She grins. “I told him Bryce would have his backside if I was unhappy because of him. He mumbled a bunch of words I can't repeat, but he agreed. He’s on his way here now. So, now we have protection; we can go.”
I shake my head. “It’s not protection for us, Ava. I’m a vampire; I can keep the two of us safe from any threat. It’s protection for youfromme. That’s why your mate is making Hunter go.”
“No, it’s not. I don’t need protecting from you. You’re my friend.”
“And you’re mine.”
The front door opens, and Hunter walks in with a scowl on his face, just like the ray of sunshine he always is. He glances between the two of us with such an insufferable look, I can’t help but grin. “Hey, Bestie.” I wave at him obnoxiously. “So, you’re going on a girls’ shopping trip with us? It’s going to be so fun!”
The man doesn’t crack a smile. I love doing this to him. He’s so fun to rile up, and he never cracks. It just makes it so much more fun. “Only because I have to.” His words are dark.
“Yes, well, I’m glad my threats worked,” Ava says, smiling gleefully.
“It wasn’t your threats,” Hunter growls. “You’re not scary. Your mate, however, is. He threatened all sorts of things if I didn’t accompany the two of you, so let’s go.”
Ava grins. “I love that man.”
I give her a little shove towards the door. “Come on. You threatened all of us to make this happen, so let’s do it.” She grins and heads out the front door.
I’m about to follow her, but a hand on my elbow stops me. It quickly drops. Hunter tries to touch me as little as possible; it goes both ways. “Let’s be clear about one thing. This isn’t my idea. I’m completely opposed to it, but Ava wants it. So, you know, Bryce is going to demand it.”
I give him a saccharine sweet smile. “Thanks for sharing your feelings, Wolf.”
He gives me a cold look. “I wasn’t sharing my feelings.”
“That’s exactly what you were doing. Congrats. We’ve moved to another degree in our best friends' status. We now share our feelings with each other.”
I can practically hear him grind his teeth together, and a thrill runs through me. I love making him crazy. I really don’t have anything else right now to live for other than trying to see how crazy I can make my roommate. And I'm killing it. “High five, Bestie?” I ask, putting my hand up, knowing full well he’s not going to slap my hand. When he doesn’t reciprocate, I drop my hand, still grinning. “I’ll see you in the car.”
I head outside and am delighted to see Ava’s in their car, meaning we’re not taking Hunter’s. I grin and head over to the passenger seat door and slide in. “We’re making Hunter sit in the back?” Ava asks. I can’t see her eyes because of her shades, but I know she’s smiling.
“Yeah, we are.” I fiddle with the buttons on my seat to make sure it’s as far back is it can go.
We both sober up when Hunter comes out. He’s wearing Aviators, so I can’t really see the expression on his face. But he’s not happy; I can tell that by the set of his jaw. When he stops next to my door, I don’t turn my head to look at him. I just stare straight ahead. But Ava rolls down my window from the driver’sseat, so I’m forced to confront him. “What’s up, Bestie?” I ask cheerfully. “Is there a problem?”
He stares down at me, and I can practically feel the coolness of his gaze. He stares a moment longer. “Nope.” Then he steps to the back and opens the door. Ava shoots me a grin when he slides into the backseat.
“Got enough room back there, Bestie?” I ask without looking back.
“Yep.”
That’s his only response, and I don’t look over at Ava. I haven’t laughed in...Well in at least seven years, but if there were ever a time, I think it would be now. The idea of Hunter’s tall body being cramped up in the backseat behind me makes me want to laugh. But I don’t, because I gave up laughing when I gave up my soul. I turn to look out the window and try to push away the dark feeling that settles over me. Thankfully, it’s an overcast day, so there’s no danger of being burned by the sun. Something drops into the middle console. I pick up the box. “What is this?” I ask Hunter.
“It’s for your window, in case the sun comes out. It’s strong enough to keep all UV rays out.”
“Oh.” I open the box and take out the small piece of plastic. “Uh, thanks.” The corners have a sticky piece to help them stick to the window. I take off the coverings and then attach them to my window, still trying to figure out why he’s being nice. There must be a catch somewhere.
Chapter Four
Sherese
“I only did that so if you burst into flames from the sun, there’s not a mess in Bryce’s car for me to clean up.”
Ava gasps at Hunter’s words. “That can’t really happen, right?”
“No, I’m not going to burst into flames, and he knows that. I would just get burned.”
Ava shakes her head. “You are not nice, Hunter.”
