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“You put your life at risk, kitten. You put me in a position where I would have to break out and kill the fucker who touched you.” The thumb brushed back along my jawline. “You ever put yourself in danger like that again, there won’t be a place on earth you can hide where I won’t find you and put you over my knee. Do you understand?”
I resisted the urge to tell him that wasn’t a very convincing threat, but I nodded.
“Good.”
There was a moment when our every exhale tangled together in wisps, where he was so close it made no sense why we weren’t kissing already. He couldn’t use just any excuse to push me away when his desire, his need for me was just as palpable as mine, when it was nudging me in the belly.
“Take me—”
“No.” His refusal was immediate and unflinching. “I can’t. I can’t give you what you want, Kami. I can’t be the person you deserve. Being anywhere near me … if you get hurt because of me…” He raised the hand still on my neck and lightly brushed back a lock of hair off my temple. “I can’t keep you, kitten.”
Whatever else he was going to say, whatever protest I could have made was silenced by the sound of voices approaching the back door. I felt the ghost of his fingers across my lips then he was gone, and I was left to put on the performance of a lifetime as my best friends barged into the room.
“Jesus Christ, Kami!” Kas cried, coming to an abrupt halt on the threshold, causing the other two to slam into her back. “Why are you just standing there in complete darkness?”
She slapped the light switch next to the door. I winced and shielded my eyes. Mostly because I didn’t want them to notice I’d been crying, but also, the harsh glow was blinding. I turned away and started in the direction of the broom closet.
“I broke the cup,” I rushed out. “I was just getting the broom.”
“Where?” Sasha asked.
I pointed in the direction of the fridge. “Be careful. It’s on the floor.”
“I’ll get the broom,” Kas offered as Sasha hurried to find the pile.
“I’ll get the trash,” Lavena supplied, moving towards the cupboard under the sink.
“We should use a box,” Sasha advised, already bent over the mess, long fingers plucking up the broken pieces. “It’ll go through the bag.”
Lavena didn’t pivot from her path. She rummaged through the cupboard and unearthed a box of sponges and a box of SOS pads. The pads were dumped in with the sponges and the newly empty SOS box was handed to the other woman. Kas returned with the broom and dustpan, and I stood there, watching them clean up my mess.
We retired to the plush sitting room once the glass was properly and responsibly dealt with. The ornate wood and glass coffee table was pulled out of the way and a makeshift bed was crafted on the floor with all the drinks and snacks piled on top. Sasha and Kas threw themselves down, each grabbing a bag of chips. I took a seat in my favorite armchair, a stiff piece of furniture with crushed velvet upholstery in burnt orange and fat buttons that always dug into my spine, but it was mine. Itwent with nothing else in the beige and black room and I knew Marcella hated the thing, but she let me keep it.
“Okay, so I’ve decided something.” Lavena passed around glasses of white wine before taking hers to the loveseat and flopping down. “But you can’t freak out.”
The three of us exchanged wary glances.
“What a way to keep us in suspense,” Kas muttered, raising her glass, and crossing her legs on the mound of blankets.
Sasha popped a chip into her mouth and chewed, eyebrows raised. “Well, I’m intrigued.”
“I’ve decided,” Lavena paused dramatically to peer into each of our faces, “we’re getting matching tattoos.”
No one spoke for a moment. We stared at the crazy pants in our midst with varying degrees of disbelief.
“Like real ones?” Sasha asked at last.
Lavena rolled her eyes. “Of course, real. Why would we get fake tattoos?”
“Why would we get real ones?” Kas countered.
“Because everyone got so weird with the whole exchanging blood incidents,” Lavena retorted.
Kas’s lips pursed. “You don’t say. Maybe you should have realized that before you cut my hand.” She held up her palm, thrusting the thin, white scar towards the blonde.
Lavena had the decency to grimace. “Okay, maybe that wasn’t my best idea at the time, but we were ten andMy Girlmade it seem cool.”
“So, you waited for me to slice open my hand before realizing, actually, I’m not doing that?” Kas cried. “It was your idea. You should have gone first. I had to get a tetanus shotandstitches!”
