Page 132 of Will Bark for Pizza
Let’s go!
Let’s go!
“Okay, we’re going!”
Finally!
THIRTY-NINE
BECKETT
“Is that everything?”Lila asked, looking around the empty apartment. Aside from a couple of garbage bags of trash and a few odds and ends that would also end up in the dumpster, Kira’s Omaha apartment was fully packed up and loaded in a U-Haul.
It was official.
She was moving to Bluebell Springs.
I’d see her every day.
Fuck. I’d see hereveryday.
“That’s it,” Kira said, her gaze scanning the open-concept space and landing on a small, sealed box she labeled as trash, on the kitchen counter. With the way she kept glancing at it, I had to wonder what was inside.
Lila let out a long yawn.
“I can’t thank you enough,” Kira said to her friend, hugging her for several beats. Pathetic to say I was a little jealous. Not of Lila. But of the hug.
Since Kira tackled me during the spider incident aweek ago—I didn’t have the heart to tell her I hadn’t located Charlie yet—we were careful to avoid most physical contact. Definitely the kind of physical contact that had our bodies pressed together. It was for the best, considering the electric current that crackled between us even from across the room. We didn’t have to speak it into existence. We both knew it was there. But dammit, I missed the way her curvy body fit so perfectly against mine.
“I’m going to miss our coffee dates,” Lila admitted. “But I’m so excited for your next chapter.”
“Me too,” Kira agreed, her eyes shiny.
“Don’t you dare cry,” Lila playfully scolded. “I’ll see you in a few weeks, when your books show up.”
“I hope you know, the book club officially nominated you as our author event coordinator.”
“Just the book club?” she teased.
“Oh, me too.”
“I’ll be back and forth as much as I can.”
“I’m starving,” Luke announced as he, Connor, and Aspen reappeared in the hallway outside Kira’s open doorway.
“I know just the place,” Lila said.
“Why don’t you guys go ahead?” Kira said. “I’ll get the last of the trash, and meet you at Maximino’s.”
“You sure?” Aspen asked, fighting a yawn.
“I’ll stay and help,” I offered.
Luke flashed me a look, but it was short-lived due to his hangriness. “Let’s go,” he said, about-facing toward the elevator.
“You don’t have to stay,” Kira said quietly.
“I know.” I locked eyes with her, assessing whether she wanted to be alone or if she wanted me to stay. I didn’t want to encroach on her space, but the idea of leaving her by herself when The Asswipe could show up unannounced didn’t sit well with me. She assured all of us the odds were low, but that also meant they weren’t zero.
