Page 51 of All Your Firsts

She looks like a platter of dessert on this table for me to devour. I know that’s not where my head should be. But here I am, standing over her head and breathing down Samuel’s neck because I feel territorial of her.

As she moves her arms above her head to give Samuel easier access, the top of her breasts peeks out of her v-neck top. I quickly pull the collar of her white shirt up while pulling the bottom of her shirt down a little farther. It doesn’t help that her bra has some kind of pattern on it that can be seen through the white shirt if you look hard enough.

As I gaze over at Samuel, his smirk sends a wave of annoyance through me. I’ve already caught that little fucker looking at her a few times in the past, and it makes my skin crawl with the need for violence.

“Relax, Vic. What if he messes up?” Rosie says.

“I won’t mess up, beautiful,” Samuel tells her before looking at me with the same smirk.

If I didn’t love him like a brother, I’d kill him.

I reach out and grasp her hand tightly as the needle pricks her skin, causing her to wince. The realization of my lack of control hits me as soon as our skin makes contact. I shouldn’t be touching her.

“All done,” Samuel says as he helps her up.

“Ah, Vic.” I look over at her as she tries to pull her hand from mine.

“Sorry.” I let her hand go, feeling a little embarrassed.

She runs to the mirror and looks at her new piercing with a big smile.

She skips back and hugs Samuel, much to my displeasure. “Thank you. I love it.”

When she pulls away, he’s all smiles and red cheeks. I level him with a glare, and he turns around, making himself busy.

Rosie grabs her bag off the counter and looks over at me with a smile. “Put it on my tab. I’m heading to Sweet Escape to get everyone food real quick.”

“You don’t have a tab. You won’t be getting anything else done.”

“We’ll see,” she says in a singsong tone.

I watch her as she skips out the door, smiling brightly before stopping abruptly to retrieve something hidden in her bag.

I step closer to the window and see a crinkled piece of paper in her hand that she’s attempting to smooth out. I step out of the door and look over her shoulder without her even realizing I’m behind her. She has a pen in her hand and is crossing something off.

“What’s that?” I whisper in her ear. Rosie’s hands go flying since I caught her off guard.

“Nothing.”

I rip the paper from her hands before she has a chance to stop me.

“Hey!”

My eyes scan the paper, and I raise my brow. “A list?”

“Nothing gets past you,” she says with an eye roll she loves to give me as she tries to rip the paper from my grasp.

“Why do you have these silly things on a piece of paper?”

Her eyes flicker with something close to pain, and I feel like an ass. If she took the time to write it down, it isn’t silly to her. I should know this better than anyone, considering our history of correspondence.

“Just give it back.”

“Tell me, and I will.”

“Those are just things I want to do while I’m free.”

“You mean you haven’t done any of these things?” I look back at the paper with a frown.

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