"You're lying," I finally said as J's little fairytale wrapped up.
He gaped at me, mouth opening as he kept his eyes on the road. "I am not! Right hand to God, I swear on your life, it's the truth."
I made a face, rolling my eyes. "You did not rob a diner while holding your grandmother at gunpoint, you psycho." I started laughing at the absurdity of it.
He laughed while slamming his palm against the steering wheel. "Stop laughing, dammit. I really did. It was after Manny's funeral."
The name sounded familiar and I was sure J had mentioned him before. After finally coming clean with the the truth about who his family was, my relationship with J became that much stronger. I felt bonded to him. What he did was dangerous and it was crazy, but there was something oddly sexy about all of it. A kid from the wrong side of the tracks working with his criminal family while making millions in the process? It was crazy, sure, but J wasn't drowning in student debt and I didn't have to get a second job.
I didn't have to get a job at all.
Of course, that's not why I was with J. Joshua Cody was the love of my life and I'd stick with him until the day I died. Through thick and thin, I'd be there. The money definitely helped, though. It meant that we could leave whenever we wanted. Go start somewhere new.
Which was exactly what we were doing.
"You're sure you want to do this?" I asked as I looked out the passenger side window. Desert lined either side of us and it went on for miles. The air was hot and humid, but the air conditioning from J's truck blasted my cold skin.
He didn't answer me right away and I sighed, biting my bottom lip. We'd spent nearly a year planning everything out. Getting as much money as we could, packing up his truck, and heading out on the open road was a dream we'd built together. We'd drive for a while and find some place to call home, maybe in Cali but definitely not Oceanside. Over the few years that he'd been with his family, J had saved nearly every penny of the money he'd earned. It was almost three million dollars and change, which was more than enough to buy us a getaway.
I'd been saving and I had a college fund that I drained as soon as my parents looked the other way, but it wasn't at all close to the five mil that J had tucked away in a secret bank account. What I had was pocket change compared to him.
"J?" I asked when he still didn't respond. I looked away from the window, facing him and seeing him lost in thought. His blue eyes were bright, alert, and he licked his lips before speaking.
"I think it should be somewhere small." he gave a soft smile. "A small town, maybe a small house right on the water. Somewhere that we could still have a backyard so you could have your garden. Oh, and I wanna get a dog. I've never had one and I know you haven't either. It doesn't have to be big or anything, but I'm not getting one of those little coffee mug dogs."
"Teacup." I corrected him with a laugh.
"Whatever," he responded with a smile. Looking over at me, J reached out and tucked my hair behind my ear. "We're gonna be fine, Y/N. I promise. I'm going to give you the best fucking life."
"You already have." I whispered the words too quietly for him to hear.
We drove in silence for a while, J steering with one hand while the other gripped and massaged the back of my neck. I knew he could feel how tense I was, but it wasn't because I was having second doubts. All I ever wanted was to escape with him and go somewhere- anywhere- else. I wanted to disappear and go somewhere where my drunk mom and sex addict father couldn't find me. If anything, the feeling of wanting to leave had amplified the second we loaded up the truck.
