Page 40 of Ronan
She grins even wider. “Thank you. Maybe I can distract myself with third-degree mouth burns and forget about my little masked burglar for a while.”
“What?”
I force out a nervous chuckle, because I know exactly what she means and I can’t show it, but I didn’t burglarize anything but that ass.
“Nothing.” She takes her bag to my room like she owns it and comes back out,plopping down and curling up on the couch. “How soon will dinner be here? I definitely haven’t eaten today.”
Groaning, I shake my head at her lack of self-care and check my app. At least she brought a water bottle with her. “Ten minutes. Why the hell haven’t you eaten?”
“I was a little distracted this morning, then I worked and I was just too cold to care.” She eyes me. “How’s your... social media management shit going?”
Distracted? Are you also sore, little sister?
I squirm slightly in my seat and lean against the armrest of the couch to try and get my head right. What did she just ask me? Oh, right. The job I lied about.
“Going great, actually. It’s all algorithms and boring shit, but it pays. How about your job? Did you call out today?”
She squints. “Are you okay? I literally just told you I worked.”
Fuck me, I need to fucking pay attention. “Oh. Yeah. Guess I’m hungry too.”
As she leans a little further over like she’s still sore, she relaxes. “My job is fine, though. Boring, but fine. What happened with Emma and Orion?”
I cannot think about her being sore. I’ll fuck this whole thing up in a heartbeat, butthat right there is exactly the distraction I needed.
It makes me chuckle. “Your friend is insane, you know that, right?”
“You guys keep calling her my friend, but I’m not sure any of you know what the word means. We’re roommates who spill secrets to each other, that’s about it. I don’t think Emma has actual friends. Just people she gets things out of.”
“Orion said the same thing. Just people close enough to do shit for her, and then she tosses them away when she finds a new person to use. So, I guess she blew up his phone all night, and he ignored her, then this morning she said the heater was out and she needs to come stay. He responded to that one with an LOL that had her fuming, then he told her about wanting to work at St. Andrew’s just to piss her off, and offered for you to come get warm, but not her. She accused him of fucking everyone: you, his cousin Cora, the neighbor across the street — who’s fifty-eight, by the way. Girl went off the rails on the porch, yelling through the door that she’s the best thing he’ll ever have. Then she yelled at me for being his friend, but we just ignored her until she said she was going to some dude’s house. I thinkhe’s finally done, and it’s about fucking time.”
She looks a little smug as she huffs. “Good. I tried telling her they’re not a good fit, but she’s determined to believe people will love her no matter what. I don’t get it.”
“She’s not very lovable, so that’s just a delusion,” I joke. “They brought out the worst in each other, maybe the next person will bring out the best in them. Who knows?”
Atley squirms a little. “You’d tell me if Orion was Nightbreed, right?”
Stay calm.
Breathe.
In... out... play it cool.
The gut reaction to snap about the thought of him ever touching her is so strong I feel it physically down to my fingertips. I can barely handle the thought of her moaning Night’s name and not mine, but my best friend? No. I’d kill him.
“Of course I would. Why would it ever be him?”
Her brows pinch a little as she stares at her blanket. “I don’t know. There’s something really familiar about Nightbreed, and Emma accused me of fucking Orion. I just... I don’t know. I guess it fit.”
“Fit? You two? Nah. Haven’t you seen his dick, anyway? Emma said she showed you.”
She nods. “I have. And I’ve seen his tattoos. I don’t know, I’m just racking my brain trying to figure out why Night won’t even tell me his first name and it seemed logical that it might be someone I know already.”
“And how would you feel if it was?”
“If it was Orion, I’d feel pretty gross,” she admits. “I don’t see him like that and I really don’t like cheaters, even if their girlfriends are horrific little hags. But someone else? Anyone else? I don’t know. I guess I’d have mixed feelings about it.”
Mixed feelings. Does that apply to me? Or would I make her feel gross too?
