“Aren’t you?” I question.
“It doesn't suck,” she reluctantly admits, chewing another piece of pancake.
She isn’t going to give me one emotional inch. I’m prepared to work for it, though. I’ll have her confessing her undying love for me by the time this is all over. We’ll be riding into the sunset together, on our way back to LA to start our new life.
Liv and I lounge around most of the early morning, in no rush to do anything important. I know I’ll have to leave her eventually. My work here isn’t done. But procrastination is the name of the game today.
“Did you ever get around to reading that letter?” I ask as I twirl a pink strand of her hair around my finger.
“No. I thought about it a few times. But I just can’t yet.”
“Do you want to do it together?”
Liv raises her head off my chest to look at me. She seems to be weighing my offer quite heavily. “Yeah.” She scans my face. “I would like that.”
“Whenever you’re ready.”
“Maybe later.”
“Later, it is.”
She places her head back down, and hope swells inside my chest. Possibly my heart. The fact that she trusts me enough to share something so personal has to mean something. It has to mean thatImean something to her.
There’s a loud bang on the door, and Liv jumps. “Yo, Breaker, open up!” Ky’s voice carries into the room. He doesn’t even give me a second to get off the bed before he’s pounding again. “Breaker!”
“Keep your fucking pink panties on. I’m comin’.” I swing open the door to an excited Ky.
“Twenty-five-thousand dollars,” he exclaims.
“What?”
“Twenty-five-fucking-thousand dollars,” he repeats. “My dad won twenty-five-fucking-thousand dollars last night at the tables.”
“What?” Liv sneaks up behind me, and Ky pushes me aside.
“No joke. That was a big win. We should have the rest of the money by tomorrow night if we keep up this pace. Isn’t that fucking amazing, man?” He slaps me on the back. “We saved your sorry ass.”
I’m at a loss for words. Stunned. Grateful. Surprised. I look at Liv, and she’s smiling, but she’s also reading my response.
“Damon, you don’t look happy.”
“I am. I am happy. I’m just . . .”
“Tasting freedom for the first time?” Ky quips. “It’s sweet as fuck.”
“That could be it. I’ve owed Pony for so long, I don’t know what it’s like not to have him hanging over my head.” I sit down on the bed, processing it all.
“It's a reason to celebrate. As soon as we hit a 100k, we party. All of us. For you, and the Bowman.” He regards Liv.
“He’d really love that.” Her eyes water. “He loved you all so much.”
“We loved him, too.” I pull her down onto my lap before she drowns in an emotional tidal wave. I know talking about her father is still a touchy, touchy subject.
Something lingers between us, an unspoken conviction with the threat of the L word in such tight quarters.
“Well,” Ky clears his throat. “I’ll let you guys get back to whatever you were doing.” He gives me an unassuming “fuck yeah” wink. He knows exactly what we were doing. Have been doing and will be doing. “Be back at the tables around four ready to go. Liv, Kira wants you to meet her at the pool.” He points up to the roof, since that’s where it is. “She’s going to text you.”
“Pool?” Liv looks worried.
