Page 34 of No Place Like You

“Oh, nothing. That’s a pretty name.”

“Yeah.” We sit for a moment in awkward silence. Her fingers toy with the edges of the magazine, flicking the corners with her thumb. “So, how’s the internship going?” I ask, cutting into the short period of quiet.

She slaps a hand to the cover of the magazine, delivering a defeated smack to Kim Kardashian’s face. “It’s…going.”

I shift in my seat to face her, and she does the same.

“We had this shoot yesterday, and I was taking some shots of one of the models. The head photographer for the campaign saw some of them and asked me to have them edited by Monday. But now, I don’t have a laptop. I’ll have to try to get to work early tomorrow and see what I can do.” She pauses, burying her face into her hands. “It just feels like…” She lifts her eyes to me. The inner corners of her brows turn up, and her lower lip juts out in the saddest little frown. “Whenever I take one step forward, I take two steps back. Maybe I should’ve listened to my mom.”

I reach for her leg, the bony area of her shin since it’s the closest part of her to me, and squeeze her gently.

“Hold on.” I get up and go to my room to retrieve the one item that may add a cushion of support to the long list of mishaps and stress that’ve been thrown her way like a mean curveball. “I’m not trying to offer a solution because I know you’re going to figure things out on your own, but maybe this’ll help lighten the load a bit. God knows you’ve been through hell and back.” I extend my MacBook in her direction. “Use this. I have my work laptop, and I only use this for personal things.”

“Like a lifetime membership to Pornhub?” she asks with a sly smirk.

“More like my BDSM fanfic.”

Her brow lifts in amusement. “Didn’t know you had it in you.”

I huff a laugh, and she eyes the laptop still in my possession. I nudge it closer to her. “I’m serious, Luce. Use it.”

The sad furrow between her brow is replaced with a sweet, appreciative smile. “Thank you, Dexter. That’s actually really,reallyhelpful.”

I wave a hand, brushing off her gratitude.

“And it means a lot that you’d share your most treasured possession with me.”

“It’s just a computer.”

“I meant the fanfic.”

I laugh at the same time Lucy gingerly takes my laptop from my hand. “Hey, I have a question.”

Lucy looks at me with an innocent smile. “Hmm?”

“How do you know about Pornhub?”

Before she has a chance to answer, my intercom buzzes loudly, announcing the arrival of our lunch. Lucy giggles and shoves a hand into my chest, making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. When all I do is smile back at her, the intercom buzzes again, this time more impatiently.

I wink at her. “Saved by the bell.”

18

Dexter

My caffeine preferencesare usually pretty straightforward. Black, no sugar or cream, piping hot. None of the fancy-shmancy foam crap on top or something sweet drizzled inside. And especially not in a twenty-ounce disposable plastic cup half filled with ice.

But here I am, Monday morning, my messenger bag slung over my shoulder, standing next to Lucy with her camera bag slung over hers and a matching set of Starbucks cups in our hands.

“Trust me, you’re going to love it.”

“What is it?” I ask, eyeing the cup like it’s diseased.

“An upside-down venti iced caramel macchiato with oat milk and a light caramel drizzle.”

“How do you not get an aneurysm every time you order that?”

She rolls her eyes. “And here.” She offers a small paper bag holding something heavy and warm. “It’s a coffee cake.” I take her offering, the toasty cinnamon smell permeating through the packaging. “Coffee isn’t one of the major food groups. You need some sustenance.”

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