Page 33 of The Hunt of Night

“Agreed. Now, help me set this stuff up.” She sweeps her hand over the bed, indicating the bags she brought in, and I nod, silently following her order.

Strangely, it’s almost therapeutic handing the reins over to someone else, not having to think as she throws an array of items at me, specifying exactly where she wants them.

Throws and fluffy pillows scatter across my bed, adding a splash of pastel yellow and lilac to the otherwise ‘morgue-like’ room. She strategically lays out face masks, hand masks, and even feet masks on my nightstand while I pile chips, candy, and popcorn in the middle of the bed, ready for us to dive into.

What catches me by surprise the most is the small white box she sticks to my ceiling. Before I can question her on it, the familiar menu screen ofThe Officeprojects onto my far wall.

“Wow.”

“Right? This was Arlo’s idea. I think it’s because he thought it might earn him an invite,” she states with a roll of her eyes.

“Poor guy. Excellent idea, though.” I take stock of my room. It barely looks familiar, especially as she closes my window, draws my curtains closed, and drapes a string of fairy lights over them. “Is there anything you didn’t think of?”

“Food, but Brody said he would bring pizza.”

As if hearing her admission, a knock sounds from my door. Pressing my lips together, I edge toward it with caution, finding a stack of four pizza boxes thrust in my direction. Brody’s head appears over the top with a nervous smile on his lips.

“I wasn’t sure what to get, so I got you a mixture,” he explains, shoving them closer.

“Thank you.”

“It’s just pizza,” he mutters, his nerves still visible in his eyes.

“Not just for that.”

His smile spreads further across his face, victory flashing in his eyes, and it’s the sexiest I think he’s ever looked. Leaning forward, trying to avoid crushing the pizza boxes, my lips press against his without a single thought.

It’s small, but the warmth that explodes through my body is huge.

His hand cups my cheek, burning me even brighter, but all too quickly, he takes a step back.

“Have fun, Dagger,” he breathes, offering me a salute before he disappears from view.

Balancing the pizza boxes with one hand, my fingertips ghost over my lips as I stare at the empty spot.

“Stop hoarding the pizzas,” Flora hollers, pulling me back to the present.

Kicking the door shut behind me, I slump on the bed, strategically placing the pizza boxes between us. I reach for aslice of classic margherita while Flora delves into the meat feast. We’re three slices deep when she clears her throat.

“So, who wants to go first?” She clicks a remote, starting the next episode ofThe Officeas I point at her.

“You. Definitely you. You’re always here for me, and I want to offer you the same.”

She gives me an appraising look. “Who knew you could be so cute and sweet under all of that harsh exterior?” she muses, earning a glare, but she doesn’t acknowledge it.

“Don’t tell anyone,” I relent, making her snicker.

“Pinky swear.” Silence descends over us as she looks off toward the twinkling lights. It takes everything in me to remain quiet, giving her a moment to think until she finally blurts it out. “He kissed me.”

My eyebrows rise. “Arlo?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s fantastic, right?” They’re step-siblings, long in love before their parents decided to start bumping uglies, and that’s not her fault.

She shrugs. “I don’t know. In the moment, it was everything; even now, my body reacts to the memory, but just as quickly as it started, it stopped. He left immediately and hasn’t spoken a word about it, and I don’t really know what to do.” That little shit.

“I’ll fight him.”

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