Page 15 of Risking it All

Ah, who would want to kiss a girl with welts? I cursed the angry hives on my arm highlighted by the flickering flames. What was I going to do? Deny them? “My body is rejecting human interaction.”

“Yeah. It’s overrated.”

Very.

The roar of laughter from inside the house caught our attention and, through the large back kitchen window, I watched as Gianna stumbled into someone, cackled, and then fell onto the breakfast table. Drinks spilled onto the floor. She laughed harder. I winced.

“Did you come with Gianna?” Relic asked.

“Yup.” Lucky me. “She was my ride.”

“Looks like you got a free upgrade to designated driver.”

That was definitely not happening. “I don’t drive.” A better choice of words was “refused.” I hadn’t driven since February, but Relic didn’t need to know that. This twist in events meant I’d have to call my parents, which would lead to Dad going nuclear, and then the point of this entire night would be a waste. Well, almost a waste. Bantering with Relic was the most normal I’d felt in months. For a few seconds, I felt like…the old me? No, but close enough.

“Not driving sounds problematic,” Relic replied.

Yep, it definitely did.

“I’ll be back.” Relic entered the house, walked past Gianna who had staggered to her feet, and a sly smile emerged as he returned, leaving the backdoor wide open. Warm and fuzzies sprouted within me with his mischievous smile. It was the type of smile that meant belonging, like I was part of a fun secret, and I wanted in on that fun. I wanted in on anything that would not make me feel like me for five seconds.

“What did you do?” I asked.

Relic raised his fisted hand, and as he opened his fingers, Gianna’s keys dangled from his pinkie. My eyes widened in shock, and then he said, “Head’s up.”

I barely had enough time to react as he tossed the keys to me and I fumbled them, bouncing them around to make sure I didn’t drop them.

“Good catch.” Relic returned to sitting next to me, then gave me this nonchalant and sexy expression like he didn’t have a care. I envied him.

“Why did you take her keys?”

“I’ve seen Gianna at parties before, and she’s not a good judge of her own level of inebriation. She can’t drunkenly fight you on who should drive home if she doesn’t have her keys. Door’s open in case you don’t feel comfortable with me out here and you didn’t want to hurt my feelings by telling me to leave.”

I sat there paralyzed, stunned, and confused.

“You’re letting in a draft, Mazie Hutchinson. I’m assuming choosing out or in would be the proper decision.”

“That’s not my name.”

“Is Macie Hutchins the name you want?” he countered.

The question startled me, made my brain jump off the well-established track it had been on. I had always been Macie Hutchins. “You don’t name yourself.”

He gave a light shrug. “Maybe I did.”

Huh, interesting.

Other than that we went to school and had therapy together, I knew nothing about Relic Aslanov, so the safe thing would be to go back in. But then I whipped my head around when there came a crash of glass breaking from inside followed by Gianna’s loud laughter. Brayden drunkenly fell to the floor. Gianna stood over him and laughed as his body shook with chuckles. The welts itched. If I was making a bad decision and it turned out Relic was a psychotic kidnapper, we’d no doubt be recorded on someone’s doorbell camera as he stuffed me in a trunk so the cops would have someplace to start their search.

The cackling in the house grew as another crash happened, so I stood, closed the door, and rejoined Relic on the stairs. “How did you snag Gianna’s keys? They were in her pocket, and you barely went by her.”

“Don’t be impressed. A hippo in a rampage could have run her over and taken her keys, and she wouldn’t have noticed. Gianna can’t handle alcohol. Be prepared for her to pass out soon.”

“Did you miss where I said I can’t drive?”

“Still better for you than her to have those keys.”

True.

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