His brilliant white teeth are on display behind a set of the most kissable lips I’ve only ever seen on that Tom Hardy guy. Ricky’s are just like that; plump, with a prominent cupid’s bow.Kissable. Handsome. A lean, muscular body covered in tattoos with a—
Is that a gold cap around his right incisor?
How didn’t I notice that before?
He’s not at all the type of man I’d usually go for, but tonight… he’s ticking all my boxes. I laugh at insta-love romance books, because how the fuck are you going to fall or become so inherently in love with someone when you first meet them.
And yet here I am… living in the insta-whatever this is.
Delulu as fuck.
Clearing my throat, I drop my arms and take a small step back from the closeness of his warmth and tuck a strand of hair behind my ear nervously. “So, uh…” I clear my throat. “The body.”
He looks at me then, and I meanreallylooks at me. It’s like he can see who I really am, gazing into the very depths of my lost and broken soul, and still wants to know more. “This way.” He gently jerks his head to the right.
I chew the inside of my cheek nervously and follow behind him as we both make our way towards the middle of the circular area that’s perfectly surrounded by oversized oak trees. Not even a single twig or leaf out of place. Everything, from the dirt on the ground, to the bushes growing in between the trees is clean and tidy. Almost as though someone took a dustpan and brush painstakingly around the forest floor, making sure it was immaculate for our arrival.
Ricky stops beside the body bag and crouches down, resting his elbows on both knees before momentarily glancing back at me. After a few seconds I watch him reach across to the silver zip—pinching it between his thumb and index finger—and slowly but surely dragging it down. Each individual metal tooth grinding against one another before they eventually reveal the face of—
“I-I know him.” I frown. “That’s Patrick Jones, the star running back for my college football team.”
Huh, who would’ve thoughtthat’sthe body in the bag.
“Why him, though?” I ask in confusion. Patrick always seemed like a nice guy to me.
“He deserved it. Trust me.”
Looking down at his lifeless body once more, I notice the long, jagged wound stretching across his throat, which is very plainly the reason for his death. I bend at the waist to get a closer look at his mutilated throat, wondering what type of knife Ricky may have used. Y’know, for research purposes.
“Why did you—”
I barely have time to finish asking him the reason for his death when I release a deafening shriek. Patrick’s arm lurches towards me, and I lose my footing, stumbling back from the corpse and ultimately hurtling towards the floor. It takes a little longer for my ass to hit the dirt, and when it does, I know exactly where I am.
Iwasn’t at all prepared for the cute yelp she releases when she tumbles into the hole in the ground with a heavy, almost brutalthud. Scaring her probably wasn’t the best idea, but it’s done now and there’s no taking it back.
What erupts from my mouth is a sound I haven’t made in a very long time. It travels from the base of my throat, out of my mouth, and into the cold night air and as I peek over the edge of the eight-by-eight-foot-deep pit, I couldn’t help but howl further at how tiny she looks in the centre of it all.
“You asshole!!” Heather snaps up to me, scrambling to her feet and brushing off the dry dirt from her jeans and knitted pink top. “Get me out of here!!” she calls up to me with a furious scowl on her face.
“H-holy… sh-shit.” I continue laughing, trying desperately to get the words from my mouth but failing at every turn. “The look on your face.” I point, leaning forward onto my knees and one palm.
“Fuck you! It’s not funny, Ricky!” she calls up to me, and even though she’s pissed, I know by the tone of her voice she’s tryinghard not to laugh along with me. “Get me out of here! Right now!”
After a few moments of hysterics, my laughter begins to subside, but the smile on my face remains plastered in place. As best as I can, I steady myself at the edge of the open grave and reach down to her. “Do you think you need to change your clothes, Princess?”
“No,” Heather grunts, wrapping her hands around my wrist. “But you might.” She grins widely pressing a single foot against the dirt wall and with one, forceful yank, I come crashing down into the grave alongside her, and it’s only when my body meets the hard earth beneath me, do I realise just how painful falling into an eight-foot hole really is. The air is instantly sucked from my lungs, and I wheeze in reaction to the aching feeling of being winded.
Heather, however, is standing above me now, clutchingherstomach in humour. “Not so nice is—ah!” She falls beside me with a huff, after I sweep both feet from underneath her, and when she hits the dirt floor beside me, we both stare at each other before barking with fits of laughter. The sounds of it merging together beautifully. Just like I knew they would.
“You’re a lot stronger than you look.” I chuckle through my words. “I told you I’d tag you back for making fun of my name.” I wink, reaching towards her to wipe my thumb over a small patch of dirt on the apple of her soft cheek.
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”
I watch as her once-white cheeks flush a beautiful shade of pink, highlighting the little freckles scattered across the bridge her nose—each of them perfectly shaped—and as I yet again stare at that damned beauty mark at the corner of her mouth, all I can think about is how I so desperately want to kiss her.
To taste her.
To devour every part of her delicious-looking mouth to the point of where I’m not sure where I end, and she begins. Because being undeniably consumed by Heather Delaney is the only thing I’ve ever wanted, until I knew I couldn’t have it.
