Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 120475 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 602(@200wpm)___ 482(@250wpm)___ 402(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120475 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 602(@200wpm)___ 482(@250wpm)___ 402(@300wpm)
Then she waves a fluttering hand. “I mean, I can’t anyway until this stalker thing calms down.”
I pat her awkwardly on the shoulder. Am I… comforting someone? “I trust Isaak. He’ll keep you safe.”
Quinn slides shots into our hands. “Slippery nipple. Bottoms up.”
I slam mine back, enjoying the warm burn. “Aye!”
Quinn and Anna do the same, and finally, finally, Kira downs hers, only to start coughing and sputtering like she just swallowed pure lava.
I laugh so hard that I nearly fall off my stool. Now this—this is what I needed.
Maybe I don’t need my brother’s approval. Maybe I don’t need the past to stop hurting. Maybe I just need… this.
Then I shake my head.
Nah.
“Shut up, shut up!” Quinn hisses, waving her next shot in the air. “Jinx and Gemini are on stage. I want to support them.”
I look up to see Jinx bending Gemini over a spanking bench, a wicked-looking leather whip in hand.
“Jesus,” I whisper.
“I know,” Quinn breathes, eyes glinting as she hurries back toward the lounge.
Kira follows her, and I’m about to when Anna suddenly grabs my forearm.
I look at her questioningly, but she just keeps tugging on my arm as she nods toward a hallway, quickly glancing back at Domhnall. I do, too. His attention is momentarily taken by what’s happening on stage, so Anna tugs me even more urgently until I turn back and follow her out of the main room.
“What’s up?” I ask.
Anna just shakes out her shoulders and her hair like she’s shuddering. “Fuck, it’s exhausting when I pretend to be her. She’s such a fucking Pollyanna.”
My eyes widen. “Mads?”
Oh, yay, I love it when Mads pops out. I like Mads. Mads is fun.
She nods as she breathes and slouches against the wall, eyes sliding my way. “Hey. Missed you, kid.”
A million questions clog my throat, all of them fighting to be first. What manages to stumble out is, “How come you’re here?”
She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a joint, rolling her shoulders as she lights up.
I laugh in surprise. “You can’t smoke in here!”
“Eh, who’s gonna stop me?”
“Caleb, for one. He lost his shit when I brought weed brownies in here once.”
She barks out a laugh. “Everybody plays by the rules so hard around here.” She takes a long drag, her head sinking back against the wall as she exhales through her nose.
“Why’d you text me?”
Because now, of course, I realize it was her, not Anna.
She turns her head lazily toward me and grins before bumping my shoulder with hers. “I meant it. I missed you, kid.” She takes another long inhale, holding the smoke in her lungs before blowing it out slowly. “Plus, all Domhn’s friends fucking hate me. But they love Anna.” She rolls her eyes. “You’re the only one I can talk to. A bitch needs some friends out here, ya know?”
I do, more than she knows.
“I am your friend,” I assure her automatically. “You can always text or call me to hang out or just, ya know, talk.”
She nods. “That’s good to know, kid.”
She stubs the joint out on the bottom of her shoe, then turns to face me more directly. “I always wondered about you, you know? I wanted to meet you so bad… back then.” A shadow crosses her face, but she shrugs it off quickly like it was never there. Like nothing in the world could touch her. “But I never wanted any of that shit to get to you, so whenever Domhn suggested we go back to his place, I always made up an excuse.”
Then she reaches out and grabs my face under the chin, her eyes locking on mine. “But that doesn’t mean I didn’t dream about meeting you, ya know? You’ve always been the most important thing to him. And that makes you important to me. You understand? I want to know you. I want us to be friends.”
“I’m your friend,” I assure her again, reaching up to grasp her forearm, squeezing it while I look back into her intense gaze. “I swear it, Mads. Whatever you need, I’m there.”
She grins and lets go of my chin, then noogies the top of my head with her fist. “Yeah, I knew you would be.”
“Hey,” I laugh and pull back, hands going to my carefully arranged hair. “You’ll mess up my hair.”
She rolls her eyes. “It’s time to let go of the pigtails, honey.”
“Never! They’re my signature. Plus, they’re sexy.”
“To creepy perverts.”
“What if I like creepy perverts?” I waggle my eyebrows. “Maybe I am a creepy pervert.”
She chuckles in that low way of hers that’s so different from Anna’s laughter. “I always knew we’d be two peas in a pod.” She holds out the joint to me. I’ve just taken it and am leaning in for her to light me up when a loud voice booms down the hall.