Just lovely.
The cameras are swinging behind us, as wild as the flames.
Daisy has to toss the napkin back down on the table before it burns her hand. And the psychic yells something about her cards, gathering them in a messy stack.
And then a pair of hands peels me away from the growing flames that has eaten our napkins and started for the purple tablecloth. “The water,” I start, but Connor places me by the wall and then brings out a fire extinguisher.
In seconds, my boyfriend has snuffed out the fire. And the psychic has bolted from my house with her purple bag in tow.
The quiet lingers, and all we hear is muffled, “ImsorryImsorryImsorry.”
My heart constricts, and I find Lily mumbling the string of apologies into Loren’s shirt. He has his hand on the back of her head, his features sharpened. When he looks up at me, he says, “Thank God for Connor, right?” He tries to play off the pain that contorts his face.
“God always has a way of stealing my credit,” Connor says.
Loren’s lips curve in a small smile.
I think, in this moment, I love Connor more for lightening the mood than for saving my cedar coffee table. But I am glad this table isn’t burned.
It’s an antique.
Loren lifts Lily in a front piggy-back so she doesn’t have to meet the camera’s concentrated gaze.
Scott turns to me. “Looks like we’ll be seeing that lap dance after all.”
“Excuse me?” I sneer.
The room blankets in tense silence. Scott grins. “You made a bet a few days ago. I saw the footage. If someonecried during the psychic segment, you’d have to give your boyfriend a lap dance.”
Shit. Fuck. Shit…
“Lily didn’t really cry,” I say instantly.
Loren shifts her a little, and I see his T-shirt, wet with her tears. She wipes her cheeks quickly, trying to hide her sadness, but it’s there. I forget that Loren’s not on my side for the bet. Hell, he’s the one who proposed the wager.
I snap at Lo, “You should feel awful for profiting off of her emotions.”
“She was there when you made the bet,” he reminds me. “Lap dance rain check? Lily and I want a front row seat.”
Lily mutters something that sounds likeonly if she wants to.
“Fine,” I say as Connor’s hand skims my waist. I step out of his touch, anxiety heating my neck more than the small fire ever did.I am going to have to gyrate on him. In public. With millions of people watching later on television. Oh. Shit…
The only upside: the first episode is airing in February, a month from now. So I have some time before people witness my inability to grind.
“I think we missed something,” Daisy says to Ryke.
He stares down at her. “Apparently I’ve been missing a lot of fucking things lately.”
She looks away from him, and when she notices I’m watching her, she just smiles at me. I think Ryke is worried about her. We all are. There’s a small fear she’s going to end up like Lily—sex crazed and compulsive. All this media attention is affecting her at school in ways that no one knows. Daisy won’t talk to us about it. And she could very well blow off steam in a bad manner.
Loren carries Lily out of the living room and up the stairs, her legs wrapped around him. Wiry Ben follows close behind.
I turn slightly, and my arm hits a camera. Pudgy Brett has a big smug grin on his face, as if he won the bet too. Well I guess everyone fucking won but me. “Put that smile away,Brett, before I make it a permanent frown.” My threat does sound serious (it’s really not), but I’m edgy enough that I feel like I could truly cause astronomical damage.
I glance around at the coffee table. White foam. Charred napkins. Burnt food. Dirtied plates. An overturned ottoman. Is that a stain on the rug? Oh…
“I’ll clean it up,” Connor tells me.
