Page 49 of A Taste Of Darkness

My shoes fell off her feet pretty easily, and I had to suppress a chuckle from slipping out as I realized that she wouldn’t have made it a single step without losing them.

Though my socks were drenched, I still slipped back into my shoes.

Sterlie shrieked, a little delayed, mind you, but I suppose she ended up realizing that she was no longer standing on her feet. “MILO!”

“Yes, cuore mio?” I smiled to myself, but as soon as I took a step and the skirt of Sterlie’s dress rose, my face snapped back to default. Without thinking, I pulled on the lowest part of her dress and held it down so no matter what, it stayed where it was supposed to stay.

I didn’t think she noticed.

“The world is upside down,” Sterlie laughed. I could feel her hands stroke down my back, but I wasn’t prepared for the moment she laid them right on my ass, squeezing.

She giggled when I flinched in surprise. “Wow, your ass is like suuuppperrr…” Sterlie squeezed my ass again, but this time I was prepared for it and simply continued walking down the street. “Wow.”

“Super wow, noted.”

Her hands were on the move again, this time inspecting every inch of the back of my thighs. “Do you work out? You feel like you work out regularly. Do you think your legs will still feel like this when the world turns back upside-right? Upside-up? Upside-down-down? What?”

“Probably,” I replied, refraining from laughing for her own sake. There was no way she would remember tonight, and frankly, I wasn’t sure she was going to like it.

“Oh, my God!” Sterlie gasped. “Do you have a girlfriend? It’s weird that I touched your ass, isn’t it? I kind of want to do it again, though, your ass is really… firm. Like jiggly but not really. I think you have a bubble-butt, but I have to see it to be a hundred percent sure. You’d be the perfect model for my next fashion line. I’ve been looking for bubble-butt guys, you know? Don’t ask me why, because I don’t know either. I just think their measurements are different? I just want to see for myself, you know?”

We rounded a corner, and I was a little hesitant when I noticed how dark this alley was. It was always this dark because it lacked lanterns, but it was different back when I had nothing to fear.

I wasn’t scared of the darkness, or what lingered in it. I was cautious and alert. If it wasn’t for that bundle of drunk joy on my shoulder, it would’ve been far less scary.

“So yeah, anyway, do you have a girlfriend?” Sterlie asked again. “Wait, no, you don’t. I know you don’t.”

“How would you know?” She was right, of course, but I couldn’t remember ever explicitly telling her I didn’t. I mentioned that I didn’t have time for love, but that was weeks ago.

“Because no girlfriend would allow their handsome as balls boyfriend to go on a month-long trip with a random girl,” she said, slurping on her words. “And I think your security at Tartarus would know, so they wouldn’t have fallen for my lie.”

All pretty good reasons, if I was being honest. “Handsome as balls?”

Judging from the movement I felt, I assumed she was nodding. “Balls are handsome. Not like… balls, you know? But balls. Cookie balls. Pink cookie balls.”

Not once in my twenty-five years had I heard of cookie balls, but at this point, I was over questioning Sterlie and her broad, drunk fantasies.

“But if you do have a girlfriend, then tell me now because I want to have a serious talk with her.”

“Why?” I found myself asking, just as I finally gathered some courage to make our way down that dark alley.

“Because you once asked me how you could become someone worthy of my time, I think? And why would you ask that if you weren’t hopelessly in love with me?” She hiccupped. “Not in love, in love. Because you can’t be in love with me yet. You don’t even know me. Hey, have you ever thought about kissing?”

My head shook, my mind filled with confusion and amusement. Chuckles lingered in my throat, ready to break free, but I refused to laugh at someone who very obviously lacked the ability to sort her thoughts right now.

Actually, I refused to laugh at Sterlie.

“In general?” I inquired.

I wasn’t sure if she nodded or shook her head, I couldn’t tell from her movements this time. Thankfully, she gathered using her voice was a great idea. “Me. Have you ever thought about kissing me?”

Have I ever thought about kissing her? Only about a million times a week ever since I was fourteen.

“I think, if I wasn’t me, I would want to kiss me. I think I’m very pretty, and if I didn’t know me, I would want to get to know me, you know? Is that weird? Am I weird?”

“You are drunk,” I said, refusing to answer either of her questions.

“I am drunk,” Sterlie confirmed. “And you’re handsome as balls.”

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