Page 57 of Little Monster
God, yes. I’m starving.
“Yeah. What do you have?”
His only response is a small laugh.
We head back down to the kitchen, and I see that Dex turned the fireplace on while I was drifting around the house. It’s not cold in here, but the sliding doors are still open, so there’s a light chill to the air. The flames flicker silently, casting gentle firelight onto the plush carpet, and I’m momentarily distracted by the idea of straddling Dex on that rug, so I don’t hear what he says until he calls my name.
“Nora?”
“Hmm?”
Turning, I find him standing next to the refrigerator, both doors open wide. Bare feet plodding quietly across the floor, I move closer and look into the fridge only to find it...
“It’s empty,” I say.
There’s a half-full bottle of red wine, some past-prime heads of lettuce, and a collection of condiments in the doors. I couldn’t even scrounge something together if my life depended on it.
Quirking an eyebrow, I whip around to look at him. “Is this all you have?”
“There’s pasta in the cabinet,” he says, running one hand through his blond hair and pointing with the other. At my look, he shrugs. “I don’t cook much.”
I may be irritated if it were anyone else, but it’shim, and I can only shake my head and laugh. “All right, well, we’ll need to pick something up, then. Unless you wanna get takeout?”
He shakes his head. “Can you make pancakes again?”
My eyes widen, and something in my chest grows warm. “Y-yeah,” I say, closing the refrigerator doors. “That’s easy. Are you sure you don’t want something else?”
“I’m sure.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the Rover’s key fob. It dangles from his finger, looking sleek and expensive and intimidating. Dex’s smile is playful as he holds it out to me. “You can drive.”
chapter 20
“ABSOLUTELY NOT.” THE WORDS SLIP out before I can stop them.
Dex arches a brow. “Why?”
“Because that car is probably more expensive than my condo.”
He rolls his eyes. “Not quite. And so what?”
“So,” I say, “I could scratch it or something.” Wrapping my arms around myself, I eye the fob hanging from his tattooed finger. “And I thought you didn’t let anyone drive the Rover?”
His smile morphs from playful to soft, and his blue eyes seem to search mine for a moment. “You’re notanyone, Nora.”
My insides are so fluttery from his words that I don’t resist when he takes my hand and places the fob in my palm.
“But first, disguises.”
Blinking, I come out of my brief stupor. “Disguises?”
Dex is already heading toward the closet in the entryway. He pulls it open, and I drift closer as he rummages through it. He produces two ball caps, one of which he reaches over and slips onto my head.
“What is this?” I laugh a little, then watch the muscles in his forearms flex as he pulls the ball cap over his blond hair, mesmerized by the tendons moving just under his skin.
“I’ll get followed otherwise.” The joyfulness is gone from his voice, and he reaches into the closet once more to pull out a bulky bomber jacket and a simple gray hoodie. “Here.”
This time when he offers me the hoodie, I don’t ask questions. I should’ve known he can’t freely go out into public; now I feel careless for laughing at him. But he doesn’t seem too bothered, slipping his arms into the sleeves and zipping the jacket up halfway. When he sees I’ve not yet put the hoodie on, he pauses.
“Is that okay?”
