Page 73 of Fractured Souls
“He’s a little taller than you are . . . gorgeous, tan skin, full lips, and bright brown eyes. He’s also an amazing pastry chef. Oh, and he has a really nice ass. At least I think it’s still nice. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it in person. Ah, college. What a time.”
“College?”
“Yeah . . .” He trails off. “We had a thing. A whisper of a thing. It did not go well.”
“Sounds like a dream,” I say flatly.
“That was then, this is now. He’s really great. Really. Let me talk to Puck Daddy later. Maybe it could be like a double-date thing. Oh! Jamie, love of my life, my sweet snookums, can we? How about a double date? Doesn’t that sound like fun?”
“So much fun,” Jamie says flatly.
“Jamie’s excited.”
“I don’t know.” A bang startles me. “What the fuck.”
“What? What’s wrong?” I’m quiet for a moment, afraid to move. “Are you okay? Bo! I’m coming over!”
“And doing what?” Jamie snaps. “Call the police, Bo.”
“I’m not sure.” I get up slowly, going to the door. The restaurant is closed now, for Christmas break, but it wouldn’t be the first time someone had one too many and stumbled up these stairs. Going to the door, I hesitate to look through the peephole.
“What’s wrong?” Noah asks. “I have nunchucks. Okay, they’re less nunchuck and more two dildos tied together with a string.”
“Noah—”
“They will do damage!”
I find some courage and look through the peephole. Um. “Dammit. I need to go. It’s Cam. He’s back.” And drunk by the looks of it, and . . . not alone.
“Okay, well, if you need anything, let me know. And think about it. Sawyer is a really sweet guy, and he’s going through a lot right now. It might be good for you both. One time in college he thought we’d slept together and he baked me cupcakes. They were delicious.”
“Ah, um, okay, I’ll let you know.”
“Night, Bo.”
I hang up as Amira knocks again. She’s barely holding him up. I swing the door open, looking at them both. “What’s going on?”
“Special delivery.” She grins nervously. “He cannot hold his liquor.”
“So . . . so drink. So . . .drink.”
“I think he says he’s drunk,” she laughs. Her voice is light and friendly but I can’t get past the jealousy I feel. He went to her. He . . . went right to her. And I already know what this is going to look like. The wheels have already begun turning. She’s next. It’s only a matter of time.
Amira is beautiful. Her long black hair is braided down her back, and her eyes are a unique shade of brown that I don’t see too often. Her skin looks so soft—it fucking glows!—her lips are full, and she’s wearing a deep red lipstick that sort of makes her look like a vampiress. Her skinny jeans are tight, displaying a nice figure, and the sweater she’s wearing hugs her body as if it was specifically tailored for her. She even smells insane, some kind of rich floral scent. The kind of perfume I’d expect a goddess to wear while lounging by the pool with people fanning and feeding her grapes.
She’s gorgeous.
And she’s holding Cam up, her hand splayed on his stomach as he sags into her. I’m honestly impressed she’s holding him up. Of course she’s strong too! “Um, can I set him down? He’s really heavy.”
“Oh shit, yeah. Sorry.” I let her in. “Here, I’ll take the other side.” I loop Cam’s other arm around me, doing shit all to help her bring him inside. I lead her to my bedroom. “Please ignore the mess,” I say as we walk in. I never have people over, and yeah, I’m a bit messy, which isn’t usually a problem. Seeing how put together she is has me nervous. “Cam’s messy,” I lie.
We drag and flop Cam onto my bed. “You smell like a bar.” I cover my nose. “How did he drink this much?”
She looks away sheepishly. “I uh, saw him walking home, and he looked like he was going through something. I invited him up, we hung out for a bit, and one drink turned into like eight for him. I stopped drinking and basically just let him drink through whatever he was going through. Is he okay? He seemed very upset.”
No, he is not okay. He is the biggest most beautiful dummy I’ve ever met, but looking down at him one thought comes to mind. It’s so clear.
Cam doesn’t want this.
