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“Well, in that case,” I said. “You are welcome.”
Justin laughed and gave me a wink.
“Seriously though,” I said, changing my tone a little. “I am sorry about it. I didn’t mean to really hurt you. I mean… I did mean to hurt my attacker. I just wouldn’t have reacted that way had I known it was you.”
“Chill out, Mila,” Justin assured me. “I think you reacted exactly the way you were trained to. Looks like all those weeks in the training ring really paid off. Zack will be proud.”
“I’m kind of proud too,” I said.
“You should be,” Justin nodded. “And you’ve proven your point. I’m not going to mess with you ever again.”
I smiled. “Made an impression, huh?”
“Next time we go at it, it’ll be in the training ring… and you’ll be aware.”
“You really want to embarrass yourself again?” I asked, with raised eyebrows.
Justin guffawed. “Cocky. You only beat me that time because I wasn’t prepared for that reaction. Otherwise, you never would have been able to beat me.”
“Is that right?” Zack interrupted, as he walked into the kitchen.
“Fuck yes, that’s right,” Justin said aggressively. “I’m like a wild animal in a fight.”
Zack smiled and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. “Yeah, you definitely sounded like a wild animal that day… when it gets shot.”
“Fuck you,” Justin said, stomping away to the sound of our combined laughter.
“We really shouldn’t tease him like that,” I said.
“Why?” Zack asked. “He asked for it.”
I grabbed some water myself. “Want some lunch?”
“What are you having?”
“I was just going to make myself a sandwich,” I said. “I’ve been dreaming of burgers today.”
Zack smiled. “Maybe we should pay Miriam another visit?”
“I’d like that,” I nodded, wondering if that would count as a date or not. Although I had sort of initiated the topic, so I wasn’t sure if it counted.
Zack proceeded to help me put together some sandwiches for the both of us, and we stood side by side, assembling everything together. Our relationship was a strange one. Sometimes it was almost adversarial. We would piss each other off randomly, we would get on each other’s nerves, and in those moments, nothing could calm either one of us down. And then there were other times when it was so comfortable and familiar that it felt like I’d known Zack for years.
“So… did Devon talk to you?”
“Umm… he talks to me every day now,” I replied, surprised by the question. “It would be weird now if he didn’t.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I figured,” I smiled. “What did you mean?”
“Well… we were talking about what would happen once Walter Black was dealt with and there was no threat to you any longer.”
I froze for a moment, and suddenly I felt a little nervous. I had no reason to. It was a reasonable thing to discuss, and I seriously needed to start thinking about my next step in life. It wasn’t like I could stay in the clubhouse forever.
“Oh,” I said. “I suppose… I’ve been thinking about that a lot too.”
“And?”
