Page 20 of The Red Zone
“Seriously, who invited you here? This is a horrible way to treat someone on their birth—"
“Looks like I’ll be helping you then.” Using my hand that was holding her in place, I slid it down her side to scoop under her butt while my other hand slipped underneath the backs of her knees. She squirmed in my arms as I moved to stand.
“Wait, stop!” she whisper-yelled with her eyes bugging out. “Please.”
I stopped, bunching my eyebrows together as I settled back down on the bench. “What’s going on?”
Mae sighed, rolling her eyes. “Fine, I’ll tell you. But you have to promise you won’t make a big deal about it…”
“I’ve been warned about making deals with the devil.”
“I would laugh, but unfortunately, I don’t find you funny,” she deadpanned.
“Will you just tell me what’s wrong, so we can get on with the night.”
She paused for a moment to examine my face, no doubt contemplating whether or not she could trust me. I didn’t blame her, but then again, I wasn’t going to wait here all night for her to cough up details on whatever the hell was going on.
“Any day now, March.”
“Fine…IthinkItwistedmyankle,” she mumbled, her words spilling out so quickly I couldn’t make out half of what she said.
“Louder.”
“I think I…twistedmyankle.”
“You what?”
Releasing an elongated breath, she lifted a hand over the side of her mouth for privacy and leaned closer to whisper against the shell of my ear. “I think I twisted my ankle.”
The firm hand I had resting on her side gripped tighter asI pulled back a few inches to examine her expression. “You’re hurt?”
“Yes, but I said don’t make a big deal about it,” she scolded in a whisper, flicking my chest with the back of her hand.
To the outside eye, we probably looked like a couple flirting and murmuring sweet-nothings, ignoring the people in close proximity to us.
If only these people knew the full truth.
“How bad does it hurt?”
“I don’t know, maybe like a six and a half out of ten? It feels swollen and sort of tingly. I can’t explain it.”
“Stay here until it’s at least a four. Do you need ice?” I raised a palm to grab the attention of the server passing by.
“No, stop. I’ll be fine.” She swatted at my hand.
“Are you sure?”
“Sir, yes, sir,” she grumbled, rolling her eyes.
“I thought we agreed on you calling me ‘master and commander’, no?”
She shot me a murderous glare that I couldn’t help but chuckle at. As I laughed, Mae held back a smile of her own while still trying to maintain her lethal expression. Something inside me eased at the sight of her tiny smile.
“To answer your earlier question, Scarlett is the one who invited me.”
“Of course, she did…” she trailed off. As her eyes surveyed around the room, she relaxed her posture and slumped back lightly against my chest. “You know she thinks we should fuck.”
I coughed away from her face, choking on my saliva. “Excuse me?”
