The Confession

“What happened?” Heavenly hadn’t gotten the chance to ask Beck earlier.

“When the barber whipped out the hair clippers, he freaked. I finally talked him off that ledge, then she came at him with a straight razor for a shave. You have to understand; he’d never shaved in his life. He still had that Chosen BS in his head that his beard was a sign of his masculinity and his dedication to God. I thought I was going to have to sedate his ass to get it done, but the barber was amazingly patient.”

“What finally convinced Zach?” Seth’s brow furrowed.

“I reminded him that, the second we walked in, the barber recognized him from the news.”

“Yeah, that would do it.” Seth shook his head. “Damn…”

“Then we went to the mall. He was fascinated by the escalator. I watched him ride up and down for a good twenty minutes. I figured if he loved that, he’d dig the arcade. So after we shopped, we went to Santa Monica Pier. I took him on a few rides, then turned him loose with all the video games. A hundred bucks later…” Beck shook his head.

Heavenly smiled. She could picture that.

“But it took his mind off of Faith and Joanna for a while.” Beck sighed. “So I’m calling that a win.”

“You should,” Seth said solemnly.

“He’s right.” She nodded, cutting into her steak.

Seth said nothing more, just focused on his plate and shoveled in a forkful of salad.

Heavenly met Beck’s stare across the table. His frown worried her. Obviously, Zach’s loss was reminding Seth of his own. She could practically feel him crawling back under his hard outer shell, like a turtle, ducking for protection. If he was pulling away, what did that mean for their relationship?

Beck’s expression turned grim, but he kept the conversation rolling. “Why don’t you tell us about your mysterious text earlier today, little girl?”

Heavenly didn’t know whether to thank him or scold him for changing the subject, but Seth didn’t seem ready to blurt whatever he’d come to say, so she might as well dish. “You won’t believe who I had lunch with.”

Seth raised his head. “You mentioned a woman you know. Who?”

“Raine?” Beck asked.

“She was there…but I had lunch with Pike’s girlfriend. Well, Pike’s friend who’s a girl. A woman. That’s more accurate.”

Beck looked surprised. “The one River banged?”

“The one he’s hung up on and can’t find?” Seth added.

“That one. Her name is Jasmine. She’s absolutely gorgeous. Super sweet. She just moved here from somewhere back east a few weeks ago.”

Seth set his fork down with a clatter. “There are something like thirteen million people in the greater LA area. How the hell did she get hooked up with Pike?”

“Exactly my question,” Beck seconded. “If she’s so gorgeous and sweet, why is she even friends with him? And why did she fuck River? She must have horrible taste in men.”

Heavenly swatted at his arm. “She and Pike are neighbors or something. I don’t know the story about River yet, but when Raine plopped down in the chair next to Jasmine—”

“Exactly how did that happen, angel?”

“I invited her to come along. After Pike, who Jasmine calls by his first name, which is Cullen—who knew?—she asked me to—”

“Cullen? Seriously?” Seth shook his head, then swiveled his gaze at Beck. “Did you know that?”

“No. Hammer probably knows, but I’ve never paid much attention to Pike.”

Heavenly frowned. “I thought you two were friends.”

“Not really, and especially not once he started hitting on you. But he’s always been a loner. At the club, he plays with a lot of different girls, but he almost never takes one to bed.”

“Well, he really likes this one.”