Page 65 of I'm Not in Love (I Promise)

“Isn’t she fucking hot?” Falin says, turning from the mirror to watch Damon’s reaction.

“Hot doesn’t even begin to cover it. Holy hell, Angel. You’re a walking wet dream.” I smile, showing off my fangs and he reaches out to feel the tip with his index finger. “You’re keeping these on later.”

His hand trails down my neck and over the swell of my barely contained breasts. “And this… all of it.”

“That can be arranged,” I say, standing as tall as I feel. “What do you have there?”

He hands me the gorgeous cake on what looks like a vintage stand. “Mrs. Langston dropped it off for you earlier. It’s allergen friendly, she made sure of it.”

“That was so sweet of her. I’ll have to go thank her later. How did she know it was my birthday and about the allergies?”

He smirks. “I obviously talk about you to everyone I can. Poor women’s probably sick of my gushing.”

I laugh and put the cake stand on the dresser for now. “Oh, I almost forgot. I got you a present.”

“What? But it’s your birthday,” he says, bewildered. I pull the Freddy Krueger glove out of the bag and hand it to him with a grin. As soon as he sees it, he shakes his head and lets out a short chuckle.

“I had to,” I say. “Try it on!”

Falin’s watching this exchange with her hands on her hips, looking at us like we’re crazy. Which we are, so it’s fine.

He slides the glove on, and clicks it together in front of my face until I’m laughing and pushing him away. “You’re so in for it now. Just wait.”

“Okay, well, whatever weirdness this is unfortunately needs to end. We’ve gotta get going or we’ll be late,” Falin says.

I brush a light kiss on Damon’s cheek, leaving a smudge of my dark red lipstick as Falin grabs my hand and pulls me out of the room.

“I’ll walk you guys out,” he says. “I don’t mind driving you there. What’s the address?”

“We’re good,” Falin answers. “If we drink too much we’ll just Uber back.”

Damon meets my gaze and I interrupt Falin before he has a chance to argue. “I’ll call you if we need a ride.”

I had to park down the street since parking is limited with all of us in the house, so it’s a few minutes walk to the car. Damon’s hand is in mine, keeping me tethered to the present. The crisp night breeze chills my skin but I feel alive, like the whispers of the wind hum with possibility. Dry leaves scatter across the road in front of us as we reach my car. Damon’s grip tightens and he pulls me behind him.

“What’s wrong?” I ask before I see what he’s already noticed. My car is completely wrecked.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

DAMON

“Absolutely not. You’re not going.”I’ve been arguing with Falin for ten fucking minutes about her and Blake still going to their show.

“Unless we’re calling the cops, I don’t see what sitting around is going to do. I’m sure you guys will have everything under control. It’s still Blake’s birthday. I don’t want this to ruin her day.” She’s hugging Blake, who’s still staring at her car in shock.

Sure, we have everything under control… If she means we have absolutely no fucking clue who’s screwing with us. Anger rises to the surface but I tamp it down before I do something I’ll regret, like punching the other fucking rearview mirror out.

Whoever did this, made it look like nothing more than a hit and run. The entire driver’s side was sideswiped with enough force that the door was crushed in. I called the guys right away and they’re heading over to help me get it off the road.

“Do you really still want to go out?” I ask Blake. The last thing I want to do is let this ruin her day, coincidence or not.

Falin holds Blake at arms length and whispers something low enough that I can’t hear. Blake nods. “Falin’s right. Unless we’regoing to call this into the police, there’s no reason for us to sit and wallow all night. We got all dressed up and I still want to enjoy my birthday.”

Of fucking course she’d say that. I lean against the car. My leg vibrates while I think. “Fine, but I’m coming with you.” I see Falin start to open her mouth so I cut in. “That’s the only option. I tried to tell you earlier, Blake’s not safe right now. So it’s either I go or she stays.”

The whoosh of a car driving by startles Blake enough that she gasps. Whether she wants to admit it or not, she’s rattled and that’s not okay. Our eyes lock and she nods, finally agreeing with me. Not that her insistence on a girls shopping trip stopped me earlier. Blake was never out of my sight today, not for a minute.

Once the guys show up and we move the car into Leon’s spot, I grab my keys, open the door and watch the girls get settled while I smoke a quick cigarette.

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