Page 70 of Trigger

“Whatare you? Twelve?”

Iopened the window to let the air in when he stood behind me and wrapped hisarms around my waist.

“Niceview, though, right?” he said, pointing his chin at the distance.

I putmy hand on his arm to remove it when I became aware of his body behind me. Big.Warm. Strong. It felt like a large, muscular, comfortable cushion, and I didn’tentirely dislike it. I turned my head to look at him, only to see him staringinto the distance thoughtfully. I followed his gaze, but I couldn’t see anythingout of the ordinary. A house across from us with too many balconies. A row ofmaple trees below the window. An old lady selling flowers on the streetcorner.

Suddenly,a strange sense of calm washed over me. Comfort. Peace. Those emotions werescarce in our line of work, but at that moment, I felt them. I forgot all aboutthe large body cradling me and the strong arms around my waist, or my need toremove them. I just wanted to hold onto those emotions for a while longer.

“Thisfeels nice, doesn’t it?” Tye said, resting his chin on my shoulder.

“Mhm,”I hummed, lost in thoughts.

Icould see the buildings in the distance, brimming with life. A couple, kissingat the bus station. A pink-haired girl carrying a plate filled with donuts inthe bakery across the street. It was strange how this town could sometimes lookso… benevolent. Innocent, even.

“I’mso glad you helped me move in here,” Tye said, sounding satisfied. “Now we canreally be besties.”

I couldn’thelp but laugh. “We will never be besties, Thorsen.”

Heplaced a big, wet kiss on my cheek with a loud “mwah” before I could stop him.“We already are.”

I stifleda smile and turned to look at him, not surprised that his hands remained on mywaist. He was such a cuddly bear sometimes, but I kind of got used to it. Whenmy gaze landed on a large purple bruise on his cheek, courtesy of one ofDavidoff’s goons, I frowned.

“Youshould probably ice that,” I said, raising my hand to touch the injured area.“Does it hurt?”

Heshook his head, never taking his eyes off me. Cobalt blue, this time. Hot, too.Golden blue.

Speakingof swollen things, I felt my dick hardening in my pants, which reminded me thatVic was coming over. Maybe we could finally have sex after all these months. Onthe other hand, maybe not. I was kind of tired.

“Anyway,”I said, looking around the place. “Let me know if you need anything. Like iceor… a toothbrush.” I chuckled, heading to the door. “I’ll be seeing you around,yeah?”

“Wait.”

Iturned to look at him as he walked up to me. I couldn’t help but notice that hehad a semi too, which meant both of us needed to get laid. Still, I didn’t wantto tease him about it since he suddenly turned gloomy.

“Erm…”he murmured, rubbing his finger against the door frame absentmindedly. “Do youmaybe want to stay? I mean, we could order in, or something. I’m starving.” Hebit his lip, glancing at me. “Are you starving?”

Ishrugged. “I could eat. Except… yeah, no. Vicky is coming over. I forgot.”

“Isn’tshe supposed to come around nine? We still have an hour or two to grab a bite.”

“Iguess so,” I mused. “How about I take a quick shower, and you order in a pizzaor something?”

“Soundsgreat.”

“Perfect.”

AfterI’d showered and changed, I returned to Tye’s apartment in record time. Wedidn’t have an opportunity to hang out today, so I wanted to make up for thelost time. And I got used to that clown, so I kind of missed him.

Whenhe opened the door, I made a face, visually offended by the canary yellow shirthe put on.

“Hello,Dorothy,” Tye said, grinning. “Welcome to the wonderful world of Oz. Try not tolook so lost.”

“I’mnot lost. I’m blinded,” I grumbled, shoving a bag at him. “Here are yourclothes that we washed earlier. You can change if you want to. Please, change.”

“Rightnow? In front of you?”

“Yeah,no. I changed my mind. Has the food arrived?”

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