Page 51 of The Ones We Fight For

Will you pick Piper up at Amala’s? We’re watching reruns of the Bachelor and I’m unfortunately very entertained by this. I think one girl is about to curb stomp another girl, and I have to watch that.

Walker 4:13 PM

I will never understand the appeal. I get sucked into those crazy ER reenactments, though, so no shame. I’ll be there shortly. Hope it’s enough time for you to witness some girl on girl action. ;)

Talia 4:13 PM

You’re a perv.

Walker 4:14 PM

Always.

Chapter 18

Walker

“Surprise!”

Walker flinched as he entered Amala’s house. There was no need to perform his shock because not only was the volume of Jayla’s voice way louder than everyone else’s, but she had also jumped out toward him, decked out in full costume. Her face was painted like something straight out of a horror film, down to the fake blood dripping from her mouth, and the tattered white fabric she had draped over herself as a dress. She seemed rather pleased with Walker’s reaction, immediately breaking into a smile that showed off her fangs as she raised a high five to Cooper.

“Nice! I think you got him.” Cooper gave a hearty grin and smacked his hand against Jayla’s.

“Jayla, are you wearing vampire teeth and a sheet?” Pearl asked, mid-laugh.

“They said it was a surprise party.” Jayla spoke with a lisp, sucking in air to keep her fangs in place.

“What’s more surprising than a jumpscare?” Cooper agreed.

Since the first dinner party, Cooper and Jayla had been thick as thieves. Jayla looking like the Evil Dead was probably something they had planned together. She was always the ringleader, a firecracker of an eight-year-old who Walker was sure came up with the original plan. It worked, too. He was lucky he didn’t piss himself or reactively punch a child. All he really could do was thank their insanity for keeping him from revealing he already knew about the party.

“You got me. Great job!” Walker lifted both hands in defeat, a smile lighting up his face as he looked over to Amala and Roscoe. They grinned maniacally at him, pleased with their spawn’s performance.

Talia was laughing and clutching her heart beside Amala. Streamers hung overhead in a straight line leading to her, a guiding path that was completely unnecessary. Walker’s internal compass always found Talia at true north. There weren’t many people in the room, but even if she were thrust into a Where’s Waldo book, it would take him two seconds flat to pick her out of the crowd. She was a siren calling him to his death on the open sea.

“Hey,” Walker said, the corners of his mouth ticking up as he made his way over to her.

That’s all you got? “Hey?” Dumbass.

“Hey,” Talia replied. She gestured to the cake on the table beside her. “As it turns out, you also get real cake.”

“Tal wrote on the top,” Amala said quickly.

“Wow, way to throw me under the bus!” Talia complained.

The source of argument was clear when Walker leaned over the table to get a good look at the cake. He tipped his head slowly to read the letters traveling up the side. Even the chicken scratch of Talia’s attempt at writing made his insides heat up. It was perfect. The streamers, the cake, and the presents he could see lined up on the table next to the cake made him want to throw his arms around Talia and kiss her senseless. He sent up a silent prayer for her to stop being so thoughtful and sexy before he made a fool of himself. For the time being, his best option was to break the tension by teasing.

“You did that all by yourself, did you?”

“It’s pure art.” Talia nodded, a stubborn look behind her eyes.

Walker grinned. “In that case, we should probably ship this off to the Louvre. I’ve been hearing talk lately that they’re looking for the next great Mona Lisa.”

Talia shrugged, the hint of a smile on her lips. “I’m more of an abstract artist.”

Walker reached his index finger out to the cake, hesitating for just a moment before he decided he couldn’t help himself. Talia gasped when he dipped his finger into the frosting. He dragged it along the top of the cake until a sufficient amount had built up on his fingertip and turned toward Talia. With an innocent expression, he lifted his hand between them, displaying the frosting in all its glory.

“I’m more into pointillism,” he stated, quickly tapping his outstretched finger to Talia’s nose, where it left a dot of frosting behind.

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