Page 36 of Heat & Deceit
A knock sounds at my front door a few seconds later. I blow out a hard breath and smooth the comforter, turning to take in the apartment. Clean enough. I rush to the door and unlock it, stepping aside so Kiki can slip in. I promptly shut the door. Her long blonde hair is a little messy from the ride out, and the black leather jacket she’s wearing looks amazing with her tight white top. Kiki’s badass bitch look is topped off with combat boots and tight jeans.
“Nova,” she breathes my name. “I’ve missed you.”
“It’s only been a few weeks,” I chuckle as she zooms in for a hug. It’s still strange to be hugged, but I don’t hate it.
“Okay, I’m done.” She takes three giant steps away from me. “Better?”
I nod. “It’s good to see a familiar face,” I admit with a laugh. “I’m constantly surrounded by people I don’t know.”
“How’s the job? Do you want any cookies? Crow sent some.” She slips off her backpack.
My eyes skate to the trash can. “No.”
“Oh.” Kiki pauses and then nods, doing her best to navigate around my awkwardness. “Well, tell me about the job. Do you like it?”
“It’s okay.” I inch in front of the trash can.
She studies me. “Is everything okay?”
“Fine,” I say too quickly. “I’m fine.” There’s nothing for her to throw away, but she’s so close to the evidence of what I’ve done. So close to discovering I’m still weak.
Squinting, she slips her gaze over me, checking for track marks.
My first instinct is to be mad, but then I remember I’ve been acting weird since she got here. I’m only a little over three weeks out of rehab. It would be natural to assume the worst, and in a way, she’s not wrong. I didn’t relapse, but I’ve thought about it. That’s why I made three pies yesterday. As soon as they were finished, I got pissed and threw them all away.
“Do you want to sit?” I force myself to move away from guarding the trash can. There’s a lid, and she has no reason to open it.
“Sure.” She grins and walks to the couch first, knowing better than to walk after me. She takes the seat on the far end of the couch, and I take the other, keeping the middle cushion between us. If it bothers her, she doesn’t comment on it.
“Is your boss nice?”
Does she know about Javier? Does she know I’m doing a crap job of ignoring my omega nature?
“Why?”
Kiki laughs and crinkles her nose at my defensiveness. “Because if she’s not, I’ll go down there and kick some ass, like I warned her I would when I got you the job.”
Right. She doesn’t know anything about Tabitha getting fired. She has no idea who Javier is and just what he’s done to me. I felt so in control of things until he showed up. I was playing Carmine perfectly. Quiet. Reserved. Forgettable.
But Javier looks at me like I’m someone to remember. I’m a little unsteady after that alpha Ly stepped up when my date ditched me and how easy it was for me to slip back into who I used to be while he tossed out snippy comments.
“My boss is nice.”And super hot.“Things are okay. I’m still not used to how big the city is, but I do like it.”
“Good.” Kiki’s gaze darts around the room. “Do you like your place?”
“You shouldn’t have spent so much money on me.”
“Please, you should have let me get you a one bedroom, but this place is super cute.” She pulls her attention back to me. “Do you need anything?”
“No,” I say a little too quickly. I have enough suppressants to last me the rest of the month, and by then, I should have plenty of money for more. “You’ve already done so much for me,” I add. “I’ve been making pretty good tips.” Now that I’ve bought extra clothes and shoes, the pay from Tranquility is plenty to live off of. I mean, I’m not rich, but I can splurge on a nice dinner from time to time.
“Promise me you’ll let me know if you need anything.”
“Okay,” I murmur.
She gives me a skeptical look but drops the subject. “Are you hungry? Do you want to go out and eat lunch? I’ve lived in Dolin my entire life and I’m dying to explore Museton.”
I’m a little drained from work and the incident with Lycus. “Do you mind if we order in?”
