Page 110 of A Hurt So Good

“And? It’s embarrassing for you to do this. How do you want me to get a boyfriend?” she asks me, and I immediately laugh.

“You’re not having a boyfriend for at least another five years.”

“He’s right. You don’t need one,” Harlon adds.

“And yet, Arya gets three,” Sasha says with a laugh.

“Arya’s a different breed,” I tell her. Arya looks up at me with a funny look on her face. “What? Not all girls can handle the three of us.”

“Yeah, you sure don’t make it easy,” she teases.

“Oh, come on. We aren’t that bad,” Harlon says with a smirk. Arya raises an eyebrow, and I start laughing. I release the girls and pay for their ice cream when my phone rings. I slide it out to see it's our dad and step to the side to answer it.

“Hey?”

“I had a phone call just a few minutes ago. War was in an altercation,” he says.

“What do you mean?”

“He got beat pretty badly, but he’s okay. He didn’t want us to know, but as you know, I have a friend who works at the prison. He just wanted to make me aware of the situation.”

“How bad is bad?”

“Nothing was broken, so that’s a good sign,” he says before sighing into the line.

“This is stupid. This whole idea he had was stupid. We should have never gone along with it,” I snap into the phone.

“It wasn’t our choice, and you know it. Warren sets his mind to something, and he’s going to do it regardless of what we say, and we both know that. As of right now, he’s okay, Denz.”

“What the hell do I tell Arya?”

“That’s up to you. If it were me, I wouldn’t tell her anything. It will only worry her more,” he says.

“You’re right. I’ll let Harlon know, but I’m not saying anything to her.”

“Good plan. I’ll talk to you later,” Dad says before hanging up. I glance over and see the girls laughing as they paint ice cream on Harlon’s face, and I know not telling her is the best option. She doesn’t need to know. In fact, he didn’t want us to know.

Taking a deep breath, I walk back toward them and smile. It’s a fake smile, but at least it’s a smile.

“You good?” Harlon asks. Of course, he can tell something is off.

“We’ll talk later,” I tell him. He nods his head when Arya comes toward me. She swirls her finger in her ice cream and then presses it to my lips. I open my mouth, and she slips her finger inside as I lick and suck it off. Her eyes are on fire with need. It’s been a while since we’ve given her what she needs, and I’d say that tonight will be the night we fix that issue.

“You’re making me horny,” she tells me, causing me to smile.

“Am I?”

“You know you are. Is that your plan with the ice cream?” she asks playfully.

“It wasn’t before, but it seems like a good option now,” I tell her. Arya bites her lip when I lean down and suck it into my mouth. I nip at it playfully before she devours my mouth with hers.

Her kiss is hard and needy. It’s like she’s missed this, and she probably has. So I kiss her back with as much force as I can.

I tangle my hand into the back of her hair, forcing her to tilt her back as I deepen the kiss. She tastes like everything I’ve ever wanted and then some.

When we finally pull apart, she’s gasping for air. Her eyes are glossed over, and her cheeks are pink. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her as beautiful as she is right now. I reach up and run my thumb across her bottom lip and watch as she smiles.

“I need to take you home,” I tell her.

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