Page 22 of Stitches

It worried me.

I thought everything was OK after leaving the facility, but he avoided me like the plague. I also didn’t have my own room, which I was desperate for. I liked my solitude sometimes, and I wanted to paint. For now, I just slept in Church’s room in bed with him. Sometimes I was allowed to go with Ashes to his room, but it was a rarity as well.

“I’ve never been with more than one guy at a time,” she continued. She cocked her head thoughtfully. “Well, there was this one time at Holly Randall’s. Remember Holly? Cheerleader. Bitch who stole my boyfriend from me last year? Anyway, me and Jason were hot and heavy and Darren. . . remember Darren?”

I blinked at her. I vaguely remembered him. My time in school wasn’t spent paying attention to many people. They were never kind to me. I was the weirdo everyone whispered about. I hadn’t liked it, but then again, who would? It wasn’t that I focused on my feelings over it really. It was because it caused Cady to lash out and fight more than she should. I always felt guilty over it. At some point, I had to figure out a way to repay her for all the ass-kickings she gave to people over the years on my behalf.

“I’m taking that as a yes,” she said. “So. Darren came into the room when Jason and I were getting busy. He watched.” She waggled her brows at me. “He was so cute too. I wished he’d have joined or that I’d had the lady balls to invite him.”

She let out a sigh, a dreamy look on her face like she was reliving the moment. Finally, she looked at me, her eyes sparkling.

“So. What’s it like?”

“You ever get a birthday party where there are a bunch of different desserts and you have room to eat them all? And they’re the best sweets you’ve ever had?” Ashes came in and sat next to me on the couch and dragged me into his arms. The smell of his cologne mixed with smoke clouded my senses when I snuggled into his hold.

“It’s like that,” he finished. “Or I assume it is.”

“So you think you’re a delicious dessert?” She raised her brows at him. “If you were cake, Asher, what flavor would you be?”

“I’d like to think I’m chocolate,” he said, kissing the top of my head. “With whipped chocolate frosting and chocolate sprinkles. And probably a layer of whipped chocolate between the layers. Or something fruity since I’m here. Maybe like a cherry or something.”

Cady chuckled and shook her head at him.

I went up and kissed his cheek, making him grin down at me.

“What kind of cake would you be?” he asked her.

She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know. I’m more of a pie person.”

Ashes rolled his eyes. “Fine. What pie flavor are you then?”

“Razzleberry.”

“What the fuck is a razzleberry?” Church came into the room and motioned for her to move away from me so he could sit on my other side. She rolled her eyes at him and slid over to another leather cushion. He immediately put my feet on his lap and began rubbing them. The move made me smile inside. Church was sweet when he wanted to be. He’d told me about fucking me while I was under my meds. I knew he’d done it because I’d awoken all sore down there. While it frightened me that I could sleep through it on my meds, I trusted Church to take care of me when he did it. I didn’t hate it, even though every moral part of my body screamed at me that I should.

He looked relieved when I’d kissed him gently and squeezed his hand after telling me.

“It’s blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries,” Cady said. “It’s crazy.”

“Makes sense since you’re a crazy bitch,” Church muttered.

I frowned. He noticed because he brought my foot to his mouth and kissed the top as a means to apologize to me for saying that about Cady. Of course, he didn’t offer her an apology.

“It’s fine, Rina. I am crazy.” Cady grinned at me, knowing me well. “He doesn’t offend me like he thinks he does.”

“Guess I’ll try harder,” Church said.

“By all means.” She opened her arms wide, inviting his insults.

He smirked and said nothing, which offered me some comfort.

“What flavor cake are you?” Cady prompted, staring at Church.

“I’m not cake.”

She rolled her eyes. “Come on. Don’t be a shit. Play the damn game. You’re vanilla, aren’t you?” She gave him a look that clearly meant she was teasing him.

He narrowed his eyes at her. “The last fucking thing I am is vanilla, Claws.”

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