Page 17 of Enraged

What?

“What do you mean?”

Even with the dimmed lighting from the living room, I could see her blush.

“They’re dissolvable! I ordered them online from some place called The Brazen Bride and when they get wet, as ALL PANTIES SHOULD ON A WEDDING NIGHT THAT GOES ACCORDING TO PLAN, they dissolve.”

I couldn’t get two brain cells to rub together to get a spark.

“I’m naked under the water, Dakota, except for these pasties which I’m fairly certain will be floating soon because the water is going to deactivate the sticky pad thing.”

Lord, if you’re testing me, I’m weak.

“Oh, okay.”

We sat in the hot tub in silence. Tilting her head back, she lowered herself up to her neck and stared up at the night sky.

A single tear that even half a bottle of Jack Daniels couldn’t prevent, rolled down her cheek.

The good friend in me wanted to hug her, to comfort her, to make sure she knew she didn’t have to go through this alone, butthe respectful man that knew she was naked, and I absolutely couldn’t touch her at this moment, refrained.

“Lena?” I asked gently.

She turned to look at me but didn’t speak.

“It’s his loss, you know.”

Nodding, she spoke quietly. “It’s hers, too.”

From beneath the water, I felt her grab my hand.

“I don’t know what to do now. I will have to move back in with Mama and Daddy until I can buy a house, I have to figure out how to get all my shit from his house, I have to change my address, change my ID,” she explained needlessly.

“None of that has to be done tonight, Lena Loo. Or even tomorrow. If you need me to, I’ll go get your stuff from his house and if he has something to say about it, I’ll rock his shit again.”

She sat straight up in the water, giving me an unbridled look of her large chest. Her nipples hardened at the sudden exposure to the cold December air.

“Again? You hit Jace?”

Not as many times as I should have.

“Yes.”

“What did he say when you hit him?” she interrogated.

“Ow?”

She shot me a glare.

“I don’t know what he said, Lena, or if he said anything at all. He hit the floor. I stepped over him like the piece of shit he is and left.”

Her eyes widened.

“Where was Cassie when all this was happening?”

You really want a full recap while you’re completely naked in the hot tub, shitfaced, and in the middle of a winter storm warning?

“She was right there. I was in the room where all the groomsmen were hanging out and I heard hollerin’. It was your daddy.I went down the hall to see what the fuss was about and when I got down there and asked, he told me to ask my girlfriend.”

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