Page 36 of F*ck You

“Yeah? How so?”

I twisted the rag in my hands. “We kind of had a throw down in public earlier today. People clapped.”

“You didn’t tell me about that.”

“I didn’t think it was worth mentioning.”

He sighed and rubbed his forehead right above his eyes. “If you would have been here alone when she showed up, and you weren’t aware of it or prepared, she could’ve really hurt you.”

I tossed the rag into the sink and placed my hands on my hips as I turned to face him. “Look, I can handle myself, okay? I’ve done a pretty decent job at keeping myself alive this far.”

“Has anyone tried to kill you before?”

“Well, no.”

“Then that point is invalid. You never know what someone might be capable of, regardless of how strong you are.” He took a step forward and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me toward him. “I just want you to be safe, alright? I have no doubt you can protect yourself. You’re the toughest chick on the beach.” He placed a kiss on my lips. “Just be careful and watch your back.”

Lifting my arms, I locked my hands together behind his neck and gave him a kiss in return. “I’ll do my best to be safe, that’s all I can promise.”

“Good enough for me.”

We stood in the middle of the kitchen kissing away the late-night hours before I finally convinced him I would be alright. As much as I wanted to keep him here all to myself and stay wrapped in his arms while we slept, I knew he had some early morning lessons and tours that would extend well into the afternoon, and he needed to be able to get in some sleep. He took the screen door the rest of the way off and leaned it against a wall in an extra room with the promise to help fix it when he had the chance, and then left.

My phone buzzed a minute later, and I groaned when I picked it up. I’d left it here while I was out with him and, ignoring the calls and messages from my life back home, I smiled when I saw his name pop up.

Larsen: Goodnight, Starfish.

I sent a winking emoji and started up the stairs. After depositing my phone on the dresser, I changed into some comfortable pajama shorts and a tank top and pulled back the covers. I let out a scream when I saw what looked to be blood that formed the words, “Leave Them Alone.” Upon closer inspection, I realized it was only paint, and after calming my racing heart, I stripped the bed.

“Well, looks like he was right after all, there was a reason for this.” I looked over at my phone sitting on the dresser and bit my lip. He would want to know about this, but there wasn’t anything he could do right now, and calling him would only make tomorrow a rougher day for him. This could wait.

I deposited the sheets in the washer to run tomorrow and remade the bed. Right as I was getting ready to crawl in, a pounding on the front door downstairs startled me, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

“What in the fucking hell?” It was barely one in the morning, who would be knocking on the door at this hour? Making my way downstairs, I picked up the knife again. It wouldn’t be the person who broke in, since I was pretty sure they didn’t knock the first time they busted their way inside. Better safe than sorry though.

I unlatched the door and opened it, tossing the knife in front of me as a fist came down again.

“Shit! Sorry, sorry.” Chase took a step back with his hands up. “I didn’t realize the door was opening.” He looked at the knife and then at me. “Are you alright?”

“What are you doing here?” I rolled my eyes and set the knife on the counter. Chase closed and locked the door behind him as he followed me in.

“Larsen sent me a text about what happened. It woke me up, and as soon as I saw it, I came running over.”

He was in pajama bottoms and he was missing a shirt. Even his feet were bare. His dark flowing hair was the most adorable mess, and for a moment I hated his perfect locks. I bet he never fully experienced real bed hair. His eyes had bags beneath them, and I wasn’t sure he was even fully awake yet.

“I’m okay. There was a break-in, but they didn’t take anything. Not that I even had much for them to take in the first place.” Luckily, my money and anything really valuable was all at Larsen’s at the time.

Worry drifted out of him and was replaced by a mixture of relief and exhaustion. “That’s good. Was there anything else they did? Any damage?” He ran his hand down his face, trying to wipe the sleep away. “We don’t normally have break-ins here, so this is all rather new.”

I thought about the sheets in the washer and thought better of it. There was no need to worry him either, not any more than he already was. I could tell them both later if needed.

“No, not really. I’m good. I was just about to get in bed when you showed up.”

His hand rubbed the back of his neck, and he gave me a sympathetic smile, his blue eyes shining bright through the sleep. “Ah, sorry about that.”

“It’s not a problem.”

Neither of us moved, both of us waiting for the other one to say something next.

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