Antichrist

Except maybe this bottle of wine.

Jer tsks, placing his briefcase onto his lap while side-eyeing me. Aging filled him out perfectly. Tough jaw, prominent nose, and eyes the color of grass—a little like mine. Jer is the epitome of male masculinity. “I can fucking drink this mommy juice, Nik. Chill.”

Nik ignores him, looking down at his lap. I’m guessing he’s on his phone, but I can’t see properly.

I squeeze the cork and pop it off, flicking my seat belt off to turn completely to the side, leaning on my door. I’m directly behind Mal, which means I can see Nik clearly from here, except for his phone.

“How did you find yourself still friends with the psycho?” Wrapping my lips around the bottle, I watch as Jer spreads his legs wide while turning to face me slightly. “Honestly.”

Finally, the smile lines around his mouth curve, and I’ve sneaked a peek at my old friend. “Can you imagine him not having me around? Please.” He takes a long gulp, his eyes narrowing in on me. “You look fucking good, baby. Despite the damage this asshole has already left all over your—” He runs the tip of his finger over my throat, and I wince when it throbs. “Flawless fucking skin.”

I steal the bottle off him, his long fingers holding it tightly for a second longer. “Oh, these things?” I smirk, enjoying the light fizz of bubbles slipping down my throat. “These are nothing. You should see the ones he left on my heart.”

Jer’s fingers tap against the leather briefcase. “Yo, Nik, how much have you told her?” His eyes don’t move from me when he asks.

“Shut up, Jeremy.”

Jer runs his hand over the side of his head. Not in distress. I get the feeling that not many things, much less Niko, would get to him anymore. “I guess you’re gonna find out a whole bunch of shit soon.” He takes the bottle from me. “For the sake of my balls, I’ll leave it for Niko.”

Leaning over the center console, I tuck my hair behind my ear before turning on the radio.

“Meraki, sit the fuck down.” Niko’s voice is cold and distant, but I don’t care for him or his threats right now because thanks to that cold bottle of whatever champagne that was, I now have the courage to die.

I turn toward Mal, purposely ignoring Niko. “Since you’ve seen me naked, you owe me a favor. Can I put music on?”

Mal doesn’t take his eyes off the road, nor does he seem to be bothered by my words. “Do whatever you like.”

“Meraki,” Niko warns, and the heat from his words shouldn’t feel as good as they do down the side of my neck. “Sit. Down.”

I hit the Bluetooth symbol and lean back, but stop when memories of us when we were kids infiltrate my mind. I turn to face him, but as soon as our eyes collide, my mouth can’t move. He’s an inch away from me, and all I want to do is reach forward and take him.

“What?” Nik raises a brow in challenge. “You gonna say something smart, Ruckus, hmm? I’ll shred away any fucking dignity you have left right here and now if you don’t sit the fuck down and shut up for the remainder of the trip.”

I fall back onto my seat, rolling my eyes. When I look toward Jer, he’s holding in a laugh. His whole face is purple.

I stifle my own and pull my phone out of my pocket to distract us from really pushing Niko over the edge and getting my ass landed in hot water.

Probably literally.

“Pardon Me” from Incubus starts playing and I open my camera app, turning it to selfie mode.

“Come.” I turn my back to Jer and we snap a few shots before I send them to Cece and Mira’s group chat.

Mira: OH MY GOD! HE IS STILL SO FUCKING HOT!

Cece: You know what time it is? It’s time for Cece to finally sit on that beautiful fucking face.

I scowl at their replies, scrolling through my TikTok and Instagram. I haven’t uploaded any new content recently, and I know I’ll need to before my followers get tired of waiting and unfollow me for being inactive.

“How many followers do you have on TikTok?” Jer asks, waving his hand at my phone.

“A mill and something.” I go to my podcast and open the new episodes I’ve missed since being beaten, stolen, and almost murdered and fucked within an inch of my life.

“Jeezzz. No big deal or anything,” he jokes, flashing his white teeth while tapping me with his leg.

“Do you have a wife or anything?” I flutter my lashes up at him.

Jer’s eyes turn to slits. “Mer, we’ve done this song and dance and honestly, I don’t wanna play with the boy…”

“Not for me! Unfortunately.” No seriously.