Page 78 of Up In Flames
I pat my pockets only to realize I must’ve left my phone on the nightstand when we left for breakfast.
Huh, that never happens.
I always have my phone, always waiting for a call from the station, or one of the guys, or about a job. Someone to interrupt the silence and stillness of my life.
“So, you see why I had to come over?” Phoenix asks with a raised brow.
“Okay, well, we’re all good here.” I give a tight smile and close my truck door.
He grips my shoulder, and his tone turns serious.
“You know what you’re doing, right?”
I look Phoenix dead in the eye when I answer. “I have no fucking clue.”
We both laugh, and Phoenix says, “Well, if you, uh, have any questions or?—”
I hold my hand up to silence him. “I’ll have Taylor walk me through it if we get there. I can confidently say that you and I willneverdiscuss my sex life.”
Phoenix winks, reminding me so much of the man waiting for me inside. “Never say never, Knoxy. Also, dinner’s at our place tonight. Six o’clock. Be there.”
Dinner with the guys sounds nice after the emotional rollercoaster I’ve been on this week, but I don’t want to spend my last precious moments with Taylor in the company of their rowdy, nosy asses.
“I can’t,” I tell Phoenix. “It’s Taylor and I’s last night together before his parents come home and he leaves on Monday.”
Phoenix’s grin widens. “I was assuming you’d bring him.”
“It’s a little too soon for that,” I argue.
Phoenix shakes his head. “Bring him, or we’ll all come here.”
“I hate you.”
“I imagine it’s kind of like how I hated you that time you told me I couldn’t get on your boat if I didn’t bring Walker with me.”
Touché.
“Fine,” I grumble.
Phoenix laughs with glee as he hops in his truck. “See you boys tonight!” I think I’m in the clear until Phoenix adds, “Oh, and Knox? I want to know if he chose satin or lace.”
Fuck my life.
Chapter 28
Taylor
While Knox finishes talking to Phoenix, I get busy.
Ignoring Knox’s request to put on what I brought—that part will come later—I set the bag with the lingerie in his room and make my way down the short hall to the guest room. This project requires space and a room that isn’t used too often.
I uncap the tube, pull out the plastic sheet, and quickly spread it across the floor, securing it with furniture in case things get a little wild. I’m sure Knox wouldnotappreciate paint all over his pristine carpet.
Next, I unroll the canvas, laying it on top of the sheet, and finally, I tip the tube so the bottles of paint fall onto the bed. Light blue, dark blue, yellow, pink, and white bottles litter the comforter.
I line them up on the nightstand and hurriedly strip naked, knowing Knox will come looking for me any minute.
Sure enough, I hear my name ring out down the hallway a moment later.
