“Lead singer of Oblivion. Simon Kagan. He’s kinda crazy.”
“I don’t really pay much attention to music.” When had that happened anyway? I’d once loved listening to my favorite groups, but I’d lost track of that along with so much else.
“They’re pretty new. They’re on their first tour right now. I’m hoping to get tickets when they swing through here.”
“Awesome.” Since I’d never been to a concert and didn’t have much to say on the topic, I went back to nuzzling Vey.
He headed into the kitchen and returned holding a pair of beers. “Are you sure you didn’t sniff my boxers?”
“Ugh.” I giggled then bit my lip.
What was wrong with me tonight? Ever since he’d walked into Mark’s, I’d been acting completely abnormal. Yes, I was happy to see him. Yes, I’d missed him. I’d been worried since the fight, and having him show up strong and whole had been the best kind of shock.
Between that sorta sexy, sorta sad eye patch and his cold, I couldn’t help wanting to take care of him. But this was all too much. First, wanting to tell him something I’d never spoken about to anyone other than the cops. Now, laughing and holding his hand and pretending I was a normal girl. Not a fighter willing to sacrifice anything to reach some arbitrary goal. Just a girl who liked being with a guy.
I took the beer he held out. Maybe I could be that girl, just for tonight.
Not if you tell him. If you say those words—that you were raped and used, that you killed a man in cold blood—it ends here. He’ll never want to touch you again.
Could I even blame him if that ended up being true?
“One for the road.” He tipped back his beer and drank, and I followed suit.
“C’mon, Vey.” He reached for the red leash clipped near the door and Vey’s tail thumped on the floor. “We’re going on a sleepover camping trip.”
“I’ve never been camping.” I had so many nevers in my life.
I flicked my nail under the edge of the beer label, pausing at the silence that greeted my reply. When I looked up, he shook his head. “You haven’t lived until you’ve sat by a campfire and roasted marshmallows.”
Like a tape on fast rewind in my mind, I remembered how things had been after mom had died. How dad had tried so hard to keep things together but drank alone at night when he thought Carly and I didn’t know. The coupons I’d cut from the newspaper because he’d been too out of sorts to remember to get groceries. Those years of raiding my piggybank to scrape up enough cash for Carly to buy school supplies since Dad drank any extra money away in his misery.
When I’d climbed in that car with Darren, for a moment I’d fantasized he was taking me away from all the responsibilities I’d dealt with too young. I just wanted to escape. He was so good-looking and I’d been flattered by his attention, despite how much older he was.
He’d taken me away, all right. Until I fought like a wild animal to get back to my life. To Carly and Dad.
When Dad died of a heart attack weeks after my return, I clung to my sister. She was my touchstone. My safety net. The one who helped me believe I could still be normal if I tried hard enough.
“Maybe I’ll get to go camping someday,” I whispered, staring into my bottle.
“You will.”
I glanced up and he knelt at my side, his gorgeous aqua eye trained on me. The sight of that silly eye patch should’ve broken the moment, but it didn’t. “How do you know?”
“I’ll take you. I promise.”
What did it say about me that I wanted to believe his promises? Was I as gullible as my sister?
He snapped on Vey’s leash then rose and held out his hand. “Come on. You said you’d VapoRub me until I fell asleep.”
I smiled. How could I not? Somehow this amazing man was still a part of my life though I’d tried repeatedly to shove him out. “Sounds kinky.”
He gave me a sideways grin. The whole pirate thing he had going made him even hotter. “A guy can hope.”
We took a cab to my place and walked into a blessedly quiet apartment. Carly had developed a habit of leaving the TV on when she went out, but tonight all was silent and dark. I bumped into the end table and laughed as a wet nose ran up the back of my leg. My freezing leg, since I hadn’t changed into my pants after the gym. Forty degrees and bare skin didn’t mix.
“You okay?” Tray gripped my waist before tracing the hem of my shorts, then my thigh. “Jesus. You need to warm up.”
I flipped on the lights. “I will in a few minutes.”