Page 27 of The Penalty

That kicks me into gear, and I push myself off the couch. The food smells amazing, and even though I’m not that hungry anymore, I’m going to demolish that burger. Ethel makes the best burgers, and thinking about her homemade fries has my mouth watering. My hand brushes Cece’s as I’m snagging the bag Beau holds out, and I pull it back like I’ve been burned, retreating to the floor beside the couch. If I take the couch, she might sit next to me, and breathing would be difficult with her soft body so close to mine. Even with her brother sitting beside us.

“Why are you sitting on the floor? Plenty of room up here.” My friend gives me a weird look, but I shrug at him.

“Whatever, dude. You do you. Did you get anything else done while I was gone or were you too afraid to go into Cece’s bedroom?” Beau asks before taking a tidy bite of his burger.

“What?” Does he know?

“The animals. My sister’s rodent collection too much for you.”

I’d completely forgotten about the ferret. That’s how much she transfixes me.

“Hey! Don’t say that about my sweeties. They’re not rodents. They’re my family.”

“They’re not your family. I’m your family.”

“I guess I’m stuck with you, but Rogue and Gambit never give me noogies.”

“That’s because they don’t have knuckles,” Beau says, between mouthfuls of fries.

There’s a painful lump in my throat as I swallow down a too large bite. “Rogue and Gambit?” I tilt my head to the side, questioning Cece.

“Yes. Those are my guinea pigs. Because they have the same everlasting love for each other. Minus the sexy times, because Gambit is neutered. I adopted them at the beginning of last year. Loki puts up with them, but they don’t mind his indifference because they’ve got each other.”

“Loki is the ferret?” A little shiver runs up my back remembering his tiny paws skittering over my socked feet, but I try to hide it, because she obviously loves the creature.

“Yup.” There’s genuine affection shining in her eyes. I’ve never had a pet. A couple of my foster families had dogs or cats, but I never stayed with them long enough to get attached. Maybe I should get a cat now? But then, probably not a great idea. I sometimes travel for games now but next year, once I’m in the pros, I’ll be traveling constantly. Not exactly a great lifestyle for a pet owner. Not unless you have someone at home to look after it. And that will not be happening for me.

After cleaning up dinner, we head back to her room to finish our last job before wrapping up for the day. Assemble her bed. Not at all a torturous proposition knowing I’ll never get to spend the night in it with her.

I’m hovering in the doorway when she waves me in. “Ca... I mean Dev come in. It’s safe. I swear all critters are safely tucked away in their cages this time.”

Beau barely notices her slip, but it almost rocks me back on my heels. He would have had questions if she blurted out a nickname for the hockey player she supposedly just met. And he’s well aware of the Punisher costume I wore to the con. Not that there’s any chance he’d connect those two dots. Now I’m being paranoid.

“Give me a sec. Gotta wash my hands.” I dart into the ensuite bathroom, scrubbing the grime off my hands, then gasping at the shock as I splash cold water on my face.

Something silky slides under my hands as I’m reaching behind for the towel.

Beau shoves the door open wider. “Come on, dude, I... what the...”

Water droplets sting my eyes when I blink them open. Emotions flash across his face. Eyes narrowed with suspicion, followed by amusement. And suddenly he’s full out laughing.

“Sissy!” he yells.

Now she’s peering in the doorway and I’m still clueless. Until I glance down to find a bright red bra hanging from my fingers.

Her cheeks flame up, turning the color of the garment she’s snatching out of my hand. She stomps off without a word, leaving me standing awkwardly next to her brother, who is doubled over in laughter.

“Don’t be getting any ideas. That’s my sister,” he says, slapping me on the back and hustling me back into the bedroom.

Chapter 9

My Kind Of Weird

Cece

The chime of thedoorbell has me leaping to my feet, knocking the half empty bowl of popcorn sitting beside me to the floor. Crap. I was stuck in waiting mode and got trapped in a loop of endless doomscrolling. What time is it? My roommates are all due to arrive at any moment, and I was planning on getting changed into something, anything. Of course, that would have required doing laundry, which I fully intended to do this morning, but couldn’t find the motivation for such a mundane chore. Nor did I bother to figure out which box contains the rest of my wardrobe.

And now, here I am, once again, brushing popcorn crumbs off my fuzzy pajama pants. It’s like I’m living in that old Groundhog Day movie Beau forced me to watch when we were kids. He loved the endless repetition. My tangled hair is hanging loose around my shoulders after a restless night ofsleep. There’s at least one hair elastic in this place. I was using it yesterday when the guys were over.

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