Page 14 of Defend Me

A kitchen where I may learn how to drug someone

Brooks:Day eight of inviting you to smoke with me.

This motherfucker.

The audacity to keep ignoring me. Would he do this until the end of time?

Dean:Where?

Brooks:

Bet.

Fuck, it was happening.

I ordered him an Uber- the luxury kind to make a good impression. After sending him a screenshot, I bounced up and down on the couch.

Dean:Is this safe? Are you going to kidnap me and take me to an undisclosed location?

Brooks:Telling you would defeat the purpose, dumbass.

He could’ve driven himself, but I didn’t trust that he wouldn’t change his mind, so I made the decision for him. Besides, he knew that he could take me down, which answered the kidnapping question.

Brooks:Completely unrelated. How much do you weigh? These dosing guidelines are a bitch.

*****

Now A Pity Party of Two

My phone buzzed, showing the number connected to the call box. When someone hit my name, it connected it like a phone call.

“Yo, floor thirty-eight.”

After I hung up, I got to my feet. I had no idea what to do with myself. People didn’t really get invited to my apartment and if they did, it was someone that I was already friends with.

Fuck, I was nervous. I’d never put in effort to do this sort of thing. If I met someone and we vibed, we’d be friends. It was simple.

When I realized I hadn’t told him the apartment number, I darted to the door, not caring that I was wearing sweats and was barefoot. The elevator was on its way up and even though it might not be him, I leaned on the wall across from it and planted my bare foot on the surface behind me, then put my hands in my pockets.

Casual. I was being cool and casual.

The doors opened and Dean jumped a little when he saw me. His eyes went to my foot where there was the outline of a duck holding a knife in its beak.

“This kind of feels like a power pose,” he noted.

“So, you’ve finally accepted my offer.”

“You were annoying me,” he replied with a lazy shrug. “Plus, I’m broke and you’re offering free weed.”

I chuckled and bit the tip of my tongue. I saw his lips twitch, which was progress.

Squaring his shoulders, he raised a brow. “We chilling in the hallway?”

“Nah, man. That’d be weird as hell.”

I pushed off the wall, casual as ever, then led him to my door. Without looking back at him, I strode inside. There were no footsteps behind me for a second, but eventually, he came in. After he hung his sweatshirt on a hook and took off his shoes, he looked around the space. I followed his gaze at each point.

A sectional couch made the living room feel like its own space. There was a seventy-five inch TV on the wall. Huge, floor to ceiling windows adorned the far wall, which offered a spectacular view of most of the city.

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