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“So,” he starts as he inhales another hit off his joint. “You had a crush on me.”

“Jesus. I'm not drunk enough for this conversation.”

“Was I your awakening?” He looks far too smug for someone with two black eyes and stitches on his cheek.

“My awakening was Darth Vader. Don't flatter yourself.”

Devon sputters on his mouthful of whiskey, wiping his chin. “Really? Why?”

“None ya bidniss.” I kick his leg and snatch the bottle back.

“Bet it was the choking thing, huh? Daddy Vader can get it.”

“You know what I wanna know?” I blurt, swiftly changing the subject. “Why did Mom and Dad do it? Why'd they give you up?”

All humor drops from his face, replaced with hard resentment. He blows out a slow breath and stares down at the joint in his hands. “Guess you'd have to ask them.”

My brows slam down. “You never did?”

“Nope.” Propping up a knee, he pinches the end of the joint before tucking it behind his ear. “Don't really give a shit. I can garner a guess, though.”

“Yeah? And what's that?”

“Do the math, little bro,” he says, gesturing at me. “They're like, what, in their forties? I'm twenty-nine. Think about it.”

I do the calculations in my head, stomach twisting when the realization hits. “Shit.”

“Yep. Teen pregnancy out of wedlock goes against church covenant, doesn’t it?”

Anger slices through me, and I grab the bottle for an aggressive swig. “Fucking lying, hypocritical assholes.”

Dev tilts his head with a curious look as he waits for me to explain.

“When they found out Salem and I were living together unmarried, they forced me to propose,” I growl. “Obviously, she said no and broke it off.”

Memories from that weekend at my parents’ cabin two years ago trickle through my brain: how I'd lied my ass off to Tay and Huck during a game of Never Have I Ever because I was scared. How adorable Salem looked all bundled up when I took her out into the snowstorm on Valentine's Day to pop the question. How devastated I was after. It all rolls over me like a tidal wave.

Snow falls in thick, slow flakes, those quiet ones that wrap the world in cotton and muffle everything. The windshield wipers squeak in time with my heartbeat, which, at this point, might be audible over the engine.

Salem has her boots on the dashboard, blazing red hair falling over the puffy coat hugging her frame. She rolls her head to the side and tosses me a lazy grin. “If we get caught in the storm and you’re forced to eat me, which part would you eat first?”

I throw her a panicked look. “That’s morbid. And it won't happen.”

“Humor me,” she hums, sipping on a thermos of hot chocolate.

With a sigh, I keep my eyes on the road in case we slide into a ravine. “I don't know. Thigh, I guess.”

She snorts. “My thigh?”

“Yeah, lots of meat. Could probably feed me for a few days.”

“I was hoping you'd say my pussy.”

My ears grow hot as my cock twitches in my snowsuit. “I don't think that has much nutritional value.”

She gasps, punching my arm in fake outrage. “It has tons of nutritional value! Otherwise, you wouldn't eat me out so much.”

“Salem,” I whine, reaching down to adjust myself. “I can't drive straight if I'm horny.”