Page 169 of Gathered Sparkle

My kind of perfect.

Let’s hope it’s still like this after shit goes down.

“Come on, Sparkle.” I wrap my arm around her shoulders, feeling the tension ease out of her as we start toward the mansion. “Let’s get upstairs, and you can tell me all about what you found.”

She reaches out, grabbing Alaric’s hand as we walk.

“Bye, lovebirds,” she teases over her shoulder at Levi and Ezra, who are now fully in their own world. Levi’s poking Ezra’s cheek, and Ezra just shakes his head but doesn’t stop him.

“Try not to spend all night making out,” I call back, smirking.

“Pot, meet kettle,” Levi shoots back, flashing a cheeky grin before Ezra pulls him closer, murmuring something we can’t hear.

We head inside, and I keep my hand on Sparkle’s back as we climb the stairs to my room. The second the door swings open, I catch sight of the chaos. Parts of drones and gadgets scattered across the desk and floor, wires tangled in ways that would make anyone’s brain hurt.Oh, well.

“The key card worked.” Alaric sits down on the edge of the bed, looking thoughtful. “The maintenance room is… a lot. But it’s manageable. The plan will probably be that Nova takes my part with the car, and I’ll handle the Heights.”

“I get to do the car?” Sparkle’s brows lift as she pulls off the wig and lets it fall to the floor. “Really?”

Alaric nods, a faint smile pulling at his lips. “You’re better suited for it. And honestly? I think you’ll enjoy it.”

She lights up, her grin widening. “Oh, I will.”

I raise a brow, leaning against my desk. “You sure you can handle the planks on the roof?”

She shoots me a glare, crossing her arms. “You think I can’t?”

I hold my hands up in mock surrender, biting back a laugh. “I’m sorry I dared to question you, Sparkle. Please don’t hurt me.”

Alaric shakes his head, clearly amused, as he pulls the key card from his pocket and tosses it to me. “Here.”

“Nice.” I catch it effortlessly and place it on the desk next to the one I already made for the Belmont Plaza. “I’ll make copies for everyone. If anything changes last minute, we’ll all have access to everywhere.”

“Good.” Alaric leans back on his hands and shifts his hips.Those pants are way too tight.“I don’t like the idea of any of us being stuck if things go sideways.”

I nod, feeling the weight of that for a second before my grin returns. “Okay, now that we’re all set… Sparkle, did you enjoy my little video earlier?”

“You mean the one you so graciously flashed Ace with too?”

“Did I?” I huff a laugh. “Sorry, bro.”

He shrugs, completely unbothered. “Not the first time I’ve seen your dick, man.”

Nova’s jaw drops.“How?”

I smirk, leaning forward. “Oh, that’s a story.”

“It’s really not. I was with him when he got the tattoo. You know, the star?”

Nova blinks. “Wait… what?”

“Yeah. And I told him I didn’t need to see the end result, but here we are.”

“Ah…” I snicker. “The first time seeing each other’s junk is always special.”

Alaric side-eyes me. “You’re the only dick I’ve seen.”

“I love that I’ve been your first.” I grin wickedly.

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