Page 206 of The Sidekick

She never has to know that if it comes down to it, I’ll be backing South in that fight. Shade’s a dick. If her sociopath friend can bring him to heel, I’m all for it.

“Your son?” Trevor asks in disbelief.

“We’ve been calling him that to make him mad,” Tera giggles. “You should see his face when we say it.”

“His summer camp time isn’t as fun as I’d hoped,” I glance at her in concern.

She nods quickly. “He called me. I called his boss to beg him to let him leave, but he told me no. I have to get proof that they’re mistreating him, and he won’t consider the cheating as a play. Shade is supposed to be too macho to care about stuff like that.”

“You called Andi’s dad?” Max winces.

“Yeah,” she looks at him curiously. “He’s the boss. Who else would I talk to?”

“Oh, babygirl,” Trevor sighs and shakes his head.

“What? Did I mess up? Mr. Matthias said he’s going to send them out of town for a while to give him a break.”

They both give her wide eyes of surprise.

“What am I missing here?” I ask.

“He’s a mafia don,” Max says with an eye twitch. “And her oldest bestie is a sociopath.”

“No, he isn’t,” Tera huffs in frustration. “Even if he was, he’s still Andi’s dad. Just because he can be mean doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve a hug sometimes.”

I give up. I’m going to start assuming everyone Tera knows is a closet serial killer from now on. Between this, South, and Shade, I’m throwing in the towel.

“Are we still on for what we discussed earlier, angel?” I change the subject abruptly just to get away from the insanity ready to suck me in.

She gives me a blank look followed by blushing cheeks as she realizes what I’m talking about. Her teeth worry at her lower lip.

“Stop,” I say softly, and she straightens, stopping before she chews herself raw. Good to know we’re still in sync.

“There’s no rush,” I remind her calmly.

She takes a fortifying breath and nods with determination. “We’re a go.”

My lips turn up in a menacing smile that she can’t see. Trevor does, and his eyes narrow on it.

Chapter Fifty-Seven

Tera

Asher taps his thigh on the left side. I crawl into the position he wants and sit on my heels. I should feel ridiculous, but the soft, pleased look on his face when he watched me do it earlier made me feel like a queen. I don’t feel like an idiot floundering for what to do with him. He wants me next to him. He gets it. So easy.

“I want you to meditate for a little while. Relax.”

I nod in agreement. That sounds wonderful. Cleaning out all the negative stuff so good things can come in.

“Seiza, knees wide, and pull up your skirt.”

I’m doing it before the instructions penetrate my brain. I don’t have a chance to tense up or second guess anything until I’m already in position with my skirt tucked up to reveal my thighs. With my knees this wide, my panties are on display for anyone to see from the right angle.

“Color?” I can feel him looking down at me as I swallow hard.

It’s ok. Asher won’t let anything happen to me. That takes a lot of the sudden embarrassment out of me.

“Green,” I answer confidently.

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