Page 70 of Not Dating Material

Seven gives me a dry look. “Yeah, it was definitely him.”

“Then let’s show him how his meddling could have ended up.”

“On one condition: don’t stay cranky with him for long?” The pleading in Seven’s voice catches me off guard.

If anything, his worry makes me fall for him all that much deeper. “I’ll be over it as soon as we’re done. Maybe even sooner.” I relent. “Maybe I’m not all that cranky with him, even though I really, really want to be because you didn’t deserve that.”

“It’s kinda nice having someone stand up for me. Are you going to be like my little attack dog?”

“If you need me to be.”

“How nice.” Then he gives me his teasing smile. “Like having my own personal Chihuahua on hand.”

I go to stomp away from him, but he refuses to let me go. “Oh, look at that, now I’m cranky with you.”

“Awww, did I hurt your feelings?”

“Chihuahuas are ugly, little demons.”

“You match two out of three of those things.”

“Ugly and little?” I pretend to hold my heart with offense.

“You know what two.” He ducks his lips near my ear. “The things you can do with your tongue are drop-dead demonic.”

“And just like that, you’re back on my good side.” Because hearing Seven talk about what happened, reminding me he enjoyed what happened, lights me up in a way nothing else does.

It also makes me frustrated as all hell because I am desperate, desperate for it to happen again.

I drive us back to the house, filling Seven in on my plans for Xander.

“You ready to make him think he broke us up?” I ask.

“There’s that demon side to you again.”

“You can say no …”

“Nah, I’m way too curious about seeing someone actually call him on his overstepping. Duck knows I can’t do it.”

“You’re both a mess, and that’s fine by me. And so you know, it goes both ways; I’ll call you out on your shit if you screw with him as well.”

“I have no doubt.”

“Okay, now … pinch me or something.”

“Come again?” His eyebrows almost hit his hairline.

“I need to cry.”

“I’m not pinching you.”

“Just a little one.”

“No fulloping way.”

I huff. “You big baby.” So I pinch myself. It doesn’t work.

“You know, if you had years of trauma behind you, this wouldn’t be an issue.”

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