FROM THE AWARD-WINNING AUTHORS OF THE CHEATER.FAKER.TROUBLEMAKER SERIES (WATTY'S 2016, FICTION AWARDS 2016, HACHETTE AUDIO 2017), JENNY ROSEN & KRISTEN MAGLONZO.
After bullies, braces, and brutal heartbreak shatters his faith in love, soon-to-be fre...
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NOTE: Don't miss out on this hilariously heartwarming read of Chapter 59 of BOY KING by kaelking12!
CHAPTER 59
Elias
Before Lacey, I didn't think too much about putting effort into things.
Was that a mistake?
Absolutely.
I've had enough failing or close-to-failing report cards to teach me exactly what happens when you don't try. But up until I met her, I didn't care either way. My dad has threatened me over grades, school, and everything else I half-assed for as long as I can remember. Dealing with him sucked, but I got used to it.
I knew that he'd run out of energy at some point and eventually give up. And that was my fail-safe. No matter how lazy or checked-out I was, I partially knew that nothing really bad would come of it. I knew Dad never really had any high expectations for me, so I never tried to meet them.
But now, for the first time in I don't even know how long, I'm finally trying for someone.
I've got a girl who's made of glass who needs me to be better than I am. Who's depending on me to be strong enough for the two of us.
And today's my shot at making that happen.
Today, I've gotta get things right.
For my sake and hers.
I lean back in the driver's seat of the Wrangler and roll up the sleeves of my clean, white dress-shirt as far as they can go. It's nearly 11:30 and the heat outside's getting dangerously close to blowing past ninety before midday.
I'm sweating like a pig even after I went through the trouble of sneaking out of Lacey's room and borrowing Pete's shower earlier this morning. I needed it. Badly. Especially after Lacey nearly talked me into crossing the line with her last night.
The girl's got to have some kind of superpower to calm herself down after getting physical that I clearly do not possess. She knocked out pretty soon after our conversation, but I couldn't sleep.
How's a man supposed to sleep after a situation like that?
Sure there are monks and gurus out there who've magically mastered the art of self-control. But sadly, I'm not one of them.
Talking myself out of not wanting her the way I do is one thing. Physically convincing myself of the same thing was a totally different story. So I slipped out around 7:00 A.M. and managed to talk Pete into letting me cold shower my problem away. It worked.
