“More than we should, but things have been quiet for a while. I’d hoped we’d turned the corner,” she said.

“Maybe you have,” I said.

“Maybe,” she responded, looking off down the alley before facing me again. “Anyway, Enzo, can’t say it’s nice to meet you or that I hope to see you again, but have a nice evening.”

“Don’t worry, doll, you don’t have to say it.”

She huffed, but I didn’t miss her quick little laugh.

Knew I would replay that sound over and over in my head until I heard it again.

“You ready to go?” I asked a second later.

She looked at me like I was an especially challenging puzzle, her head tilted just so and the lights from the alley making her eyes look more bronze than deep brown. “Go where?”

I didn’t answer immediately and instead stared at her. Her bangs were different now. This week she had pink-colored tips. I actually liked the blue ones. Or maybe the purple was my favorite.

Whatever the color, I wanted to wrap her hair around my fist as I fed her my cock.

I brought myself far enough out of the haze of lust to remember that I wasn’t a fucking hairdresser, so I had no idea how she changed the color so often and decided then the color didn’t matter.

Everything looked good on her.

And nothing would look even better.

“Go where?”

Molly’s question broke into my lewd thoughts.

“Home,” I said.

She took her hands out of her pockets and crossed her arms underneath her breasts. “What concern is it of yours?”

“I need to know where I’m going,” I said, not mentioning the very small fact that I already knew where she lived, something I was surprised she didn’t acknowledge.

She laughed. “You think I’m letting you walk me home?”

I laughed. “You think I was asking?”

“Look, I don’t know who the fuck you?—”

I lifted a finger and pulled out my phone.

She stopped talking, her mouth flopping open and then closed. She was so indignant she couldn’t speak. Not a reaction I’d seen from Molly much.

But instead of teasing her like I so badly wanted to, I punched a few buttons and waited for a response.

Hope answered on the second ring.

“Hey, Enzo. You looking for Nico?” she asked.

“No, cousin, you’re who I need,” I replied.

“Okay. Is everything okay? And when are you coming by for breakfast? Maybe I can ask Molly to come, too,” she said.

I wasn’t surprised. I hadn’t said a peep about Molly to anyone, but Hope was smart and observant. I was sure she hadn’t missed my reaction to the mention of Molly’s name. Or the way I clung to every morsel of information about her that Hope might offhandedly mention.

“I’ll come by soon, and as for Molly, I’m here with her now. Can you tell her it’s fine if I walk her home?”