Page 17 of Stitch
Again she looked completely unconcerned.
“I have no restrictions on what you talk about with me, Stitch. If you-”
“Can you not call me that in here?”
For the first time, I’d surprised her, and didn’t that say a lot about the things she’d heard before. She opened her mouth, paused, and held up a hand.
“I’m so sorry, but I don’t know anything else to call you.”
Of course, how would she?
“Seth. Uh, my real name is Seth, you’ll hear my sister Elise call me that if you see her at the clubhouse. She’s uh… she doesn’t get that she’s meant to use my road name, especially there.”
Lissa nodded. “I know there are a lot of rules to club life. I’m still learning them myself.”
I imagined it was pretty strange a life to come into from anything else. For me, it was the structure that I needed, something to balance me out, and Reacher was like my counterpoint. Sometimes the hothead to my calm, and sometimes it worked other ways.
“Road names are essential, a sign of respect. Every time she calls me Seth at the club, she’s dissing me, or at least, that’s how the dickheads in the club will see it. Anyone else, I’d yell at them until they got it right.” Bullshit. I don’t yell. What am I even saying?
Lissa shrugged. “Thank you for allowing me to call you Seth while we’re in session. I don’t think you realise it, but you’re opening up and letting me in already, and that’s impressive. A lot of men rebel so much that they miss out on what I can do to help.”
Men. Men men men. Those people who still have a full fucking set of junk. I couldn’t pretend I wasn’t different. I could feel how different it was, every second of every fucking day.
“Yeah… well maybe I’m finding my feminine side with one less ball.”
Lissa’s cheeks coloured, and I groaned.
“You did know that part, right? I mean at this point, it’s pretty fucking obvious.”
She leaned down and grabbed her glass of water.
“I just wasn’t prepared for you to say that. I’m sorry, I do try not to react, but… you’re far more open than even you expected.”
I shrugged, and stood up.
“On that note, I think I need to get out of here. Thanks though, Lissa. I hope it’s okay to call you that, I never even fucking asked.”
She nodded. “Seth, in this room, we’re just Seth and Lissa. You talk and I listen. And it never goes any further.”
“Not even to Reacher?”
She stood up to follow me to the door.
“Never. You need to be able to trust me completely, and that’s my promise to you. All I’ll say is that you came and talked. And I’ll only say that because he made the appointment and he’s a nosy bastard, so you know he’ll ask.”
I pulled the door open, and there was the nosy bastard himself, sitting with Camille. Fucking hell. Sitting right fucking next to her. Why did that cause a surge of anger inside me? Why did that make me want to drag him away from her?
“Talk of the devil,” Lissa giggled behind me.
“’Nosy bastard’ was the term I think you used.” I made sure the fucker could hear me.
Reacher smirked. “I was just catching up with the lovely Cammy here. I’ve got no idea what you’re on about.”
I felt another unusual twinge of anger at my oldest friend at those words. I stalked over to him, and forcibly dragged him up from the chair.
“Well, you’re done now. We’re leaving. Ladies, it’s been a pleasure.”
Cammy
