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She held out the bag to me.
“You look real damn pleased with yourself,” I told her.
“Oh, I am,” she replied.
I opened the bag and pulled out a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve—15 Year. This shit ran close to three grand. I jerked my gaze back up to look at her in shock. I knew exactly how much she made a week. She was working at the boutique in town that my mother owned.
“You got me Pappy’s?” I asked.
She held up the two glasses. “I might have designed a boho wedding dress for a girl at school, whose brother-in-law is a higher-up at the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky. I clearly didn’t pay what you’re thinking. Not that I don’t love you that much, but because I have to pay rent and all.”
She placed the two glasses on the coffee table in front of me. “Let’s drink to twenty.”
Then, she sank down onto the sofa beside me, curling her legs underneath her. “Now, pour us some Pappy’s.”
I opened the bottle and gave Genesis her two-finger pour while I was more generous with myself. Turning back to her, I handed her the glass and then picked up mine. We tapped the glasses together, the clink filling the room, because that made my girl smile.
Genesis said, “To twenty. May it be the best year yet.”
I watched her take a sip from the glass and wondered what it would take to convince her not to go back to Savannah in the fall. It was selfish of me, and I knew I’d never let her give up her dream, but, fuck, I missed her like crazy. This past year with her away at college had sucked. I hated it.
Putting the glass to my lips, I tried to push aside thoughts of the future and enjoy tonight.
“Which movie first, birthday boy?” she asked. “The Conjuring, Poltergeist, or Scream?”
I rested my head on the back of the sofa and turned to look at her. “Those are my options?”
She nodded. “Yes. I’ve seen those enough that they no longer scare me. And I live alone, so nothing new that can cause me to lose sleep. Going next door to my parents’ isn’t happening either.”
I reached over and grabbed her chin. “But you have me. A Lord of the Underworld to keep you safe.”
She tilted her head and gave me an amused smirk. “Yes, but you are only staying tonight. What happens tomorrow night when I need to pee and I’m too scared to go to the bathroom? Call Mom and ask her to come over and watch me?”
I laughed because she wasn’t exaggerating. I knew this to be fact. “No, you call me, and I’ll come running.”
“And if you’re in the process of getting busy at the time? I might pee my pants before you can get here.”
I let go of her chin and rolled my eyes. “You know the moment you call, I’ll drop what I’m doing.”
Genesis took a sip from her glass and studied me for a minute. “Okay, fine. What movie do you want to watch? I’ll be brave.”
I leaned forward and took the bowl of popcorn and a brownie, then sat back, handing the brownie to her. “The Conjuring,” I replied with a wink.
Taking her brownie, she shook her head, smiling at me as she settled in close to my side, pointing the remote at the television. “You just like getting me worked up,” she said.
“Always have, Baby Doll. You’re fucking adorable when you get all stressed.”
One
Kye—Twenty-One Years Old
June 1
I bent down to pick up my keys, placing a hand on the door to steady myself. Swaying, I caught myself before I fell over. Fucking hell, the keys were moving. I squinted hard and tried to focus. Slowly, I reached down and grabbed the keys. Success. Standing back up, I managed to find the right key and jam it into the lock on the door.
When the door swung open, the sweet smell of Genesis hit me, and, damn, I loved it when she made my childhood home smell like her in the summers. Stepping inside, I grinned, then stumbled and had to grab on to the side table by the door to keep from pitching forward. I should have stopped after the fifth shot of tequila. But those tits with that little shot glass between them had been too fucking tempting.
“Honey, I’m home,” I called out, dropping the keys and hearing them clatter to the floor.
Silence.
I made my way to the living room. It was dark. Where the hell was Genesis? It was my birthday. Leaning against the wall, I groaned as things began to spin. Slapping my hand around until I found the light switch, I slowly opened my eyes against the sudden brightness. Maybe I should have left the lights off.
