Page 32 of Flint

I shrug as best as I can while Ruby continues to work my arm and shoulder in these weird exercises. We’re apparently in her room on club territory. It isn’t much, which is by design. She says this is occasionally used as an overflow guest room, and she never wants a stranger touching her personal stuff, so she keeps the room to the basics. Bed, TV, dresser. I thought the attached bath was a perk, but she said it’s standard for this place. The more time I spend at the clubhouse, the more I realize it’s way more than I thought it was. And it’s bigger on the inside—total magic trickery they got going on here. How bad is it that I’m liking the club more and more with each passing minute?

“Bailey—apparently we’re best friends, and she gave me her kidney—told me a bit about my life. I’m an accountant, according to Gator. The house I own doesn’t scream coolness. It’s nice and all, but there’s nothing that really sticks out. And then there’s my life. I guess I don’t really have one. I don’t know about you, but from an outsider looking in, who would want to go back to a boring life like that?”

“I would,” she says on a sigh.

“Really?” I look at her with a tilted head to see she isn’t pulling my leg.

“Yeah. Club life is anything but boring. It ain’t bad, but there are things that are part of it you just accept, even if you don’t want to.”

“Like what?” I’m too curious not to ask.

“Like you don’t know who your real friends are. Are they after you to get in with your family because they want to be a club member or just bang one of them? I got one dad, but with the way things work around here, it’s like I get seventeen. And it’s ’cause they all got opinions and think it’s their job to tell me how to run my life. It took a million arguments to get Dad to finally agree to let me move out and go to college. Even then, it got freaking voted on by the club on what college I could apply to ’cause it had to do with territories and shit like that. I get it, safety and all that, but come on. My life is filled with badass men, and I’ve seen and done things that most girls can’t say they even thought about. Even so, I’m like a little girl locked up in a tower looking out. I would give anything to go where I want, when I want, without it needing to be approved by a freaking committee already.”

“Wow, that does sound bad. I’m sorry.”

She huffs out a big breath and goes to put some things in her bag that she brought with her. Apparently it’s got all her goods for working awesome magic on my shoulder. It still hurts a bit, but it’s not as stiff as before, which is a relief.

“It ain’t. I’m just feeling a bit bitchy. Dad had Kooper come get me when he got a call that I was at a party last night. I went because I wanted to talk to a guy, nothing horrible. Just told him to stop spreading rumors that I spread my legs for free or I would cut off his dick. It was all innocent and shit, but Dad was pissed I went alone. He’d heard about the rumors last week and had a conniption till I told him they weren’t true, and then he got pissed and wanted to teach the guy a lesson, so he had a few people watching and waiting. I guess I fucked that up by showing up and taking matters into my own hands. I mean, it’s my life, and it’s my reputation. I really don’t care what people think about me. I’ve been called worse ’cause of who my dad is. I love my dad, wouldn’t change him for anything. And it’s because of him that I’ve got this need to take matters into my own hands and deal with shit. Again, not something he’s really happy about. So I got a time-out, so to speak. Pulled home for the weekend. I’m still a bit sore about it.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah, that about sums it up. So ignore the angry girl in the corner and make up your own mind.” She shrugs, and I kind of just want to give her a hug. If my shoulder would let me, I wouldn’t hesitate.

“Guess the grass is always greener, huh?”

“How is it that you know that saying but not, like, your favorite sex position?” She crosses her arms and gives me a quizzical look.

I shake my head, already knowing I can’t answer it. “I don’t know. I open my mouth and shit spits out. If it helps, I don’t know where I learned it from. It’s kind of like how I know I like certain food. I don’t think I know what I don’t like yet, though, so I bet if I go to a buffet, it could make for some entertainment.”

“We should make sure General goes with us when we do. Don’t need you dying on me for trying something you were allergic to and I didn’t see the signs or anything.”

“Yeah, but talk about a way to go. ‘What happened to Julianne?’ ‘Oh, she died from trying new things.’”

“Or ‘Look at the idiot who ate shellfish when she was allergic to it.’”

“Ah, yeah. Maybe not as awesome as it first appears. We should stick to trying things out that might not kill me, then.”

“Who we killing and why?”

Is it bad that I totally felt a million butterflies fly around in my stomach at hearing first, then seeing Flint open the door to Ruby’s room? Bad, right? We’re going with bad? Asking for a friend.

I don’t know how long it’s been since we’ve seen each other—an hour, maybe more? But damn, does he look good. He showered, the tips of his jet-black hair still a little wet from what I can see. Face not shaved, though, and the scruff is sexy. I swear to God it grew more since I last saw him, or maybe I just never really focused on it before. The tight black T-shirt is definitely working for him, and me. I mean, what girl would say no to being able to see all the yummy muscles going on underneath it?

“Just Jules here. That a problem for you?” Ruby gives him a side-eye, and I look away.

Yeah, she totally saw me perk up when he came in. Dammit, thought I was being discreet. Doubt the whole “no real emotion to a crazy jumping bean smiling” transition was a good idea. Not really stealthy.

“Nope. You know where we keep the bodies. Just make sure it’s far enough in the back to not draw attention from the coyotes.”

Wow, he said that all straight-faced. I have half a mind to think he’s serious. And why can’t I keep my eyes off him as he leans in and kisses her forehead? Her smile is sweet to him, but then she puts distance between them.

Where they a thing? Does he still have a thing for her, and she’s into someone else? Is it because of her dad? And why do I want to stab her in the eye right now?

“It’s good seeing you again, Flint,” she says.

“You too. How long you staying this time?”

She rolls her eyes as she packs her stuff up one last time. “As long as the warden tells me. He has till noon tomorrow to get over this, and then I’m out and back at school. Got a test on Monday, and I didn’t really get an option to pack a bag of school stuff before I was thrown on the back of Koop’s bike and whisked back to my tower.”

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