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I shiver a little. Maybe from the cold, maybe because I’m just so fucking overwhelmed.
“You want my jacket?” he asks me.
“Nah, I’m fine.” And I am now that he’s here, now that he’ssafe. Kind of. I’m more than aware just how precarious his position is given all that he told Crown about the King. Eastern never met the King in person, but he heard about him enough. Whoever the fucker is, he’s bad news. Ruthless. The latestKingin a long line of them apparently.
Honestly, I want to ask him more questions about this faceless criminal, about what the fuck went wrong that day Eastern was delivering drugs. But right now, I don’t want to spoil this moment together. I know, just as well as he does, that time is precious. He’s going to be leaving soon with Crown, returning to Oceanside in the new term. That horrible thought is only tempered by the fact that in another week I’ll be out of here too and able to see him, Tracy, Braydon, and my brothers again when we finish for Christmas.
At least I’ve survived the first term… just about.
I’ll be able to tell him all about my time here when we’ve got more than a few minutes together. For now, sitting with him in companionable silence will have to be enough.
“This place is pretty fucking impressive. It’s a goddamn palace. You sure Queenie don’t live here?” Eastern asks eventually, stubbing out his cigarette beneath his boot.
“That was my exact thought when I first arrived, but unless you count the couple of marble statues with a crown of ivy and tiny dicks in the gardens out back, then no, she doesn’t.”
He chuckles, that ease I feel around him always, returning.
It doesn’t last long.
“That fucking shit will kill you,” a voice I know so well says.
We both turn to face Ford who’s currently leaning against the wall behind us. I wonder how long he’s been standing there.
“Who the fuck are you?” Eastern growls, standing.
I stand too, twining my fingers with his.
“Ford,” he retorts, zeroing in on our clasped hands. “I’m a friend of Asia’s, and you are?”
“Not someone you want to fuck with.”
Ford glances between us both. Eastern grips my hand tighter, refusing to let go.
“Ford, this is my best friend, Eastern. He’s one of the good ones, okay?”
Ford narrows his gaze on me, and for the briefest of moments I find it hard to breathe. I really, really don’t need a pissing contest right now.
“I’ll be the judge of that,” Ford remarks, pushing off the wall and taking a step towards us both.
“Yo, Ford, what the fuck are you doing out here?”
We all turn to watch Sonny step outside, Pink and Kate following him.
Oh, fuck. This wasn’t how I wanted Eastern’s first introduction to my new friends to go down. Sonny stills when he sees Eastern, then gapes a little.
“You’rethe brick shithouse Asia drew,” he blurts out. Kate and Pink eye Eastern with interest.
“No, Sonny. This is Eastern. Mybest friend,” I repeat, ignoring the fact that Eastern is glaring at me. I know we’re more than that now. But I can’t very well tell them he’s my… what? Boyfriend? That doesn’t sound right, not when I’ve kissed both Sonny and Ford. I wanted more time to figure this shit out. I’m not ready to explain myself, not now. Not like this.
“Ignore dumb nuts here,” Pink says, smiling generously as she shoves Sonny aside. She holds out her hand for Eastern to shake. “We aren’t all Neanderthals carrying around clubs ready to knock out the nearest female and drag her back to his cave.”
Eastern mutters something along the lines of ‘let him fucking try,’ which makes this whole situation even more awkward. I glare at Pink for bringing up my precarious situation, but she just shrugs her shoulders.
“WhatbothSonny and Ford meant to say was;it’s nice to meet you.”
Sonny grunts and Ford makes a weird growly noise. I ignore them both and grimace as Eastern takes her hand and shakes it. Thank God for a little oestrogen to temper the testosterone going crazy right now.
“I’m Pink, and that’s Kate,” she explains, pointing to a rather bemused Kate.
