Page 31 of Dancin' with Demons

I hum in appreciation and sit still, letting him do what he wants with my hair. It’s strange, but this act, him more or less grooming me, feels very intimate for me, and I think it is for him, too. He doesn’t talk while he’s doing my hair, doesn’t rush, never makes any sounds that indicate it’s boring or annoying to him. After a little while, the soft thud of a hair tie hits the middle of my back, and Renegade, presses his lips to my cheek from behind me.

“Thank you,” I whisper, reaching to pull the perfect braid over my shoulder.

“You’re welcome,” he says, the bed shifting as he stands and moves around to the dresser where he sets the brush. “I think we should start doin’ Savior’s hair in braids for bed. Keep it out of her face, cut back on how tangled her shit gets overnight.”

“Renegade,” I say, and he must here the change in my voice because his head whips around, his brows pulling together as he stares at me. “How will living in Tennessee work for us? Seriously? I really don’t think I’d be comfortable having to watch you with clubwhores.”

Renegade comes over and kneels in front of me. “Tell me what I need to do to prove to you that there won’t be any clubwhores? I want you, little love. No one else.” Biting my bottom lip, I shrug, wishing I had the answers on how to make all the fear and anxiety go away. “Let me ask you a question, woman. If we were together, would you worry about me cheatin’ on you?”

“Probably not,” I say, shrugging again. “You strike me as the faithful type if you’re in a committed relationship.” And that’s true, he doesn’t seem like the lying type, and to cheat, you have to be able to lie.

“Then be my woman,” he says, and my eyes go wide as I gasp, my body tensing. “Be my girlfriend, Raylynn. Let me take care of you, of Savior. Let me take you on dates, prove to you that it’s okay to fall in love with me.”

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I let out a shaky breath. “Renegade, I can’t satisfy you. You know that.”

He shakes his head as he brings his hands up to cup either side of my face. “We’ve already talked about sex, and nothin’ changes there. That will happen only when you’re ready. But you’d be surprised how satisfied I am just bein’ able to kiss you and have you close to me, Raylynn. So, I’m just askin’ for a chance.”

Taking a deep breath, I know I might regret this, but at the same time, I might not . . . “Okay.”

Leaning forward, Renegade kisses me but pulls away too soon. “Good. Now that you’re my girlfriend, officially, you also can’t get angry at the shit I bought today.”

My brow quirks up. “I told you not to overdo it with her, Renegade.”

Getting to his feet, he rolls his eyes at my and huffs. “You can’t overdo it with a princess, woman.”

Pushing off the bed, I shake my head and chuckle as I follow him to the living room, and I cuss under my breath as I take in my daughter, surrounded by shit from the Disney Store, happily playing in the living room with Moana on the TV again. This time, she’s singings the songs to herself. Renegade plops on the sofa behind her, looks over his shoulder at me, and pats the seat next to him. “Come on. Movies for a few hours. I’m exhausted and you are, too.”

Moving to the couch, I sit down next to him and am surprised that my body doesn’t tense when he puts his arm around my shoulder and pulls me against his side. My eyes roam over all the shit piled in this living room. Savior has new stuffed animals scattered everywhere, there’s a stack of Disney pajamas, like two tea sets, and a bunch of other toys. On the far end of the couch is another stack of new clothes and several shoe boxes.

“Renegade,” I say in a clipped tone.

“Hmm?”

“What part ofdon’tspoil her did you not understand?”

“I—”

“Ren-Ren said I could have whatever I wanted,” my daughter snaps as she spins around on the floor to face us, her expression full of fury. “And I tried to say it was too much money, Mommy, but he said to get what I wanted, so I did. And Ren-Ren said you can’t make him return it.”

My eyes narrow as I sit up and turn slightly toward Renegade. “Really?”

The smile on his face makes me want to giggle, but I don’t. After he sits up some, he reaches over to gently grip the side of my neck. “I’d love to see you try to make me, though, little love.”

Heat blooms across my cheeks because the underlying meaning of his words isn’t lost on me. “We don’t need a ton of material things, Renegade. That’s all I’m saying.”

He sighs, rubbing his thumb across my jaw. “Raylynn, I’ve never had someone that I wanted to spoil. Now, I have not one but two amazin’ ladies in my life, and I want to give you the best of everythin’. So, try to let me, okay?” I nod as he moves his hand, leaning forward to tap my daughter playfully on the nose. “Go get what we got Mommy from the kitchen, little one.”

Savior squeals and jumps up from the floor, running into the kitchen. She’s back before I even have time to ask questions, holding a long rectangular box out to Renegade. He takes it from her and holds it out to me. As I take it, Savior climbs up on Renegade’s lap and they both watch me like hawks.

Popping the box open I gasp, my throat tight with emotion as I lightly run my fingers over the beautiful silver charm bracelet inside. All the charms hanging from it are from the different Disney villains— Maleficent’s horns, Ursula’s shell necklace, Jafar’s snake staff, Gaston’s gun, Evil Queen’s poisoned apple, Oogie Boogie’s dice, and a skull with blue flame hair for Hades. “I love it, Renegade. Thank you.” Setting the box down next to me, I shift on the couch and lean over to kiss him.

I’ve never had anyone buy me anything before, and considering he is the reason my daughter gets to love Disney, which is something I didn’t really get as a kid, this will remind me of how much he took to Savior from the moment he met her, and he has no idea how much it means to me that he’s so good to her already.

Pulling back, he softly smiles at me and gestures for the box. “Let me put it on you, and then we can watch some movies”

“Can we watchThe Lion Kingnext, Ren-Ren? Please?” Savior says, snuggling into him after he sits back from clasping the bracelet around my left wrist.

“We can watch whatever you want, sweetheart,” he says, sitting back and holding his arm out until I lean into him, and he curls it around my shoulders.

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