“You’re going riding today?” I query, wishing circumstances were different so that I could go with him. Not only would I love to see Maxx Wright in his element, but I’d love a ride on the back of his bike … I mean, on my own bike. Maybe he could give me lessons or … something. Anything less disturbing than my brief, flickering fantasy of wrapping my arms around his middle and taking a ride.
He cringes just a bit, reaching up to scratch at the back of his head.
“I know it’s fucked, but my parents are on my ass; they don’t appreciate that I’m finishing the school year here instead of, like, actually at the university.” He offers me a pretty smile to make up for the perceived slight to Parrish. “Besides, I have to get on their good side. I need to convince them to let me keep the humping rabbit.”
“He jizzed all over Maxx this morning,” Chasm offers up from behind him, stuffing a small square of watermelon into his mouth. He talks while he chews sometimes. Well, more like mumbles around his food. It’s annoyed me when other people do that in the past, but not him for some reason. I actually find it … cute?
Then it hits me what he just said.
“Seriously?” I choke out, completely skeeved at the idea. I think it might be time to get poor GG neutered. X snorts as he stalks past me, this tall, imposing presence that I don’t even need to look at to appreciate; he has a strong, impactful aura about him.
“He didn’t jizz on me; he pissed on me,” X corrects as I look over and notice the varied assortment of foods on the table. Eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, toast, a bowl of fruit, orange juice. It’s a very pretty spread. Frankly, I can barely keep my eyes open. Giving Maxx a sidelong look, I try to imagine what it’d be like to be with someone who gets up early every day and enjoys cooking breakfast while simultaneously prepping himself for a day of riding bikes.
My heavy lids sag and I slap both hands against my face to wake myself up, cringing when I smack the splints of my broken fingers on accident. Where Maxx Wright gets his energy from, I have no idea. He really is perfect for Maxine. My sister’s an early riser, and she’s always puttering around doing something, always eager to go out on some adventure or another.
I wet my lips as Chas shrugs and slumps into a chair at the table. It’s just the three of us in here currently. No sign of Tess, Paul, or the other kids just yet.
“However it happened, it was hilarious,” Chasm continues, snacking on another piece of cubed watermelon from the bowl of fruit. His eyes shift over to mine, and my cheeks pinken slightly. He takes note even as he looks away, a small smirk claiming his lips for a brief moment. “All down his bare chest, soaking into his sweatpants.”
I try not to think too hard on that image—because of the rabbit pee as well as the memory of Maxx Wright’s naked chest—as I glance back at X.
He stuffs a piece of toast in his mouth, letting it hang out as he snatches a windbreaker off the chair next to me. In order to reach it, he actually has to reach around me, his arm brushing against mine and making me shiver.
“Glad you found it amusing,” he mumbles around the toast, pausing on his way out the door to take it from his mouth so he can point at Chasm with it. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours and then we’ll do our thing?”
Chasm lifts up a fist with his thumb up and X grunts, stuffing the toast back into his mouth before he takes off. He seems to realize something and scoots a few steps backward to look through the doorway. This time, it’s me he gestures at with his toast.
“I’ll see you later, Kota,” he says, and then he’s taking off again and disappearing into the garage.
I pull out the chair next to Chasm’s and sit down, our legs bumping together and giving me a wild thrill, one that stokes the heat between my thighs and makes me feel like a crazy person. Now that I’ve had sex, I just … kind of want to keep having sex. It’s fun. It feels good. It makes me feel close to Chasm.
And to Parrish.
“He likes you,” Chasm says, wrinkling his nose like he’s just bitten into something sour. The thing is, he isn’t eating anything at all right now. Apparently, it’s the idea of X liking me that’s given him that facial expression.
“Of course he likes me. We’re friends,” I say, reaching for the fruit bowl at the same moment that Chasm does. Our hands brush together and he catches my attention with his eyes again. Sometime last night, I fell asleep. When I woke up in the very early morning, I was alone, covered with my blankets, my Tess-phone recording from its tripod. It occurred to me then how ironic it was that I’d been using my phone to protect myself while the Slayer was happily watching me through that very same camera.
