Page 74 of Breaking the Sinner

Gen chugged the water, and the coughing subsided. She flopped back onto the bed.

“You okay?” He propped himself up on an arm, peering down at her. She stared at the ceiling, her porcelain skin more beautiful than normal in the golden hue of the bedroom. She was about to gethigh.

“Yeah.” Her voice came out a croak. She blinked slowly, her fingers drifting up to find his forearm. Her mouth parted but she froze there, like a thought had gotten stuck on its way up.

“You sure?” His gaze drifted down the olive-green shirt tied in a knot right at her belly button. He dragged his fingers over the slice of skin visible, then over the belt loops of her light denim shorts.

“Yeah.” She sounded dreamy. Distant. Her gaze cut to him, and she froze there.

And then she giggled.

Cobra smirked.Here we go.“What’s so funny?”

Gen giggled again, covering her mouth with her hands. Her whole body rocked with laughter. “I don’t know!”

Cobra lay on the bed beside her, staring up at the ceiling. His own high was subtle. But he’d been smoking for so many years, weed for him felt more like background noise. Something he could smoke and not notice, and still go about his day.

“I think you’re high,” he said.

She snorted and then broke into more laughter. She rolled onto her side, burying her face in his shoulder.

“Oh my god, everything is so funny,” she wailed.

“Man. I miss those days of smoking weed.” He scooped his arm around her, bringing her into the crook of his shoulder. She snuggled up to him, sighing contentedly.

“You’re not giggling like a freak,” she said. “Why’s that?”

“Red, weed for me is like blood.”

“Like…weed instead of blood?” She had that tone in her voice like he’d just blown her mind. It made a laugh erupt out of him.

“Like…are you fucking serious right now, man?” he joked, in the classic stoner voice. “There’s a meme for how high you are right now. I’ll find it later.”

She giggled again, burying her face in his side, which tickled his upper ribs. He jerked, snorting.

“Damn, Red. What are you, a gopher?”

That set off another round of laughs. “A gopher!” she wheezed. “Like…what if I used to be a gopher and you used to be a gopher?”

“Is that some past-life shit?”

She inhaled sharply. “That makes sense, though. If you really think about it.”

His cheeks hurt from smiling. “Yeah. Sure. I mean, if you say so.”

She rolled onto her belly, pushing up onto her forearms. Her eyes were wide. “No, but seriously.” She gathered a fistful of his shirt, as though this would force him to understand her. “Like…rodents.”

His body shook as he tried to contain his laughter. “Yeah?”

Her amazed gaze drifted away, and then she dissolved into another fit of laughter. It only grew stronger, until she was shrieking with laughter and shaking her head. Finally, she screeched,

“I don’t even know what I’m laughing at! But I can’t stop!”

Cobra dissolved into laughter alongside her. It didn’t even matter. Fact was, they were laughing together.

It was the together part that clinched it for him.

Chapter 30

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