Page 33 of Twisted Attraction

“Let me remind you that our healthcare system is shit and that money doesn’t grow on trees. That lotion costs a pretty penny even with my insurance, which is damn good, by the way.”

“But are you doing it consistently? Are you using it when you really need it the most?”

He looked away from me.

“God damnit, Peter!”

“It’s not like I can just keep caking the shit on my skin, Char. I’ve been portioning to make it last as long as I can. Unless you’re willing to rob countless pharmacies or can miraculously produce the money to keep me stocked long-term, then there’s nothing I can do. I wish the doctor would just prescribe me a year supply instead of forcing me to do this month-by-month bullshit.”

A faint sound met the air, almost like a snore. Peter and I both whipped around to the living room to find Blaire passed out on the couch, her head on the arm rest and her mouth open wide.

Well, shit. That was fast.

“Damnit, Blaire,” I muttered.

“Problem?”

“No, not really, I guess. I just wasn’t planning on having her stay overnight.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to wait and do this another time? I mean, you pretty much know what to expect and what’ll happen if he violates the restraining order. There’s nothing really more I can tell you that you don’t already know.”

“I’d like to go over it one last time, just so I know exactly what my options are, and what to do just in case Karl decides to do something stupid again. I’m not saying he will. I have a feeling he’ll listen this time around, especially now that he has to walk around with a computerized tracker locked around his ankle. I’d rather be safe than sorry, that’s all.”

“Okay,” Peter nodded, offering me a kind smile. “We can do that.” Without touching the bags, he shifted his head forward and kind of eyed around what he could see of the contents, licking his lips. “I’m so sorry to ask, but is there any way I could maybe have some of whatever that is? I skipped lunch today and I’m starving.”

I chuckled and walked over to the cabinet, grabbing a plate for him. “I’ll make you something while the lotion dries. Blaire didn’t exactly know what I liked Chinese wise, so she kind of went a little crazy. Hell, if you want, you can take some of it home with you. There’s no way I’ll be able to eat all of it, and I doubt Blaire will either.”

“Yeah, I’ll take some home with me.”

“Good.” It took me a few minutes but once I was done, I moved his briefcase off the island and sat his food down in front of him. “Dinner is served, my friend.”

thirteen

Spike

“There’s no fucking way.”

Phoenix gaped between me and the index cards, his lips parting wider and wider the longer he stared at them. Work had been rough these last few days, but thankfully we both landed the day off and decided to spend most of it sleeping and the rest of it watching football and getting plastered at my place.

“Why are you just now telling me about this?”

“Because I wasn’t going to at first,” was my blunt response.

His brows lifted in frank surprise at the guilt staring at him through my dark eyes.

“You’re not the only one involved with her, so, I changed my mind. It wasn’t fair hiding it from you, and I’m sorry I did.”

I took a swig from my beer and swallowed it down, sighing.

“I panicked. The moment I realized Eve was Charlotte… I really didn’t know what to do, how to react, anything. Fuck, I’m still having a hard time getting around the shock of it all.”

“God damnit,” Phoenix whispered. He’d just double checked the number in his phone and found it was a perfect match.

Eve was Charlotte. Charlotte was Eve.

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, FUCK!

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