Page 6 of After All This Time

"Multiple women?" I echo, unable to hold back my laughter as I watch her grab a couple of slices of pizza. "It's been a while since I spent the night with multiple women, Firefly, but I'm not opposed to it either, so you might wanna invest in some earplugs."

She bumps her hip into me before sauntering off to claim her spot on the couch. By the time I drop down beside her, she already has a movie playing in the background.

"Speaking of hooking up, you wanna put some ground rules in? Harry mentioned today that we should probably have some."

"Not really. You do you," she says without tearing her eyes away from the TV screen, where Vin Diesel is tearing through another car chase. "Actually, no fucking anyone on the couch or anywhere that I may sit or use."

"So you're saying that I can only have sex in a bed?"

Her eyes flick to me, just for a second. "Do you really want to know you're sitting in a seat where some guy's bare ass was?"

Two thoughts hit me at once. Firstly, I never saw Mills as an on-top kinda girl, and now I can't stop picturing it. Secondly, I'm not about to eat breakfast where some guy's balls were a fewhours earlier. Even I have my limits, and a side of nutsack with my eggs is definitely one of them.

"Yeah, okay, fair point."

With a mouthful of pizza, I turn my attention back to the TV, and we fall into a comfortable silence while rewatchingThe Fast and the Furiousfor the millionth time.

It’s just pizza grease, car explosions, and the promise that no one else’s naked ass will ever desecrate this couch. Our own little world, held together by its own beautifully fucked-up harmony.

Chapter 3

Tobias

"When are you bringing Amelia in to meet us?"

It's been a couple of months since Amelia moved in, and so far the only person she's met is Harry. Not because I don't want to introduce her to my world, but because she's been busy settling into the city and fixing up her disaster of a bedroom.

Before we moved in, her mom took it upon herself to redecorate the entire apartment. Kayla turned Amelia's bedroom into a Barbie-inspired nightmare—like someone hate-fucked a glitter bomb and left it for unicorns to snort like fairy dust.

Trauma has a color, and for Amelia, it's pink.

I remember walking into her room a few days after she'd moved in. I found her perched on the edge of her bed, her shoulders curled forward, staring blankly at the walls like she was suffocating beneath them. When I got closer to her, I heard her whisper, "I can't stand it in here."

Those six quiet words were all I needed to hear before I pulled my phone out of my pocket, flung a protective arm around her shoulders, and began calling around for decorators. I didn't need to ask her why—the pink walls trigger painful memories for Amelia—and if I could make the space feel safe for her and change it up so that it didn't remind her of one of the worst days of her life, then we'd get it done.

Now, we've had those pink walls painted a deep, rich shade of purple, leaving her room unrecognizable.

"Yeah, that'll be never, Levi."

"Why not?" He tilts his head to the side as his shoulder-length blond hair falls across his face.

"Because you'll only hit on her."

"She hot?"

"Dude, come on, that's my stepsister." I pause the needle in my hand, momentarily halting the mermaid tattoo I'm inking onto the back of Levi's calf.

"And?"

"And it's weird." I notice Levi flinch as I continue to shade in the ocean-blue tail, focusing on each scale before speaking again. "But if you must know, she isn't horrible to look at, and if you do ever meet her, you'd better keep your hands to yourself because if her mom has her way, she'll end up marrying some preppy lord or billionaire."

"Well, that sounds boring as shit." He pulls out his phone while keeping his leg still, allowing me to continue honing my art on him. "Speaking of marriage, I have a date tonight."

"Yeah?" I respond, trying to keep my focus.

"Her name's Misty."

"Doesn't sound like a real person."

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