Page 30 of The Brave and the Reckless

“Do I want to know?” Austin asked as he reached past me to grab a box of cereal from his own, perfectly intact supply.

“Esra,” I grunted.

“You two realize I can still hear you fighting when I switch your mics from speakers to intercom, right?”

“So?” I glared at him, and he just raised his free hand and backed away.

He wasn’t even supposed to be at the receiving end of this glare. He hadn’t caused a stupidly restless night by asking too many questions. He wasn’t keeping me from my tea.

I huffed and tracked back upstairs. I rapped my knuckles against her door hard enough to hurt.

“Who is it?” Esra sing-sang from inside.

“The prime suspect if you were to go missing today.”

Her laugh carried through the door before she opened it. “Did you just make a joke, Young?” She blinked at me with those big brown eyes, not a fucking care in the world that she was standing in front of me in her underwear. Pink and white, mismatched.

“Jesus, Esra.” I tipped my head back, blinking at the ceiling. Even so, the sight of her chest, lined by pearly silk, was burned into my corneas. It was all over the ceiling. Fuck her “no bra club” T-shirt. This bra was made to spotlight her smooth bronze skin and rounded—Hell, no. “Put on some clothes.”

“For the record, you came to my bedroom. You act like you’ve never seen me naked before,” she laughed.

“I haven’t … That’s not … You should …”

“Cat got your tongue?”

Judging by the rustle of fabric, she was getting dressed. I still didn’t dare to look. Not that it helped. I still saw the smattering of freckles on her stomach behind closed lids every single time I blinked.

“Food,” I huffed, not trusting my brain to produce a single worthwhile thing.

Maybe I was having a stroke.

“Food. Four-letter word. Nutritious substances that are eaten and digested in order to survive and grow,” she replied, voice dripping with false sweetness. “You can look.”

I lowered my chin and found her wrapped in a fluffy bathrobe, standing by her desk– which had disappeared under a heap of clothes. If I’d trusted my brain more, I’d have told her that there was, indeed, a chest of drawers for her to use. And a laundry room for the towels that littered her floor. “Where. Is. My. Food.”

“Hmm.” She smirked. “In the kitchen, I’d assume.”

Her words flipped the switch, and all images of bras disappeared from my mind. “For the love of god, I’m about to throw you through the air. You don’t want me to do that on an empty stomach.”

“If you’re out of food, I can share. PB and J? Cereal?” She blinked innocently.

Suppressing every urge to yell at her, I gritted my teeth, spun back around and left. She wanted to play her stupid pranks? Fine. Nothing good would come out of me staying in her mess of a room.

“It’s rude to leave without saying goodbye,” she called out after me. “Oh, hey Lucky.”

“Hey… Oh come on, Noah,” Lucas piped up. “Not cool. I had dibs.”

“What?” I whirred back around. Esra leaned in her doorway. Lucas must have just come downstairs and now stood next to her, looking like a wet puppy. “I didn’t sleep with her.”

“Don’t worry,” Esra cackled, “he starts panicking every time he sees me naked.”

“Every time? As in multiple times? Still not cool.Bro code, man.” He stormed past me, sulking like a petulant toddler.

“I can’t believe you didn’t respect his dibs, Young,” Esra said, loud enough for Lucas to still hear.

“No dibs disrespected!” I yelled and followed Lucas back downstairs to the kitchen. “I didn’t sleep with her. I have no intention of sleeping with her. You know what, Lucas? You have my blessing. You two are perfect for each other.” I tore open the cabinet again, hinges creaking, and started dumping glass after glass of water in the sink. Half of it spilled over, soaking my sleeves and the counters. But who the fuck cared in this house anyway? “Just keep in mind that you did hook up with Zuri before she and Sanny got together, and now you intend to stick it to his little sister. If he wanted to kick your ass for that, the real sheriff would probably side with him. But who cares? Fuck consequences, right? Fuck consideration for other people and the fact that they’re just trying to live their lives.”

Lucas sank into a chair and rubbed a hand over his chest. “Jeez, you’re worse than usual.”

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