“Yeah, Daph. I do.” He stood up and grabbed the keys. Did Wolfe seriously Uber himself to the airport? “But first: food. Come on.”
He waited for me, entwining his fingers into mine while he walked me to the passenger side.
“What? No lap this time?” I teased.
Thay’s hands fell to my ass in a playful squeeze.
“I mean, you can ride on my lap if you want?” He challenged, throwing the car door open. I stalled, considering it, when he lifted me into the seat with a dark laugh. “Maybe on the way back, I am fucking starving.”
“I hope you are not expecting much,” my stomach rolled when he started the engine. We hadn’t eaten since yesterday, and I was pretty sure any calories I consumed were now branded into my mattress. “There is nothing but kale and poppy seed muffins in town.”
Thay made a face, and I laughed.
“I know. We could head to the pub, but I sort of snuck out the bathroom window the other night to avoid the Cabo conversation, and according to Finn, that shit went public, so…” I shifted in my seat.
“You didwhat?”
“Finn took me on a date, kind of,” I shrugged. “It didn’t go well.”
Thay took a breath through his nose, the muscle in his neck flexing.
“Did you fuck him?” he asked, clicking his teeth. “Because I was wondering why the hell you smelled like a polo shirt the day we picked you up.”
My mouth flew open in a gasp of disgust.
“Tell me, Daphne, what’s it like to fall dick-deep into the Gap? Did he make you meet his mother afterward, hold hands, and pray for forgiveness?”
“Stop!” I shook my head. “I did not sleep with him. And despite being deeply sheltered and extremely naïve, he is a nice guy.”
Thay scowled.
“Nice? I heard the way he spoke to you. No. He is a fucking assholedressed like anice guy. And they’re the most dangerous of all.”
I rolled my eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“He’s never gotten angry before, and he wants to. It is as if he is looking for a reason to turn all the lights off.”
“Not everyone desires to play in the dark, Thay.”
“Bullshit. What do you thinkyou are?” I paused, considering his question. “Guys like that, all pent up, with the world up their ass and everything golden, are the ones who snap big. Like, kill your entire family, big.”
“Stop!” I swatted the thought away.
“I mean it, one second it’s all matching pajamas on the yearly Christmas card and the next, international fucking news.”
“Thay!”
“Just saying,” he turned down the road and stopped in front of the Main Street Grocers that lined the beach. “They never learn how to deal with their demons, so when they break free, they don’t come back from it.”
I crawled out of the passenger seat, stretching on the sidewalk.
“Finn doesn’t have a murderous creature inside him,” I glared.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Thay pulled me close. “You seem to collect them in troves.”
“Asshole,” I kicked his foot, and he laughed. “What are we eating?”
“Double cheese sandwiches,” he nibbled on my ear.
