Page 40 of Not Safe For Work

She grins back, nodding her head vigorously.

I offer to get a car, but she says she can walk it. Halfway down the hill she stumbles, and I just barely catch her before she rolls all the way to Chinatown.

“Want a piggyback ride?” I offer. “We’ve only got a few blocks left.”

“Yeah, but I’m afraid my dress will rip. I’ll just take these off.” She bends down to slip off her shoes.

“All right, princess.” She gives a little shriek when I pick her up, but there’s no way in hell I’m letting her walk outside barefoot.

We walk like that the rest of the way, her body pressed against my chest, until we reach the long line of every other drunk person in the city wanting pizza.

“Maybe this was a bad idea. It could take forever with this line.”

“Nope,” the guy in front of us says, turning around. “Some douchebag just bought three pies for the whole line. As long as you like pepperoni we’re all about to get slices.”

“That’s…generous,” I reply. But the guy just laughs.

“Yeah, right. He said he doesn’t wait in lines. Offered to buy for everyone so he could cut.”

“Huh. Do you like pepperoni, Sparkles?”

She wraps her arms a little tighter around my neck. I can tell she’s minutes away from sleep. “Mhmm.”

As promised, employees start handing out slices to everyone in line. I let Liv feed me while I use one hand to hold her and the other to call an Uber. I definitely don’t want to wait and compete for a car with this group.

When I get to the end of my slice, I bite down gently on her fingers. She squeals but it morphs into a laugh and our eyes lock. I’ll do anything to keep recreating these little moments, like the one Jayce stole from me earlier.

Max in a black Tesla arrives a few minutes later and I carry her into the car. She sort of falls into my lap. I guess it wasn’t the smoothest move, but I was only worried about keeping her feet off the ground.

To my surprise, she doesn’t try to move, just settles in, wrapping her arms around me and burrowing into my chest.

“This was the best night. Thank you for coming out,” she says against the collar of my shirt.

“Thanks for tempting me with your choice of clothing.”

“You never told me. Did you like the dress?”

“Of course. You look stunning.” She just responds with an “mmm” sound, and I wonder if she’s disappointed in my answer, so I might as well be honest with her. “It’s so plain though, compared to everything else I saw in your closet. Where’s the sparkle?”

She laughs, or exhales, or does something that vibrates against my chest. I swear she nuzzles in a little closer.

“You get me.” It’s the last thing she says before promptly falling asleep.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

OLIVIA

The seagullsoutside my window sound like pterodactyls this morning. I wake up and immediately cover my ears with the pillow. The screeching feels like it’s burrowing into my skull.

It only takes a second to remember why my head is pounding. Mixing wine and rum was not the best idea.

A quick check to my phone confirms that it is thankfully Sunday, and I can stay in bed as long as I wish. It’s only nine-thirty. But seeing I have several unread text messages has me upright and alert.

I decide to click on Gavin’s first. It’s from an hour ago and I might as well rip off the Band-Aid to see if I did something embarrassing last night.

Gavin Scott:

Hope your hangover isn’t too prickly

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