, and I don’t know that I have many more fucks to give, so I stop filtering my mind, just for a moment.

“Plus, we’re friends. This is what friends do, right? ”

The corner of his lips tips up, satisfaction spreading across his handsome face, and I force down the nervousness that bubbles up my throat at how eager he looks at that sentence. Oop…maybe I should give a few more fucks….

“I thought we were just friends who fuck?” He’s challenging me, making sure I know what I just said, that I’m acknowledging there is more between us than I’ve ever let him believe until now.

I try to hold his attention but it’s too all-knowing, his intensity…

it’s too much. I drop his eyes, returning my focus to the window, and I feel my voice drop.

“Yeah, well, things change.” I’m almost grateful for the silence that meets me after, thinking he hadn’t heard me, hadn’t witnessed my weakness in acknowledging how much I have enjoyed his company tonight, or how I needed him there for just a moment to help me steal my strength.

But his quiet response has my heart leaping in my chest again as he mumbles.

“I guess they do.”