Page 117 of Last Chance Love

“Sounds more like passing out.”

“A little bit of both, I guess. It works.”

“I used to do the same thing.”

“Think until you passed out?”

“Eh, more like I would drink until I passed out after one too many hours spent screwing my brains out and filling myself up with God knows how much coke.”

“I…how long did it go on for?”

“Why do you wanna know, Doc?”

That pulled the first laugh out of me in days. “Alright, you caught me. All I could think about was the state of your liver and then about the inner lining of your nose.”

“My nose is fine, though Riley says I snore pretty heavily some nights. And last I checked, all my organs made it through my self-destruction phase without noticeable problems. I got off lucky.”

“You were young. That helps a lot.”

“That’s what I was told.”

I lay there in the silence that followed, realizing that silence with Max reminded me of Leon. It wasn’t uncomfortable, and I was confident Max was sitting just out of view, silently judging me and not worrying that he had to fill the silence. That only made my heart ache as I wished Leon was with me.

“No offense,” I said, staring at the ceiling still. “You’re great company when I could be thinking heavily, but you’re not the one I want to talk to right now.”

He snorted, leaning into view and giving me a knowing look. “I’m not your boyfriend.”

“Nope, and that’s the problem,” I said, giving him a small smile.

He opened his mouth and paused when his phone began to jingle softly in his pocket. I raised a brow when I realized what song it was. “Is that Natasha Bedingfield?”

“Our age is showing,” he snorted, picking up his phone. “Wanna guess who insisted that be his ringtone?”

I smiled, glad he was going to get to talk to Riley. “Tell him I said hi. And that I’m glad his face is no longer messed up from an angry ass.”

“Cute,” he said, answering his phone. “Hey. I’m…well, I’ll explain in a minute. I know you…yes, I’m aware, thank you. And no…Jesus, how many drinks did you have? Uh-huh, and how big were those two drinks?”

I chuckled, amused by how annoyed he sounded, but it was the kind of annoyed I knew all too well. It wasn’t dripping with affection, but that was at the core of his exasperation. Riley was probably incredibly drunk, and while I’d never witnessed it, I would bet that Riley drunk was probably just an enhanced version of himself, goofy, silly, playful, and all-around happy.

“Right,” Max said, rolling his eyes. “Give me a second, alright? No, I am not alone, so don’t start.”

I laughed again. “You can use the bathroom if you need alone time with your horny drunk.”

Max shot me a dirty look, hitting a button before turning to me. “I have a better idea. I’m going to deal with this. You try not to have a jailbreak while I’m gone.”

“I…okay,” I said, raising a brow but shrugging as he went for the door, disappearing into the night. It wasn’t like I was going anywhere. He was really only here to make sure I didn’t have a stroke or try to hang myself. Neither were particularly pleasant options, so I was content to stare at the ceiling and wonder when sleep would come and if Leon had managed to sleep or was fitfully tossing in his bed, agonizing over what he could do.

My thoughts were interrupted by the door opening again, and I looked up, a little amazed that Max’s private conversation hadn’t taken more than a few minutes. That was until I saw who entered the building, and I realized Leon was not, in fact, sleeping peacefully or tossing and turning. He was standing right there.

“What the fuck?” I asked dumbly, though if I’m honest, appropriately. “What are you doing?”

“Seeing you, obviously,” he said with a chuckle, coming down the stairs. I watched as he weaved out of sight for a moment and then came back into view, my eyes widening when I saw what was in his hand.

“What thefuck?” I repeated as he jammed the key into the lock and opened the cell. “No! Jesus, Max is going to be back any minute now, and if he sees you?—”

My protests were interrupted as he crossed the three feet to the bed and grabbed me, pulling me into a kiss. If I had once thought the first kiss we’d had in years was mind-blowing, it was nothing compared to this one. The past few days of loneliness, heartache, and despair disappeared as I felt the hands of the man I loved more than anyone wrap around me and hold tight like I might disappear at any moment.

“Shit, I missed you,” he said when the kiss finally broke, leaving me breathless and wondering what was going on.

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