Page 24 of The Worst Kind of Promise
They’re sickeningly perfect for each other. Complete opposites, but perfect.
“Why is the place a mess?” Kit pipes up, poking at a fallen vase with the toe of his shoe.
Aeris shakes the flip-flop in her hand menacingly, growling a little. “I saw a fucking spider! In the bedroom! And then I kept trying to chase it, but the little bugger got away from me. I swear they’re getting smarter.”
A full belly laugh soars out of Kit. “Hayes, anything to add?”
Hayes strains against the silk restraints, addressing the invisible people in front of him since the blindfold has yet to be removed. “Is my dick still out?”
“Your dick is not still out,” Kit confirms.
“Oh, that’s good. Not because I’m self-conscious or anything. It’s just…there’s a time and a place.”
I make an exaggerated gagging noise, though I’m not sure how much of it is exaggerated. “Please don’t talk about your dick in front of me.”
“Oh, Faye. How was the drive?” Hayes asks nonchalantly, trying to wiggle his way underneath some of the sheets without flashing everyone in the room.
I shield my eyes with my hand—for his sake and mine. “It was fine. You know, super boring. Just your average road trip.”
Not your average road trip. In fact, the most sexually frustrating road trip I’ve ever been on.
I can’t make it seem like I was excited to spend time alone with Kit, though. One crumb revealing my true feelings, and Hayes will sniff the truth out like a bloodhound. The leftover adrenaline from the maybe-intruder situation has let a hornet’s nest of nerves loose in my body.
Am I standing too close to Kit? Do I look too happy? Hayes can’t even see me right now, and I’m worried he’s telepathically reading my mind.
Aeris finally unties my brother’s wrists as she teeters on one heeled foot. “We weren’t expecting you until tomorrow,” she says.
I spare a puzzled glance at Kit. “What?”
With full mobility now, Hayes sheds his blindfold, subsequently massaging the redness out of his wrists. “Kit told me you guys were coming back tomorrow,” he clarifies, sitting up under the safety of the covers.
Kit’s teeth scrape together. “I said Friday. Today. June fourteenth.”
Aeris bends down to retrieve my brother’s pants—shudder—and tosses them in his direction. In one smooth motion, he swings his legs over the side of the bed and yanks them up to his hips, all while situated away from us.
“You said Saturday.”
“No, I said Friday.”
Hayes reaches for his phone on the nightstand. He turns it on, scrolling a bit before showing both of us his screen, which has their group chat displayed across the front.
KIT:Coming back Saturday.
“Ooh,” I say, turning to Kit and giving him a supportive pat on the shoulder. “That does say Saturday, buddy.”
Kit scoffs. “I meant Friday. I’ve been sleep deprived for two days, okay?”
Hayes chuckles as Aeris disappears into the adjoining bathroom to change. “Uh-huh. Right. Definitely not because you can’t tell the days of the week apart,” he mocks. “I don’t blame you. They all end in ‘day.’”
I don’t know if it’s the bloodshot eyes or the one protruding forehead vein, but Kit looks feral.
“If your girl wasn’t in the other room, I’d give you a suitcase wedgie.”
“I see those anger management classes I bought for you haven’t been working out.”
Kit makes a noise somewhere between a snort and a sneer, wheeling me away from my obnoxious brother. “I’m going to help you get settled so I don’t end up strangling your brother,” he whispers to me.
“I’d honestly help you.”
