Page 131 of Resist

I smiled. I loved this girl. “What about you?” I whispered back.

“Are you kidding me? I’m going to kick Telvian butt tomorrow. Do you know how hard I worked to be good? I was so pissed when I got cut out of the last mission…”

“To be good?”

She shot up. “Hell yes! I’ve been kissing ass for the last twenty-four hours to make sure no one cut me from this one. And you know me, Mara. Ihatekissing ass.”

“Shh!” The sound came from another bunk.

We both drew quiet for a moment, not wanting to piss off our roommates. After a few seconds, Edith started whispering again. “I kissed Jay.”

“What!” I shouted.

“Shh!” Several voices rang back out at me.

I shrunk deeper into my sheets, my cheeks reddening as I did.

Edith snickered. “I haven’t seen you since you were released from the hospital. But, yeah, I just walked right up to him, grabbed his ass, and kissed him.”

“Why did you grab his butt?” I whisper-yelled.

“Uh,hello? Have you not seen his ass? It’s like two honey-baked hams. He’s got it tight, girl! If I had it my way, I would have bitten those ass cheeks.”

“Shh!” Several more voices piped up.

I smothered my face in a pillow, dying of laughter. I didn’t know what a honey-baked ham was, but the image of Edith pouncing on Jay in the cafeteria and biting his butt was a total riot in my mind. The girl was such a predator.

“So, how was it?” I asked as soon as I could breathe again.

“Oh, girl, Wes has got nothing on him.”

I cocked a brow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means the white boy hasnothingon a sexy beast like Jay,” she purred.

I rolled my eyes. I really, really loved Edith. Everything about her was good and pure…well, except for her chastity. I was pretty sure that thing was anything butpure. But she was loyal, and truly an amazing human being. I sighed as I rolled over to look at her. “I’m happy for you.”

She smiled, curling back down in her bed. “Me too.”

“Edith?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m going to need your help tomorrow.”

“No shit,” she snickered. “You all almost died at the tower. Youabsolutelyneed me.”

I offered her a forced smile. Her confidence was endearing, but that’s not what I needed from her. I hesitated, not knowing how to ask without giving it all away. Finally, I decided on, “Tomorrow, when we’re in Telvia, I’m gonna need you to do something for me.”

She furrowed her brows. “Well, that sounds ominous. Should I be worried?”

I forced a smile, trying to make this next part sound convincing. “No. I just need you to know that, when the time comes, I’m going to ask you to do something, and you’re going to have to trust me.”

“Mara, I don’t like the sound of that. What’s going on?”

“Shh!” Another voice came from the right of me.

I brought my voice down lower. “Just…trust me,please?”

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