Page 91 of Levee

“I can—“ I started.

“Nope,” Rynn cut me off. “He won’t let you. Might as well settle in, Jade. He’s all about the pamper.”

“She’s not wrong,” Teddy agreed, reaching to remove his hat.

“An ice pop would be great. I can eat it in the kitchen, though,” I said, moving to stand.

“No, stay,” Teddy insisted. “Rest.”

“How is he single?” I whispered to Rynn when Teddy was out of earshot.

“I know, right?” she asked. “One of life’s many mysteries.”

Teddy was back just two minutes later, bringing not only an ice pop in a fine china bowl, but two thick white paper bags with their names scrawled on the fronts.

He dropped one besides Rynn before handing me my ice pop and placing the bag beside me.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“Goodies,” Rynn explained, pulling out a pair of fuzzy socks with a skull pattern on them. “How’d you get skulls this time of year?” she asked, beaming at Teddy.

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” I insisted after taking a small bite of the ice pop.

Despite my objection, I reached for the bag. Inside, I found socks featuring paint splatters, a face mask, a bath bomb, a weighted sleep mask, silk pajamas, and a tub of face cream.

“This shit is six-hundreddollars a tub,” Rynn whispered, mouth falling open.

“No way,” I said, untwisting the top. “I didn’t know face cream that expensive existed.”

“Right? But Teddy is in a different tax bracket than we are. Right, Teddy?” she called.

“I’m afraid to agree,” Teddy said, making Rynn smile.

“I was just saying you’re stupid rich.”

“I’m… comfortable.”

“That’s what the super-rich say,” Rynn said, making me let out a little laugh.

The evening went on much the same way, with me trying ice pops, tea, and, finally, the throat spray for some relief.

The condo was the lap of luxury.

Teddy was the most gracious of hosts.

And Rynn was surprisingly good company.

But I couldn’t stop my mind from wandering to Levee, wondering if he was okay, if he might get himself into some sort of trouble because of me, if he was going to come and get me before the night was through.

Eventually, though, once the conversation died down and the movie I’d seen many times before started to play, the adrenaline crash left me too tired to even try to hold my heavy lids open any longer.

I woke up to whisper-soft fingers teasing over my forehead, making me swat at the intrusion. Until I heard a soft chuckle.

“Whoa, it’s alright,” Levee said, placing a hand on my shoulder and pushing me back down when I tried to shoot up. “Just me,” he said, voice low.

He put a finger to his lips, then pointed to the side. And then there was Cato, leaning down to lift Rynn into his arms.

She woke immediately, though, pointing toward her bag on the coffee table. “If you leave that face cream here, I’m leaving you,” she told him.

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