Page 47 of Birdy

Sliding my most even mask in place, I pivot my head toward her, heart hammering in my chest. She flashes me another one of those dick-twitching smiles and crooks that little finger again. “Can we chat for a moment?”

No.

“Is there a problem?” I assert, full-on in my expected role, widening Benni’s smile.

“Actually, there is.”

This girl really is fire.Puro fuego. Candela.She’d ruin me if I let her.“Well, go on then, let’s hear it. What’s the issue, Villanueva?”

I don’t get a vocal answer—of course not. She spins surely on her heel, expecting me to follow her. Kind of have to now. If other ears picked up on the exchange, it’ll look sus if I don’t.

Sighing, I head in her direction and stop right at the threshold of her cell, my hands gripping the sides of the doorframe for dear fucking life. “Spit it out. What’s the supposed problem?”

Benni eyes me from her perch beside the desk, twirling the stool in a complete circle. “My mom’s sick.”

There it is—what had her so upset prior to Mack’s appearance. Overall, she seems candid about it at the moment, but I can see the deep-rooted heartbreak in her eyes.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Now, what’s the problem?”

“Thatisthe problem,” she stresses. “She’s sick, and I need a phone.”

Must be because I’m reeling from the actual face-to-face conversation, but what she’s asking for? Goes right over my head. “You already made your call today. I’m sorry your mother is sick, but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to speak with her again.”

“Oh, you poor thing. You don’t get it, do you?” Scoffing a laugh, she rises from her seat and makes her way toward me with that natural sway in her full hips.

My throat bobs, not so fucking subtly. Despite the loosely-fitted uniform, I can just make out the curves of her body. Almost too clearly. And let me tell you...what lies beneath them—fuck me.

The short hairs at the nape of my neck prickle like a livewire the second she’s in my space, craning her head back to look me in the eye. “I don’t want a phone call, Andrés. I want a phone.”

That’swhen it hits me, right over the damn head, kind of like thechancletazosmy mom used to give me growing up. I can all but feel the proverbial slap of the sandal at the back of my head.

She did not just ask me to get her a phone...

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”

Benni chuckles softly. “And why is that?”

My head ticks back. “Do you not realize what you just asked me?WhoI am?”

“I could be asking you for way worse. It’s a tiny little phone, a way for me to keep tabs on my mom and my sister. Please, Andrés...it’s bad. Stage-four colon cancer and she’s refusing treatment because of how expensive it is. My sister can’t afford it, either. She can barely manage to pay the bills after burying my brother.”

Wow, that’s not just sick. That’s heart-shattering is what it is, and she’s refusing treatment? My chest aches at the image she’s painted out for me. I can’t imagine hearing my mom tell me she’s refusing to battle the beast because of finances. At the very least, I’d still get to be with her in her final days. I don’t know how long Benni’s supposed to be here, but I’m guessing she may not get the opportunity to say goodbye.

Damn it.

I want to help her, I do, but there’s no way in hell I can do this.

“It’s CO Bala,” I remind her, tone stern. “And like I said, I’m going to pretend you didn’t ask me that.”

I’m pushing off the doorframe, needing to walk the fuck away before I do something stupid, but I’m tugged inside and tossed into the dingy wall before I can blink, her small hand fisting the front of my shirt.

“I’ll suck your dick,” she blurts, eyes cutting out the door to ensure we’re not being watched. “We both know you want this, so let’s make a deal; you bring me a phone, a cheap little phone with WiFi that I can use to call Ma daily, and I’ll suck your dick whenever you want. Hell, you can fuck me, too, if that’s what it’ll take, though I should warn—full bush currently, and it’s not by choice. But if you’re into that,this pussy’s yours.”

Jesus. Fucking. Christ.

My dick reacts to her offer, kicking beneath my slacks in agreement. Just the mere imagery of Benni on her knees with my dick in her mouth is enough to undo me right here.

“Benni, I—”

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