“Hiro. Really?” I flipped to the front and showed him the page. “You really think I wouldn’t know what to do for you? It’s so obvious, and yes. . .you’re so important, I sketched yours first.”
He looked down and parted his lips.
On the page was a sketch I'd done earlier that morning—a tall glass with red liquid, a white swirl through the center, and a lollipop balanced on the rim.
At the top, in careful letters, it read, “The Lollipop.”
Hiro stared at it. Then slowly, a smile spread across his face. "You know me well."
“I do.” I watched his face as he took in the sketch. "Why do you like lollipops so much anyway? I've always wondered."
He shrugged, but I saw the memory surface behind his eyes. "I've always been kind of addicted to sugar. It soothes me."
“That’s not all.”
"From a very young age. . .anytime something horrible happened, my mom would just hand me a lollipop. As if it would all be okay after that."
My heart clenched.
"It wasn't okay, of course. It was never okay. But I'd still suck on the sugar and hope for the best." And then to my surprise, he reached his hand out and traced the drawing of the lollipop on the rim. "I guess, I never stopped."
I didn't know what to say. So I just picked up a red pencil and added more color to the drink—deepening the cherry red.
“What are the ingredients?”
“Don’t you want to be surprised?”
“I’m already surprised.” He met my gaze. “Please, tell me.”
"Cherry sake," I said softly. "Vodka. Grenadine swirl. Touch of cream for the white." I wrote the ingredients in the margin. "Looks sweet like candy, but truly hits like a very fucking dangerous blade."
"Just like me."
"Just like you." I laughed, and then he followed. And I didn’t know how long it went on. In fact, we were still laughing when the kitchen door opened.
And Kenji stepped through first.
The laughter caught in my throat.
His eyes found mine first—then moved to Hiro, to the lack of space between us, to the sketchpad we'd been huddled over.
I watched him take it all in. Watched him decide what he was seeing. I couldn't tell if what came next would be a kiss or a confrontation.
"Brother." Hiro's voice was easy. Unbothered. "Perfect timing."
Kenji said nothing.
He just looked at me.
Chapter twelve
Even When It Burned
Nyomi
I raised my eyebrows.
Behind him came Reo, and behind Reo, the Fangs filed in.
