Page 35 of Keeping My Girl

Selina gives her a nod, but I can tell she’s still feeling guilty. I squeeze her hand until her attention is on me. Then I say, “You cut your hair.”

“Uh, yeah,” she says while touching the shorter ends with her free hand. “Do you like it?” she asks, her eyes peeking through some of the stray strands at me.

“Yeah, it’s —.” I stop myself from saying how hot it is. She looks smoking hot with that new haircut. She looks older too. But instead, I find myself telling her, “It suits you.”

She smiles at my comment.

“Holy shit!” I holler as one of the sutures goes deep.

Sarah apologizes. “Maybe this will make you think twice about fighting with knives. You and Renato have better things to do than have a pissing contest every few days, don’t you?” she scolds me.

I grit my teeth and hiss through another deep suture. “No more knives. Got it,” I agree halfheartedly.

A few minutes later, Sarah is done stitching me up. I’m probably going to have an ugly scar on my lower stomach, but I’ll just add it to my ever-growing collection of training battle scars.

Lina pulls her hand from mine, and instantly I miss her touch. It felt so good to feel her skin next to mine. “I think I’m going to go read in my room,” she tells me before walking out.

I stare down at my empty hand and curse inwardly.

Sarah comes back over with some gauze and tape. “Try to keep this dry for a couple of days. And then you can take off the gauze and let it breathe. Don’t scrub too hard when you do shower.”

She fires out instructions, but I barely hear her. I’m too caught up in my own thoughts.

“Hey,” Sarah says, snapping her fingers in front of my face to get my attention. “Did you hear anything I said?”

“Keep it dry. Let it breathe. Don’t scrub too hard.”

She rolls her eyes and grins. “Good enough. Just come to me if any of the stitches open up. Okay?”

“Sure,” I tell her before hopping off the table.

“Take it easy,” she warns.

“Sure,” I repeat, causing her to roll her eyes again.

Then she asks, “Hey, how is Selina doing anyway?”

“Good. I think,” I say, my brows furrowing. “Honestly, she doesn’t tell me much. I just know she’s in a better place than where she was. And that’s all that matters at this point.”

Sarah nods in agreement.

“See you later,” I tell her before leaving. My feet carry me straight to Selina’s room. I knock, and after I hear her tell me it’s okay to come in, I peek my head around the door. She’s curled up on her bed with a book. “Wanna do something fun?” I ask her.

I can see the apprehension in her gaze, but she nods anyway and says, “Okay.”

“See you downstairs in five,” I tell her. I have an idea. I just hope Selina likes it.

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