Page 106 of Unwrapping Deviance

“Did they break your kneecaps?” I tease.

“Worse!” His amber eyes snap to mine. “They knocked everything off my table. Staring straight into my eyes as they did it. It was so aggressive.”

I can barely walk, my sides burning.

“Stop! I can’t anymore.”

Christian gives his head a slow shake. “Good because I don’t think you want to hear about the mouse in my bed.”

I howl. “You’re lying!”

Both hands go up in the air. “Swear to God. There was a bloody mouse in my bed when I woke up one morning. A message, clearly.”

Sniffling and wiping my eyes with the hem of his top, I shake my head.

“The whole building lives in constant fear.”

“You can always move,” I point out.

He captures my fingers and threads them with his. Such a simple and smooth gesture I almost don’t notice.

“Lord Whiskers has felines everywhere. I’m not safe anywhere.”

“Oh my God,” I groan, laughing.

“Besides, if I move, it would have to be for a really good reason, good enough to give up my favorite bakery downstairs.”

A group of teenagers bolt out of the wooded area, screaming profanities as they hose each other down with water pistols. One trips trying to shoot another over his shoulder. He smacks into the grass, gun tumbling out of his reach. The others shriek and laugh, and run, leaving him there.

“Assholes!” the boy screams after them, laughing as he pushes to his feet, grabs his weapon and chases after the group.

“Miss those days?” I tease Christian who’s watching after them with a tilt in his lips.

He scoffs. “I’m not much of a runner. Daniel was the athletic one.”

I narrow my eyes. “Let me guess, you were in a band.”

Christian barks a laugh. “I can’t play an instrument either. No, my area of expertise lay behind the gym.”

My eyes widen. “Oh.”

Why didn’t that surprise me? Of course he would be the one fucking girls behind the school.

“That was a judgy gasp. Only thing missing is you clutching your metaphorical pearls.”

I chuckle. “Sorry. It’s just the kids at my school usually just went to the abandoned truck stop outside the city to do that.”

Christian stops walking to face me, eyes narrowed suspiciously. “We smoked weed, little miss judgy.”

My face scorches up to my burning eyeballs. “Oh!”

He closes the two steps between us in one and I’m forced to tilt my head back to peer into his beautiful face.

“What did you think we were doing, Mira?”

I try to drop my gaze but his fingers are around my chin, holding me captive.

“I wasn’t thinking anything...” I let my gaze flick to the side. “The boys are back with the guns!”

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