Better (Too Good series) Read online

He wasn’t expecting that. He figured she’d obey. Wasn’t that what students were supposed to do? Obey?

  He tried a different approach. “Okay. Not really a suggestion.” The words may have come out a little flatter than he’d intended. He wanted her to understand that he was in charge, but he didn’t want to embarrass her either.

  She stared at him. No. That’s not right. She stared through him—right through his eyes and into his brain. Could she see what was going on? Could she feel his impossible attraction to her? He didn’t like the way she was looking at him. He leaned forward.

  “Did you hear what I said?”

  She blinked and refocused. “I heard you. I don’t wanna change. It’s a present, see? It was left for me in my locker this morning. I wanted to wear it to show my appreciation.”

  And that’s when he knew he had to have her. He was already irritated by her resistance. But now the attitude? Well, it pissed him right off. And turned him on at the same time.

  ***

  Cadence set a glass of Orange Crush in front of Mark, then took a seat beside him at the dining room table.

  He grinned and shook his head.

  “What?” she asked.

  “You.”

  “What about me?”

  “You and your orange jumpsuit,” he explained.

  Cadence arched her brow. “What about it?”

  “You made it really difficult for me that first day, and you knew it. You were such a brat.”

  Cadence snorted. “Whatever.”

  He laughed.

  “You enjoyed every second of that exchange. Probably got a hard-on,” she said.

  He ignored her. “You ready?”

  “I think so,” she replied. She was suddenly nervous and didn’t know why.

  “Okay. First thing’s first.” Mark paused and looked at his girlfriend. She stared back, waiting. “You gonna take notes?”

  “Do I need to?” she asked.

  Mark shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  Cadence took a deep breath. “If I start to feel overwhelmed, I’ll take notes.”

  Mark nodded. “Okay. First thing: You need to request a W-4 from your employer and fill it out again.”

  Cadence blinked. “Huh?”

  Mark took a sip of his drink. “You remember that paperwork you had to fill out when you started working at Millie’s?”

  “I didn’t fill it out. Dad did. He just had me sign beside the sticky note.”

  Mark smiled patiently. “All right. Well, you need to ask Millie for new paperwork. It’s called a W-4.”

  “Why do I need that?”

  “Because I’m pretty damn sure your dad wants to claim you as a dependent on his taxes, and he’s not going to.”

  “Huh?”

  “Let me put it this way: your dad intends to make some money off of you, and since he cut you off, I don’t think he should be allowed to.”

  Cadence nodded. She understood nothing.

  “So, I need you to get new paperwork so that we can fill it out a little differently. This time you won’t check the box labeled ‘dependent.’ You’ll just claim ‘0’ on your taxes. That way you’ll get the maximum refund, which, for you, will be everything. You don’t make enough to pay, but you don’t wanna claim any withholdings either. Let ‘em take the maximum out of your paychecks because you’ll get it all back at the end of the year anyway. Well, I mean, not Social Security—”

  “Mark! I don’t understand this!” Just that quickly and she was already overwhelmed and irritated.

  She propped her elbows on the table and buried her face in her hands.

  “Cadence, just bring me the paperwork. I’ll handle it,” Mark said.

  She kept her head down—her hair acting as a curtain to shield most of her face—but turned slightly to look at him through a small opening in her strands.

  “You think I’m stupid,” she whispered.

  “No, I don’t. No one understands a thing about taxes. I only know the basics. Enough to fill out a W-4.” He smiled at her. “I’ll help you. It’ll be fine.”

  Cadence sat quietly for a time mulling over the term “dependent.” Apparently she wasn’t supposed to be one anymore, and the idea of being independent was neither freeing nor exciting. She realized she was terrified, entering into another phase of adulthood she wasn’t sure she could handle.

  “Honey?” she heard to her left.

  “‘Honey’?” she echoed, and then laughed. “Like what middle-aged couples call each other? ‘Honey’?” She couldn’t shake the sudden memory of Mark calling her “darling” in the Walgreens when they were shopping for pregnancy tests. She burst out laughing all over again.

  “What?” Mark asked indignantly.

  “Can you just call me, like, a cool pet name? Like ‘babe’ or ‘sweet cheeks’?”

  Now Mark burst out laughing.

  “‘Sweet cheeks’?”

  She swatted his arm. “I dunno. Something better than ‘honey’.”

  “Okay,” Mark replied. “Let me think on that one.”

  Cadence nodded, then drank a sip of Mark’s Orange Crush.

  “I’m putting you under my car insurance,” he said. “You only need basic collision which’ll run you about 30 bucks a month. Can you handle that?” he asked.

  Cadence’s heart gave a small jolt. The words escaped her lips before she could stop them. “You aren’t paying for it?”

  Mark’s grin was somewhere between condescension and playfulness. She was confused by it. Then annoyed by it. Then turned on by it. Only took three seconds to run the gamut.

  “No, Sweet Cheeks. You’re pulling your weight in this household.”

  He couldn’t know how much she delighted in that statement. She thought she could translate it to mean “I see you as an important equal in this relationship.” She realized she wouldn’t have to slip the bills in his wallet after all.

  “Okay,” she said quietly. “But I didn’t pull my weight when you bought me that car.”

  “We’re back to that?” he asked.

  “Just saying,” Cadence replied. It almost sounded like a challenge, and he took it.

  “I can think of ways you can pay me back,” he said thoughtfully.

  Cadence blushed and grinned.

  “Wanna come sit on my lap?” he asked.

  “You’ll get distracted, and you’re supposed to be helping me,” Cadence argued.

  “Eh, you’re right.”

  He flipped through a stack of papers in front of him.

  “You can use the university health center. Take advantage of it as a full-time student,” he advised. “You’re paying for the damn thing.” He paused and read. “Looks like you’ll have to pay a little extra out of pocket for your annual, but 75 bucks is a hell of a lot better than paying five hundred out of pocket at a doctor’s office.”

  Cadence flushed.

  “Your birth control is covered, too,” he explained. “If you’re interested.”

  “What?”

  Mark continued reading. “Oh, wait. Nope. Looks like it’s five bucks a pack.” He scratched his five o’clock shadow. “I read wrong.”

  “What?” Cadence repeated.

  Mark looked up. “I’m not saying you have to go on birth control. I’m just saying that it’s an option. And it’s pretty inexpensive comparatively speaking. It’s like 45 bucks a pack without insurance.”

  “How do you even know that?”

  Mark tensed ever so slightly. It was getting worse—the slip-ups. Too easy when she lived with him, had become so intimately connected to his life, his world. He was becoming too relaxed, and he simply wasn’t ready to go there yet. To talk about Andy and how the hell he even knew anything about the cost of birth control packs.

  “Girlfriends in college,” he mumbled.

  Cadence thought for a moment. “I don’t know that I’ll be a full-time student—”

  “Looks like you’re paying for the gym, too,” Mark interrupted, skimmi
ng the page. “What the hell? What happened to the days where you just paid for your classes and that’s it?”

  “Mark. I said I don’t know that I’ll be going to school full time,” Cadence said.

  “Why?”

  “Because I don’t know what I qualify for yet,” she explained.

  “What do you mean?”

  Cadence flipped open her laptop. It was the one possession her father bought her that he didn’t require her to give back after their parting.

  “Will you check these for me?” she asked, pushing the laptop over to Mark.

  “What’s this?” he asked, scanning the screen.

  “My FAFSA stuff. Did I fill it out right?”

  How could he be such an idiot?! In all his preparation to help her sort out these financial responsibilities, he completely forgot about her means of paying for college. He assumed her father would. He didn’t know why. Maybe he’d subconsciously hoped that Mr. Miller wasn’t a complete jerk.

  “You told me your parents set up a college fund,” Mark said.

  “They did.”

  Mark blinked. “Well, as far as I understand it, college funds are specific to college. The interest that accrues on them . . . you can’t just take that out to use however you want.”

  “It wasn’t a college fund like that. Just a separate account Dad set up. Something with stocks or something. I don’t know. He wanted to make a better return on the money. Whatever that means. I don’t freaking know. I just know that I don’t have any money to pay for college.” She pointed to the screen. “Now help me out here.”

  Mark bit his tongue. There was a string of words he wanted to let loose about her father, but she managed to sum it all up in one. He leaned into the screen.

  “I didn’t know your dad’s first name was ‘Asshole’.”

  She cracked a smile. “Isn’t it awful how his parents did that to him?”

  Mark chuckled.

  “I would have legally changed it by now,” Cadence went on.

  Mark smirked. “You know you’ll have to fix that before you send it in.”

  Cadence giggled. “I know.”

  “But you can leave it for now. ‘Asshole Miller’. Has a nice ring to it.”

  “I thought so.”

  Mark eyed Cadence thoughtfully. She was staring at the screen, absent-mindedly twirling a golden strand around her finger.

  “Come here, Sweet Cheeks,” he said, tugging on her arm.

  He pushed his chair out and pulled her onto his lap. She nestled against him, eyes still glued to the screen.

  “Did I fill it out right?” she asked.

  He read over the pages, changing things here and there. He asked her a few questions—some she couldn’t answer—and saw her frustration grow.

  “We’ll do the best we can,” he told her, and she sighed.

  “Is it ready to go?”

  “Yep,” he replied.

  “So I can click ‘Send’ now?”

  “You have to e-sign it first,” Mark pointed out.

  “How do I do that?”

  “Just type your name.”

  “That’s a signature?”

  “Yep.” He pushed her hair over her left shoulder and leaned in to kiss the back of her neck. He felt the tiny goose bumps break out on her skin and licked them. She squirmed.

  “Stop. I’m working.”

  “Typing your name is work?” he asked, lips pressed against her neck. So soft. So salty sweet. He sucked her neck just to feel her squirm on him. Her little bottom made him rock hard in an instant.

  “Mark . . .”

  “Hmm?”

  “I have to go to work in thirty minutes.”

  “Plenty of time.”

  “We haven’t talked about bills like water and electricity,” Cadence said.

  “We’ll talk about them later,” Mark replied.

  Cadence stood up and turned around on Mark’s lap, straddling him. She plopped her arms around his neck.

  “But it’s a big deal, Mark.”

  He gazed into her icy blue eyes and realized he’d pay for all of it. Even if he had to work four jobs and deny himself the little pleasures of records and books. He’d do all that to give to her. To make her comfortable. To want for nothing.

  “You win,” he said thoughtfully, and she furrowed her brows.

  “So we’re gonna sort out the bills?”

  He shook his head. “No. Not that. I just meant you win. Generally speaking. You’re the winner.”

  “Why’s that?” she asked.

  “Because I’ll do anything for you, see? So that makes you the winner.”

  Cadence laughed and hugged Mark close.

  “You always say these dorky things to me,” she mumbled into his neck.

  “Dorky? I thought I said all the right things.”

  “You do,” Cadence agreed. “But they’re dorky, too.”

  “I’ll take both,” Mark replied. “Now get in that bedroom and take off those panties.”

  Cadence hopped up from his lap and walked to the hallway.

  “You take them off,” she said, and sprinted to the bedroom.

  “Even better.”

  ***

  “You start school in three weeks,” Mark said as he watched Cadence walk through the door.

  She tossed her purse on the club chair and walked to the kitchen.

  “My loan application was approved?” she asked, grabbing a glass from the cabinet. She filled it with ice and water, then walked back to the living room.

  “I don’t know,” Mark replied.

  Cadence screwed up her face in thought. “I don’t get it. If my loan application hasn’t been approved, then I’m not starting school in three weeks.”

  Mark grinned. “Yeah. You are.”

  Cadence sank down on the couch and tipped the glass to her lips. She chugged most of the water before replying.

  “I can’t go to school, Mark, if I don’t have money.” She said it with an edgy patience.

  Mark sat on the coffee table across from her.

  “You don’t need a loan, Cadence. You’re not going into debt to pay for school.”

  Cadence shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

  “I wanna do this for you,” he said softly.

  Her eyes went wide. “Do what?”

  “Pay for it.”

  Cadence froze. He watched her face carefully. First confusion. Then clarity. Next anger. And then helplessness.

  “That’s your school money, Mark. No,” she said.

  “It’s your school money. I can work and go to school. I planned on it anyway. So what that I can’t take as many classes a semester as I’d hoped? I don’t care. I wanna do this for you. You’re going to college, Cadence, and you’re not coming out with a 25,000 dollar tab when it’s all said and done.”

  “You already bought me a car!” Cadence cried.

  “Okay.”

  “And you pay for just about everything!”

  “No big deal.”

  “It is to me! I want to contribute. I want to pay my own way,” Cadence said.

  “You do contribute,” Mark countered. “I mean, you could pick up your clothes more, but whatever.”

  That worked slightly to ease the growing tension in the room. He watched the corner of her mouth turn up.

  “Please let me do this,” he said.

  “You just feel sorry for me. You’re making a rash decision because you feel sorry for me.”

  “No, I’m not. I’ve been thinking about this for days, Cadence. I talked with—”

  “You saved that money for you!” Cadence interrupted.

  Mark paused before replying.

  “No. I saved it for you. I just didn’t know it then.”

  Cadence blinked, then placed her glass on the table. She leaned back against the couch cushions and considered her boyfriend. He smiled at her, and she nodded.

  “You say all the right things.”

  He chuckled.<
br />
  “And I love it, and it’s frustrating.”

  He took her hand.

  “How can you afford this?” Cadence asked softly.

  “Cadence, I’ve been saving my money for years.”

  “So what? You still have bills. Rent. What about your undergrad loans?”

  He grinned patiently. “I got a scholarship.”

  “All four years?”

  “I finished in three.”

  “Liar.”

  “I swear! Worked my ass off, but I did.”

  “And grad school?”

  “Took it slow. Paid what I could when I could.”

  She pursed her lips.

  “I’m debt-free. I’ve saved my money. You’ve gotta trust me on this. I’m not rolling in the dough, but I can afford to send you to school. Just don’t get the meal plan, okay? That’ll put me in the hole.”

  She laughed.

  “Trust me,” he whispered.

  “You don’t have to take care of me like this,” she said.

  “Yes I do. That’s my job as a man.”

  “Is it?”

  “Well, you don’t have to accept it if you don’t want to. I know you’re all independent and everything.”

  Cadence snorted. “I’m far from independent, and you know it.”

  Mark pursed his lips. “But that’s the beauty of this arrangement. You’re not supposed to be. Just like I’m not supposed to be entirely independent either. If we both were, we’d have no need for each other.”

  Cadence considered this.

  “But you do way more than me.”

  “That’s not true,” Mark replied. “Your problem is that you wanna make it all about money. Okay then. Yeah. I make more money than you. That means I take on more financial responsibility. And I’m fine with that.”

  Cadence tried to interrupt.

  “Just listen,” Mark cut in. “You pull your weight in other ways, Cadence. You contribute a lot.”

  Cadence shrugged.

  “But you know what?” he asked.

  “Hmm?”

  “I wouldn’t give a shit if you did nothing but lay around all day because loving you is not about percentages: I give 50 percent. You give 50 percent. That’s bullshit. My job is to love you and give to you as much as I can each and every day. Try to make it to one hundred. On my own.”

  “You usually do,” Cadence said, smiling.

  “Then I must be doing something right.” He winked at her.

  “But I can’t let you give me your school money,” Cadence replied.