Page 76 of The Arrangement

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Tate: Where did Foxx take you on a honeymoon again?

Bianca: Do you REALLY want details on my honeymoon?

Tate: No.

Gannon: No.

Ripley: Absofuckinglutely not.

Chloe stirs and flutters her eyes open.

Me: I gotta go.

Tate: Later

Renn: Enjoy.

Gannon: Call me later.

Ripley: See ya.

Bianca: Love you.

My phone chirps in quick succession as they continue. I turn off my ringer and set my phone next to me.

“What time is it?” Chloe asks, yawning.

“It’s still early. You can go back to sleep.”

She peers up at me with heavy eyelids. “Then why are you up?”

“Because I haven’t gone to sleep yet.”

“Why?”

I press a kiss against her forehead and nestle her against me again.Because I was afraid I’d wake up if I went to sleep, and this wouldn’t be real.

That’s not entirely true, but it’s the essence of it if it were all boiled down.

“Are you having second thoughts?” she asks, holding her breath.

I stroke her back with my fingers, appreciating her delicate dips and curves. “I’m having second thoughts that I let you fall asleep without being inside you.”

She laughs against my side, placing a kiss on my ribs.

“What about you? How do you feel?” I ask.

“Sore.”

“I like you sore.”

“I like being sore.” She traces the tattoos on my arm. “Tell me about these.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Do they mean anything?”

I bend my arm, and Chloe points at an owl tattoo near my elbow.

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