Matteo
Are we friends now?
Sunny
That’s the only word that fits whatever this is.
Whatever this is.I don’t even know.We’re not dating. We’re not fucking. We’re really not anything.
Friends it is.
Matteo
Then yes, as friends.
Sunny
And just for inspiration.
I can’t tell if she’s trying to make those lines even clearer than they already were.
Matteo
Yes, Jade.
I have no intention of this being anything more.
Sunny
Good, neither do I.
I’d eat you alive, anyways.
I’m no match against the laughter that rumbles in my chest. Cam stirs beside me, his head rolling to the other side as I smile down at my phone in the dark cabin.
She’s fiery, smart mouthed, and might actually have full immunity to my charm.
I think I’m fucking hooked.
CHAPTER NINE
JADE
“Julian Hart was a thorn in my side. A thorn I wanted to pluck out and slip into my pocket for later.” - Clara Foss, Painted Inferno
The muscles in my hand ache from the last few hours of figuring out the ins and outs of this book. I set my pen down on the counter beside my notebook. This is the first time I’ve come up for air or have taken a break from it.
I slowly rise from my seat at the island in my kitchen, and scan over the scattered post-it notes with different pieces of information scratched on them.
I never said my process was neat.
My ears need a break from my headphones, so I slip them off and set them on the counter. I could use a lap around the kitchen too, but the stiffness in my knees and hips cause me to slowly unfold to stand. I have to pause to stretch my muscles. I hadn’t realized how locked in I’d been, I guess I hadn’t changed positions in a while.
Then again, I was curled over the counter in the same posture as a hunchback goblin.
I pick up my phone while I down a gulp of water, switching it back on for notifications to come through. There’s one from Nicole, two in the group chat with the girls, and one other that causes my stomach to do a little flip.
Matteo Ford.
