Page 126 of Salacious Park Avenue Prince

Caleb groaned and rolled his head on the back of the couch to look at me. “Really? You call this being a good one?”

“Averygood one, yes.”

His eyes sparked with amusement as he stilled my foot. “Maybe he figures you’ll be less of a shit if we’re getting along.”

“You should’ve told him just how well we’re getting along. And how many times.”

“Have you told Vera?”

“Not yet.”

“Notyet?”

“What? You don’t think she’ll want all the juicy details?”

“Oh my God.”

I laughed at the horrified look on his face. “I’m kidding. We’re close, but not give-her-sex-details close.”

“Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if you did. You’ve never exactly been quiet about your sex life.”

“Just letting everyone know what a catch I am, can you blame me?”

Caleb’s lips twitched. “Not even a little bit.”

It was rare to find someone willing to accept all of you, quirks and all, but that was how it felt with Caleb, why I’d gravitated toward him right off the bat after meeting him, even though our friendship never should’ve worked. Why it had hurt so much when he wasn’t part of my life the last few years. I craved his acceptance. His opinion mattered more than anyone’s, and it’d been a stab in the gut every time he ignored me or glared my way.

That shit was never happening again, not if I could help it.

Leaning over, Caleb set his drink aside and picked up one of my discarded sketches. “I was wondering if you still did these.”

“Ugh, don’t look at that one.” I snatched it out of his hands, crumpled the paper into a ball, and tossed it across the room.

“Seriously, Travis?” He picked up another one. “If you hate it, why do you keep drawing the same design over and over?”

My jaw hit the floor. “The same design? I thought someone with such an expert eye would know the differencebetween disgusting and”—I flipped my sketchpad toward him—“perfection.”

Caleb frowned, glancing between the two like he couldn’t see any difference whatsoever, which would’ve made me lose all faith in his taste for fuck’s sake.“Ohh, I see it now. Gold not silver, right?”

I huffed. “I mean, it’s so obvious.”

“You’re right. This is trash.” He tore the paper in half, then into quarters, and tossed the pieces into the air.

“Smartass. You of all people should know it’s the details that matter.”

He shifted on the couch to face me and rested his arm along the cushion. Without his slouchy beanie, his brown hair was wild and sticking up in random places, though running my fingers through it was probably the biggest culprit. I couldn’t decide whether I liked the fact that he’d thrown on one of my vintage Queen t-shirts or if I hated that he wore any clothes at all.

Then again, he’d make the shirt smell as good as he did, so I’d be wearingthatto school tomorrow so he’d be all over me all damn day.

“I can’t wait to photograph some A-list celebrity in a Travis McKinney original. We’ll make that shit go viral.”

“Yeah?”

“Hell yeah. Who could you see wearing that one?”

“Me.” I glanced up from the drawing and winked. “But maybe someone else with a rock kind of vibe. One of those Fallen Angel guys, maybe.”

“Ooh yeah. Viper would kill in that. He scowls almost as well as you do.”

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