Page 71 of Broken Skulls

“We don’t need your help, butt fuck.” She spins me by the arm, marching us the other direction.

He doesn’t take the hint, but I’m almost certain he’s aware that it was one.

“Oh, come on now, Jess. Don’t be that way. You’re my favorite customer.”

She stops abruptly, spinning around. Her knife is out and at his throat. “Leave us the fuck alone.”

His pupils grow dark, and he smiles. He begins to back away, leaving her to hold the knife mid-air. “If you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

Jesse lowers her hand quickly, trying to hide the way it trembles. She stares after him for a few more seconds and then turns to me. “He’s such a fucking creep.”

I glance over her shoulder to find him watching us. “Do you want to leave?”

Her eyebrows fly off her face. “No way. If he doesn’t leave us alone, I’ll makethatfucker leave.”

She turns to point at him. When she finds him still looking at her, she slowly turns her hand, pointing her middle finger to the sky.

His body shakes as he laughs, but he doesn’t remove his stare.

She grabs my arm and pulls me farther into the women’s clothing section. “So, what’s your look?” Her gaze runs over my body before she starts pulling shirts from a rack.

“Oh, I don’t know. Simple,” I tell her, glancing around nervously.

“We’ll head over to the mall, but I wanted to stop and get you some things for tomorrow.”

I follow her, nodding or shaking my head as she holds items up to show me. As we’re checking out, a display filled with little bells catches my attention. “What are these for?” I ask her.

“They’re guardian bells. You hang them on your bike. They’re supposed to protect you from road gremlins. You know, rocks,potholes, shit that will make you eat pavement. The protection is even more effective if a bell is gifted to you.”

“Does Jacob have one?” I ask.

Her face softens. “No. I don’t think he does. Would you like to get him one?”

The girl helping us grabs a set of keys and heads toward me. “Which one would you like?”

My gaze rests on a black one with a skull on it. I bite my lip, hating that I can’t buy it myself, but the thought of doing something nice for Jacob warms my chest.

Jesse snaps. “Let’s wrap it up before creeper Bob comes back from his break.”

This makes me instantly shoot my finger out, pointing at the little black bell.

The clerk nods in approval. “This one is cool as fuck.”

We spend the rest of the afternoon at the mall, and before I know it, I have a fresh start.

“I feel so bad. This is too much,” I tell her as we are hauling stuff up to Jacob’s porch.

He opens the door before we reach it. Seeing him again makes me stop dead in my tracks. His presence makes my system go all haywire for a minute. I’m happy, sad, scared, horny, and joyful, just to name a few. A shiver runs down my spine in a lame attempt to bring things back to center.

Jesse shakes her head at me. She steps around Jacob, carrying the bags inside.

He steps off the porch and begins to take things from my hands. “You good?” he asks quietly, his tongue teasing at the corner of his mouth.

An ache settles deep in my entire being. I’ve missed him.

He chuckles low, placing his mouth at my ear. “I missed you.”

“Hey, sorry to interrupt you two making heart eyes at each other, but I’ve got to get back to the warehouse. See youtomorrow.” She pulls us into a hug. “Don’t forget you’re on Lexie duty.”

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