"You fell," he says, amusement in his voice.
"Right." I giggle nervously. "So, you're not so much wondering as... Not wondering. Because you know."
Oh my gawd, Cassidy. Shut up.
I'm not sure what he thinks is so funny, but he's still grinning, his eyes fixed on me. Thick silence settles between us, charging everything within a kilometre radius. Maybe further. The moon looks extra bright. That might be because of us. Because of what I just witnessed and the fact that he knows that I witnessed it, and his proximity to me and his annoying level of perfection that isn't annoying at all, and of course, me—goofy me—on the ground, unable to stand without wobbling. That's a lot of charge.
He holds his hand out, and I just stare at it. "Need some help?"
I take a deep breath. Placing one hand in his big palm and the other against the ground, I push myself up as hehelps stabilise me. When my legs attempt to take my weight and balance, I stumble. His hands catch my waist and,frick,I'm so aware of them on me right now. Warm. Strong. I look down at them, blinking in confusion as the two hands gripping my middle become four.
Standing up quickly was not a good idea. My legs are already giving out again, knees buckling, and it's not me that's wobbly but the room. I'm not in a room. The planet? Yep, the planet just tilted, and now my feet are no longer on the floor because Max has me cradled against his chest. Attempting to focus, I blink a few times, but my vision has disappeared. My head rolls onto his shoulder. And when I let my eyes close, they don't open again. A tide of darkness sweeps me out, taking me away from the conscious world.
I like it here.
Drink me, Alice
"Tellme again what happened last night," I plea, running the razor from my ankle to my knee. The faucet above me is on high, spitting hot water down onto my body. I can vaguely distinguish Toni's silhouette on the other side of the shower curtain.
His outline moves and the curtain is suddenly jerked open. "How many more times must I narrate this for you?"
Straightening, I frown at him. "Really, Toni?"
He points between my legs, looking disgusted. "Are you going to shave that?"
"It doesn’t bite, Toni. And, no, I wax. It needs to get a little longer first. Go back and sit on the toilet and tell me again." He flicks his head as if he has hair to flick—he doesn't—and closes the curtain.
The dark shape of his body slumps down on the toilet lid. "Okay.So,I'm getting sweaty with a gorgeous hairless gentleman in your game room when I look up and see Max Butcher with a dead-to-the-world, stubble-between-her-legs Cassidy Slater in his arms. And he's carryingher up the staircase towards the bedrooms! He was up there with her for at least three minutes too."
I can't help but grin. When my eyes finally peeled open this morning, I found two Panadols and a glass of water on my bedside table along with a note that read,
'Drink me, Alice.'
"Were you even going to go check on her?" I tease. "She could have been in some kind of trouble."
"Oh, darlin’, I was hoping she was, but no." He begins making pigeon noises.
"I have no memory of that! I barely remember talking to him," I admit as I begin to shave my other leg. "When did he leave? Did he leave with someone?"
"I don’t know. I was 'subliminal' not long after that."
I laugh. "What's his name?"
"Braidy. He's a police officer, and he promised to arrest me the next time he sees me," he coos.
"He's a cop? How old is he?" I ask.
"I dunno," he says whimsically. "Twenty. Twenty-one. Twenty-two. Twenty-three."
I giggle. "So, you tworeallygot to know each other then."
He chuckles. "I could map his mouth."
"That's a start, I suppose. But maybe next time, try pulling your tongue out and let him get to know you."
"Why would he want to get to know me?"
I hate it when he does this. Shaking my head, I scold him, "Toni, you're more than your body."
