Page 93 of Better Hide

“Do you like him?” Cole asks again.

Jo’s smiling deeply now. “I’ve always wanted a dog.”

“I know.” Cole beams proudly.

Jo grins and smashes a kiss to Cole’s face.

That’s it. I can’t take it any longer. I grab my gift and try to escape barefoot, but the dog makes it hard.

“Where are you going?” Cole asks. “We just made dinner.”

“I made dinner. You got in the way.” Jo pulls away from him and looks at me. “Is that for me?”

My cheeks burn. I don’t want to give this to her. There’s no way it can compare to a fucking dog.

“Uh, yeah. But it’s nothing. It’s not the real gift.”

Behind Jo’s head, Cole arches an eyebrow.

“Okay…” Jo stands there awkwardly as I continue to hold her gift hostage. Fuck. I don’t want to. I snap out of it and practically throw it at her.

I need to do anything other than watch her, so I start serving the food. As the wrapping paper falls away, there’s silence.

My face burns even more. “It’s stupid. Just something dumb.”

Jo turns the plastic container over in her hand. “It’s…flowers?”

“Like I said, dumb.” I burn myself on a piece of melted cheese and hiss.

“No, these are…” I hear the plastic pop open, and she goes through all the layers. “Oh shit, these are edible?”

I don’t think my face can get any more red. “Uh, yeah.” I spent days researching the edible flowers that chefs use, then a few more finding them. It was hard, considering I don’t speak the language here and had no idea where to start. But I found quite a few and hid them in the fridge, all the way in the back, so they wouldn’t go bad.

Now, I realize how stupid it was. “It’s dumb, whatever.”

“No, it’s not! I love them.”

Still, I don’t look at her.

“Jayden.” A hand touches mine. I jump, looking at Jo, afraid of what I’ll see. Instead of mocking pity, I see appreciation. It’s hidden under hesitancy, but it’s still there.

Something warm blooms in my chest.

I clear my throat to get rid of the odd feeling. “Let’s eat.”

Dinner is good. Delicious, actually. I missed this. Missed Jo’s cooking and listening to her and Cole bicker back and forth. The dog lays on my feet the whole time. I try moving my feet from under him, but he keeps moving, laying his furry self on me, panting quickly.

I’m antsy. I see Cole getting excited, and I know he must have something up his sleeve. Sure enough, he returns with a package.

“Just something for you. From both of us.”

Jo turns a curious look at me. I feel the blood drain from my face.

Jo opens it, and instantly I recognize the shibari ropes. They’re pretty, with multiple ropes in different tones of blue.

I relax. I know this. This is familiar.

Jo laughs. “You gonna tie me up and fuck me silly?”

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