Page 20 of Pretty Little Shadow
"After the pasta. It'll fix things."
"Pasta doesn't fix things."
He turned on a mystery TV show. I spun my barstool around, watching the pair of detectives solve a mystery I already knew the answer to. I’d watched it with him a few times before. It had been our comfort show, when I lived with him.
When Grayson gave me a bowl of pasta, I ate way too much.
I felt a lot hungrier than I usually did. I was refusing to admit to myself that it might have something to do with the hot-blooded male I'd fed from the night before.
Unfortunately, the pasta did make everything feel just a little more manageable.
Grayson's phone rang while I was scraping sauce out of the bowl with my spoon to buy myself more time. Eventually, I knew I would have to do something about my Darius situation.
Grayson glanced at the screen. The way he looked at me after he did told me who was calling.
When he answered, he put it on speaker.
"Hey, Darius."
"Hey, man. Is Rae with you?"
Grayson looked at me again.
I gave a reluctant nod.
"Yeah, she's here."
"Is she okay? It seemed like she didn't realize what the mark was until I told her."
"She didn't, but she's fine. Just needed food."
"I would've fed her."
I rolled my eyes.
"She wants to know what your plan is," Grayson said. "Can I tell her?"
"Just pass her the phone."
Grayson lifted an eyebrow at me.
I sighed loudly, but took it, turning it off speaker and lifting it to my ear.
"What?" I asked.
"Hey, baby."
"Don't call me that." My chest fucking ached with the way he said it. I should've hated it, but I didn't. "Did you know before we made the bargain?"
"No, but you're the first person I've been genuinely interested in for as long as I can remember. I thought it was a possibility, but I didn't let myself consider that it might work out."
"Why not?"
"Am I on speaker?"
"No. Not anymore." I glanced at Grayson.
He pointed to his spare room in question, and I nodded. With my permission, he walked away, giving us a little more privacy.
