Page 28 of Bloody Tainted Lies


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“Sometimes.”

“Always.”

“Only with you.”

“Wow!” She laughs and smacks my shoulder. “I’m so flattered.”

She should be, but I don’t say that. I don’t hang out with girls; she’s the exception. I haven’t even fucked anyone since I met her, which is saying something. She’s making me soft. “It’s because we’re best friends. I can be myself with you.”

“Speaking of friends.” Camilla looks a little nervous. “Where are we going after here? I can’t get out of the car and risk being seen by Leo’s friends. I know there has to be someone here who knows him.”

“Let’s go to my friend’s house,” I reply. “His name is Ilya.”

Instead of getting out of the car, I drive away, not claiming my prize. Ilya’s house is not far from here, in fact, we’re neighbors but I’m not about to say that to her. So I drive to the Russian side of Chicago. It doesn’t matter though, I can protect her, and my friends would never attempt anything against her. They might even like her and want to keep her around. We have all seen each other at school either way, so they’ve definitely noticed her before. She’s too pretty to go unseen. Especially with those big hazel eyes that always threaten to stop my heart.

After a few minutes we pull up to my friend’s house, and I idle the car in the driveway. I text him to let him know we’re here and then wait. Looking over at Camilla, I see her taking in the neighborhood. She looks nervous, and I can’t even blame her. If I were in an unfamiliar place on the opposite side of town from hers, and with the enemy so close…I’d be nervous too.

“Don’t be nervous,” I tell her, sliding my hand onto her thigh. Her skin is soft and warm, and a little shock goes through me. “I got you. You know that, though.”

She nods at that, looking down at my hand. I don’t remove it though, and when she looks into my eyes my stomach drops. “Question two hundred and one. What’s your favorite thing to do?”

“Other than being with you?” I smile and she smiles back. I withdraw my hand and open my glove compartment, pulling out a slim camera from it. “May I?”

“Sure.”

I turn it on and get it ready, then point it at her. She looks amazing tonight, but I haven’t told her. I barely ever give her compliments. It’s because I know where this is going. The only place it can go. Nowhere. She’s engaged to someone else, and every time I think about that my heart sinks a little more. I can’t let this go down that rabbit hole. It’ll break me.

When I press the button to take the picture, I don’t turn on the flash. It’s nighttime and there’s only one outdoor light beside the car. So the picture is grainy, the green of her eyes not as vivid as when there’s light. That’s the one thing I’m missing from my life. Seeing her hazel eyes in the daylight. I bet they’d be even more mesmerizing when the sun hits them. The oranges, greens, and blues mixed would be a sight to behold.

“Beautiful.” I breathe, even though the picture is subpar. But the model? She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve seen in my life.

Her smile lights up her face and she looks away, not saying anything.

“What about you?” I ask her. “What’s your favorite thing to do?”

“Ballet.” She doesn’t hesitate. “Reading poetry.”

“And spending time with me, right?”

At this, she does look at me, then rolls her eyes. “Duh.”

Ilya texts me, interrupting my thoughts, and I open my car door. I go around to open hers too, but she’s already halfway out the door. “You have to let guys open the door for you, Milla. Have some damn standards, yeah?”

Camilla laughs, “I didn’t realize you were so old school.”

“Sometimes.” I shrug. “This is one of the times.”

She walks next to me toward the house, our bodies close enough to touch, our fingers brushing casually as we make our way to the front door. But there’s nothing casual about it. In fact, it makes my heart thunder in my ears. The urge to hold her hand is strong, and my fingers literally itch to do it. But I don’t. I keep my distance as much as my body will let me. Which isn’t very far.

Ilya opens the door and looks at Camilla appreciatively, and it makes me want to punch him in the face. I clear my throat to draw the attention away from her. “This is Camilla,” I tell him without the usual endearing way I say it. Mostly since I don’t want him to catch on to my nickname for her. “You gonna let us in or what?”

He sucks his lip ring into his mouth and nods once, stepping away from the door to make room for us, then closing it behind us. “We’re at the pool.”

I lead Camilla to the back of the house, past a sliding glass door, and all the way to an in-ground pool. It’s enormous, with two different areas that have shallow steps, a hot tub, and even a waterfall. I want to play around with her. This will probably be the only time I’ll get to do this.

Her eyes light up as she looks around, even though I know she has her own pool. “Wow.” She says in awe. “You want to get in?”

Ilya and Dmitri are wearing swim trunks, but Camilla and I are fully dressed. “I don’t know if that’s?—”

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