Page 160 of Cross Checked
Holy shit, I needed that sound.
“I want them to be there when we you tell your family,” I said.
The laugh faded, but she didn’t pull away.
“With my family?” She laughs.
“Yeah.”
“You want to bring the Fury to my family meeting?”
“Not the Fury. My guys.”
“That distinction feels fake.”
“It isn’t.”
Her mouth twisted like she wanted to argue, but the exhaustion won. “My brothers are going to be insane.”
“I know.”
“My dad is going to cry.”
“I know.”
“Ryker might actually commit a felony before you get the chance.”
“I’ll calm him down.”
That made her turn her head enough to look at me. “You?”
“I said what I said.”
“You are not the felony prevention guy.”
“I can be situationally mature.”
Her eyes narrowed. “That sounds fake too.”
“It is mostly untested.”
Her laugh was quiet, but it was real, and when she rolled onto her back, I moved with her until I was braced over her, one forearm beside her head, my body covering hers without putting my weight fully on her.
She looked up at me, hair spread across the pillow, eyes red from crying, mouth still curved like she couldn’t believe we were joking in the middle of all of this.
That was her though. That was the thing I understood now more than ever. Bliss didn’t laugh because things were easy. She laughed because sometimes that was the only way she could keep breathing.
“You know what’s annoying?” I asked.
“Your face?”
“My face is one of your favorite things.”
“I have never said that.”
“You stare.”
“You loom. My eyes are victims.”
