“I don’t like whiskey much, but it tastes good on you.”
“You taste like vodka and chocolate. Not a bad combo.”
She giggles as I lick the corner of her mouth. “Fucking pot gummies, I ate all the chocolate I had stashed for period days.”
I snort. “We’ll have to get you some more then.”
“I doubt I’m leaving the house much for a while, Beefcake,” she says sadly.
Nuzzling my face into her neck, I hug her to me. “We’ll figure it all out, baby,” I reassure her.
Lil’s voice drifts in from the living room. “Hey, get your asses out here. I made popcorn!”
I stand and hold my hand to help my girl up. She’s not quite steady on her feet, and I’m too drunk to carry her safely. I would never forgive myself if I dropped her and she got hurt. We make our way to the couch, where I pull her close. It must not be close enough for her because after a few minutes, she climbs onto my lap to sit sideways, our arms wrapped around each other’s waists. She’s not even looking at the TV, the side of her face resting against my chest. She’s asleep long before the movie’s finished, but I sit and hold her until it is.
I carry her to bed and climb in after her. I don’t want to sleep away from her ever again, but especially not tonight. Ariana yawns sleepily and melts into me. Lil snorts when she gets in on the other side of Ariana. “I’m going to need a bigger bed if I’m going to keep sharing with you two lovebirds.”
I curl my arms around my girl. “So order one then.”
Chapter 53
Oh, we totally had cavities
Ariana
Ifeel like a weight has been lifted now that Luca knows everything. And he still loves me, still wants to hold me, so I feel like I can fly.
But talking security shit with Dad over breakfast clips my wings. It’s for the best and mostly self-imposed, but it still sucks ass.
“You’re an adult, Ari. I’m not going to force you to stay behind these walls. But I would feel better if you don’t go out often. And you have to follow the protocol we’re putting in place. You, too, Lil.” Lil and I lock eyes, then nod at Dad. “None of us are leaving without a security detail. Not me, not your mom, not Becca, and not Luca.” Luca’s hand is already tight in mine, but I squeeze it tighter.
Then Dad drops a bomb. “I’ve activated the trackers I had put in your molars.”
“Damn it, I knew we didn’t have cavities!” Lil exclaims.
“You did. Two birds, as they say.”
Maybe I should be mad, but I’m not. It’ll make sneaking off todrive Bruce a whole hell of a lot harder when shit gets back to normal if they aren’t deactivated, but I guess we’ll deal with that later.
Shortly after breakfast, I’m pouring my third cup of coffee. And for once, Luca doesn’t seem to be counting. Or he’s just letting it go today. Either way, I’ll take it.
“Luca, we have some business to attend to,” Dad says as he comes into the kitchen.
My eyes go wide and my heart drops to my toes. I don’t want him to go anywhere, not with my DNA donor possibly lurking around. I don’t trust Fred Mitchell to not go after someone I love. Luca takes a few steps toward me and cups my cheeks in his hands. My hands rest on his chest, and I sigh. Being close to him, being in his arms, calms me. Calms my soul. I look up into his beautiful blue eyes.
I won’t make him promise to come home. I can’t. I know how shit can go wrong. I still feel guilt over how everyone else was affected the day I was taken. The day Fred killed me. So I put my hand on the back of his neck and pull his head down to mine. Our lips meet in a sweet kiss, but there’s a promise of more to come later in it. “Be careful and safe, please,” I whisper.
He nods and kisses the tip of my nose. Dad kisses Lil and me on the top of our heads. Then he kisses Mom in a way that makes Lil cringe.
Lil wraps her arm around my shoulder as we watch them walk out the door. “Do I need to find another distraction?” she asks.
Mom holds her hand up. “You girls need to clean up all the distractions that didn’t work yesterday, please. You were like tornados going room to room.”
“We’ll take care of it, Mom.” I give her a hug, then finish my coffee before starting the rounds.
Pool cues and balls get put away, darts get taken out of the board (and the wall, thanks to Lil’s shitty aim), and the air hockeytable gets turned off. We empty the popcorn machine and fold the blankets in the theater room. The shitty canvases we painted get laughed at as we clean up the art studio. I put mine away to show Luca later. It’s supposed to be him and it’s terrible, but I think it’ll make him laugh.
Books get put back on their shelves. The karaoke machine goes back into the cabinet. We pick our swimsuits up off the bathroom floor and hang them to dry. Our bowling shoes and balls go back to their homes. There’s no flour to sweep up because Becca already cleaned the kitchen. I feel bad and I offer to do the dishes after dinner, but she scoffs and shoos me off.
