Page 90 of Ozzie

“Uh-huh.”

Why isn’t she saying more? “Alicia? I need your opinion on all of this. Please.”

The faucet turns on, and I can imagine her filling a cup of water.

“Well, first, let me ask you a question. Are you and Ozzie finally dating?”

I’m lying on my bed, and I turn onto my side. I haveconfided in Alicia before about my feelings for Ozzie. “No, we discussed we wanted to, but we are waiting for Durango’s approval. Then I got shot, Ozzie has been away on a couple of assignments, and Durango has been stubborn.”

“Okay, well, from my viewpoint, that might be why you’re insecure. You two haven’t had a conversation about seeing other people.”

“But he wouldn’t—”

“Aha,” she interrupts me. “There you go. He wouldn’t see anyone else. The man is obsessed with you. We can all see it.”

She’s right.

“Considering everything you are dealing with right now, it’s probably brought up a lot of feelings you thought you had dealt with.”

I let out a breath. “Yeah, John was an asshole.”

“Total asshole.”

I laugh. “Thanks. I needed this conversation.”

“No problem. As for the possibility of hearing Durango have sex, do you have headphones? Or can you sleep on the couch?”

Sleeping on the couch doesn’t sound fun, but it’s a better option than sitting here.

“I guess so.”

She laughs. “Well, if you two are both going to be dating, you might have to reconsider your living arrangement.” She’s right about that. “Hey, I need to go, but if you need to talk some more, call me later, all right?”

“Thanks. I’ll be fine,” I say.

“Good luck tonight.”

She ends the call, and I toss my phone onto my bed as I dream of the idea of living with Ozzie. The image of Ozzie stroking himself like he did that one time with his wild eyes on me fills my mind. Coming home to that every day would not be a hardship.

Damn it, we haven’t even been on a date yet and I’m already imagining us living together. This is a guy who hasn’t had a relationship, as far as I know. He might not be ready for that step for a long time.

CHAPTER 27

Ozzie

“Wearinga tux can be a pain in the ass, but I really do enjoy these types of events,” Lightning says as we take in the room.

I chuckle. “You’d probably live in a tux if you could.”

Lightning is known for his more stylish clothing choices. If it were up to him, his tux would probably be purple or some color that stands out. But since he’d bought it for work, as did I, we both own the standard black.

“Maybe not a tux, but certainly something snazzier than my daily wear.”

“Something to look forward to when you retire.”

He shakes his head. “Never going to retire.”

That surprises me. “Never? I figured you’d be trying to find a way to spend all your time on some beach with Alicia.”

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