Page 224 of The Sidekick

“Thank you,” she says in that voice that makes my skin tighten with need. I shake my head and refocus on helping.

At some point I’m going to learn to have control over myself around her.

She keeps looking at the time, her frown going from slight to very concerned. It’s one minute past seven.

“I have a tattoo that doesn’t have a color yet.”

Her attention jerks to my face and then my pec. The blank chrysanthemum my sister refuses to fill in. She says my one is the only one who gets a vote on what color it should be. My one is right here and needs a distraction.

“I noticed that,” she tilts her head as she studies it. Her eyes crinkle as she chews her lip. “It makes me sad.”

My hands freeze for a second before I continue replacing the plastic frame. “Why’s that?”

“Because it’s right over your heart and it’s empty.” Her eyes flick back to her work as I study her. “You’re not empty.”

Of course she gets it. The knowledge that she understands me on a level no one else ever has flattens me. It’s not one sided. This isn’t a dream. It can’t be. Nothing this good continues for over twenty-four hours.

She already sees it in color where I’ve always left it a blank slate.

“What color do you think it should be?” I try to sound casual instead of letting her know how I’m hanging from every word with tension now.

Her gaze turns thoughtful, taking the question more seriously than I thought she would.

“I would say something bright but that’s not quite right.” She muses.

I’ve seen some of the neon dresses. Now that I think about it this might be my most colorful tattoo yet. The idea makes me want to laugh. If she sees me as something that vivid, I’m ok with it.

She makes me want to laugh. In a lifetime of forced chuckles and dry humor she can open me up faster than anyone.

“Blue,” she says suddenly with a smile. “Dark blue. Like your eyes.”

I tilt my head as I think about that. “Yeah? Why?”

“The eyes are windows to the soul?” She says sheepishly. “And I feel connected to you every time our eyes meet. I think it would be nice to feel that way looking at the flower too.”

I shove the mess out of the way to grip the back of her neck and pull her to me. I don’t hold anything back in the kiss, devouring her in the hopes she’ll be with me always.

Her surprise lasts for a split second before her tongue shyly strokes along mine. I can’t hold back my groan at the sweetness of it. So innocent and willing to be so filthy with me.

The phone starts ringing and I want to chuck it out the window for the interruption. It doesn’t help that when she draws back from me her eyes are dazed and unfocused.

“Angel,” I groan, fighting with myself to maintain some control and not break the damn thing as it continues.

“I have to. It’s South,” her eyes abruptly refocus and become sad.

I nod and drop onto my back rubbing the heels of my palms into my eyes as hard as I can to reset my brain.

Tera

As much as I love South I’ve been dreading hearing her ring tone this morning. She wouldn’t call if everything was ok.

“How is everything going?” I ask in a fake chipper tone I hope is believable. Maybe if I think good things it won’t be too bad.

“They ditched him,” South’s monotone, breathy voice comes across clearly and I stifle my wince as my shoulders drop in defeat.

“He refused to leave you behind and they bailed. Work with a chance of never returning.”

“Ok,” I take a deep breath and close my eyes. “Don’t leave him alone, Southie. Please?”

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