Page 57 of Hell Hath No Fury

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"I never imagined I’d hear you say the word 'tummy'," I tell him.

He smirks. "I never imagined you'd be in Derrick's robe."

Touché. I smirk back and he winks. My eyes widen.

They know.

Alex winks again.

I finish the toast and I want that bacon. "Bacon. Must have bacon."

Mark chuckles and heaps some on my plate. Mark's the chef. Alex is the helper, it seems, and Derrick—well, Derrick just keeps staring at me.

"Do you have any apple juice?" I question.

Derrick nods. "Just so happens I do."

He reaches in the fridge for the bottle and Alex sets a glass in front of me. Derrick makes his way over and fills it up.

"Derrick, here, is an apple juice guy whereas I'm an orange juice guy," Mark informs me.

I take a sip of the juice, then another.

"Slow," Derrick offers, "just in case."

I nod. "What about Alex?"

"What about Alex?" Alex asks.

"Apple or orange?"

He shrugs. "Either one. I'm not fussy, though I like the one with the orange strawberry and banana. That juice is the shit."

I nod. "I like that too."

"I don't know how the hell they get banana juice," Mark declares.

"Squeeze it, dummy," Alex retorts.

"Maybe, but I don't know. Banana juice seems like a weird thing," Mark says and I snicker. All three of them look at me and I snicker some more.

"You dirty, dirty girl," Derrick announces.

I shrug. "I saw the twinkle in your eyes, too. Don't even make out like it was just me."

He chuckles.

"How are you feeling?" Alex asks.

I chew and swallow the bacon. "I'm okay. It'll take a bit for me to be sure if the food won't make a reappearance."

Alex nods. "That fucker put something in your drink when you turned to talk to Derrick."

I look down at my plate, running my finger along the edge. I feel so stupid. Foolish. I know better than to look away from my drink.

"Hey," Derrick says and I look up at him. He leans forward on the other side of the island so he can grab my hand. "It wasn't your fault."

"Maybe, but I know better than that."

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