Page 86 of Carnal

"Perfect. Thanks." Tristano hangs up the phone.

I rise and attempt to pull him off the bed.

He arches his eyebrows. "Where are we going?"

"We have time before the pizza arrives to shower."

"Good call." He gets up and follows me into the bathroom, slapping my ass.

"Hey!" I laugh, turning on the water.

"Don't 'hey' me. I should beat your ass after you flogged me as long as you did," he states.

I wince. "Sorry."

He shakes his head. "No, you aren't."

"Maybe just a little," I offer, holding my thumb and pointer finger close together.

Tristano tilts his head. "You, Ms. dela Cruz, are one bad bitch."

"Hey! I only did what you would have!" I claim, stepping into the shower.

He follows me in. "No. I wouldn't have flogged you softly. I would have added some more strength to those little slaps."

I bite my lip and shrug my shoulders. "But it wasn't bad, right?"

Amusement fills his expression. "Don't act like you don't know what you were doing. But honestly, paybacks are a bitch, baby girl. The next time I flog you, I'm using your technique on you."

My stomach flips. There's no way he's fibbing. I blurt out, "But you broke me last weekend. It won't be as challenging."

He smirks. "We'll see about that."

I ignore the anxiety reigniting in my chest and let the water soak my hair. We both do our thing in the shower then get out and dry off. It isn't long before we're eating pizza and pretzel bites. Tristano has more beer, and I have water.

"What did you want to be when you grew up?" Tristano asks, then pops another pretzel bite full of cheese into his mouth.

I don't hesitate. "Successful."

He finishes chewing and downs it with a mouthful of Red Stripe, then replies, "Well, that's a given. But what did you want to do?"

I pick a mushroom off the pizza, eat it, then answer, "There wasn't anything specific. I just knew I wanted to not struggle like my parents did. Was there something you wanted to be?"

His eyes light up. "A fireman."

"Really?"

"Why do you look shocked?"

I shrug. "Not sure."

"Well, I love fire and thought it would be cool to go down that pole. The trucks are badass, too."

"Why didn't you do it?"

His face darkens. He lowers his voice. "You know how it is in my family. Our paths are created at birth."

I scoot closer to him. "Do you like what you do?"

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