Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57707 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57707 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
Despite everything, it feels so, so good. I can still taste her on my lips. I did the right thing when I sent her away, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to taste her again.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
MAYA
Isit on the back porch, Luna sleeping in my arms, the little wiener dog on her back and smiling contentedly as I stroke her belly. On the table, my bank app shows a month’s payment has gone into my account. It’s better than I ever could’ve hoped for.
He’s changing my life, but he looked at me like I was radioactive when I left, almost like he was scared of me—of that kiss and what we shared.
Riley laughs as she runs around the yard, Loki yapping as he chases after her. “You’re getting paid for this?” she giggles, clutching onto the railing.
She was up until four a.m. last night. She’s still drunk, and maybe something else, something more, but it’s not her fault that jackass drugged us.
“I guess so,” I say in disbelief.
Riley walks onto the back porch and sits next to me. “I never should’ve taken us to that party. Seriously. I thought I knew Matteo. I thought it was all a big game.”
I sigh. “So did I. We’ve done stuff like this before when we were kids. Maybe we thought it was going to be the same. It was magical at first.”
“Wasn’t it?” Riley says eagerly. “When I saw you in that art room, you had this look on your face … like you were lost, and you liked it. That was awesome to see.”
I smile. “That’s what it felt like. It was interesting in there, and there was that pad. When I wrote home, it showed me the prettiest place.”
“A high-rise in Tokyo?”
“No, more of a white-picket-fence deal.”
“And that’s a good thing?” she sighs. “Seriously, I’m sorry. It doesn’t cut it. It doesn’t even come close, but it’s the truth for what it’s worth. I’ve been the world’s shittiest friend.”
“You didn’t know they were going to …” I swallow, “ … do what they did.”
Over the day, the memories have been returning. The three kids they dragged out, trying to get Tristan to hurt them, but he wouldn’t do it. He would never do something like that, even if he clearly works with them.
“At least you’re okay,” she says.
“At least you are, too.”
“It wasn’t me that creep Carlo has his eye on. Still, Tristan put him in his place. He was so protective over you.”
“I can hardly remember any of it,” I murmur, half lying. It’s hazy, but I remember the flood of feeling rushing into me when he climbed the railing, standing over me, making sure I was okay.
“He’s a good person. He doesn’t have to do this for me. Maybe that’s why we …” I swallow, wondering if I should say it. Suddenly, it’s like we’re high schoolers again, and Mom will come out here with a smile, asking if we want some lemonade. “Kissed.”
Riley gasps. “You kissed him?”
“We kissed each other,” I say. “It was weird. It didn’t feel like one of us did it; it was more like we both did it. I know how that sounds.”
“It sounds romantic,” Riley says fiercely. “It sounds … like you’re making me jealous. If this can come out of last night, then maybe it’s not all bad.”
“This,” I repeat. “It’s not anything concrete. It’s not anything real. We kissed, but then he seemed to want nothing to do with me. That’s what I should want, too.”
“Why would you want that?” Riley says. “You deserve happiness, too.”
“Don’t be dramatic,” I say, winking at her. “To be or not to be, that is … Wait, what’s the question again?”
“Ha, ha, ha,” she says, rolling her eyes. “I get it. You don’t want to talk about it because then you have to think about it. You have to think about it working.”
“We’ve both got Devil’s Breath coming out our asses. I’m not making any decisions about anything right now.”
“That’s fair,” Riley says. “I need to relax.”
“Maybe you do,” I tell her. “All the partying … Look where it led us. I don’t think it’s your fault. We’re both our own people. We’re responsible for where we go, for what we do, but—”
“You’re right,” she says quickly. “I know you are. I’m going to make a change. I can’t keep going on like this. I’d never forgive myself if I got you hurt. I couldn’t even believe when you wanted to be friends with me.”
“Don’t be silly.”
“Seriously …”
We pause as Luna wriggles out of my lap, hopping down and into the yard. Loki immediately starts sniffing after her.
“I used to walk by the library and see you reading all those books, and I knew you were smart. Thoughtful. I liked to think I was like that, too, but it was hard to know. People laughed if I talked about books.”