“I’ll enjoy spreading some heinous rumors, don’t you worry.” Kirill takes a swig of his beer. “I live for that kind of mischief-making.”
“He really does.” Mackenzie sighs and rolls her eyes. She refocuses her attention on Camile. “What’s going to happen as far as you graduating?”
“Honestly, Zee, I don’t know. I can’t bring myself to think that far ahead. I’m not sure it’s safe for me to go back to the college.”
My stomach drops at the thought of her wanting to go back to the college and leave us, but then she adds, “Or that I want to.”
“You could do some classes online?” Mackenzie offers her a gentle smile. “You know I’ll speak to the dean on your behalf.”
Camile’s lips press together in a thin line. “With what’s happened with my family, I don’t even know if my dad had paid up until the end of the year. If he hasn’t…”
“Seriously, Camile.” Mack’s tone is stern. “Do not worry about that. You know Nataniele won’t fight me if I insist on you graduating, no matter what.”
I glance between the two women, unsure who they’re talking about or why Mackenzie has so much swag.
“Nataniele, the dean,” Camile explains, “is also Mack’s father-in-law.”
“Aah, handy to have friends in high places,” I say.
Kirill looks at his watch, an extremely expensive Rolex, the flash bastard.
“We ought to be getting back soon,” he says.
“But we didn’t even get to watch a movie,” Mackenzie protests.
“You’ll just have to come back again, and we can watch one next time.” Camile smiles at her friend, happy in her company. “I really hope you’ll come again soon. This has done me a world of good.”
“I’ll try to visit next week if I can.” Mackenzie looks to her man. “You’ll bring me over next week, right?”
He shrugs. “Of course. Nothing could keep me away now that I know I can get my nails painted and a face mask.”
She smacks his forearm lightly.
“In all seriousness,Kukla, of course I’ll bring you again. Anything for you, my Duchess.” He takes her hand and kisses her knuckles.
My phone buzzes, and I read the text then glance at Camile. “Rook wants to know if he can come over.”
Camile’s cheeks turn a fetching shade of pink as she glances at her friend, but she nods. “If you guys really do have to go, then I see no reason Rook can’t come over.”
“Well, we’ve got to wait around a few minutes, atleast,” Mackenzie says with a cheeky grin. “After all, I need to see Rook for myself, right?”
I reply, telling Rook to haul ass over here, and a few minutes later, there’s a banging on the door. When I lead him into the living room, Mackenzie looks him over and smiles at Camile.
“Girl, I can see why you like these two. We’ll leave you guys to it… whatever that may be.” She laughs to herself and gathers up her stuff, putting it all back in the bag she brought over and zipping it up for Kirill to carry.
We say our goodbyes, Camile and Mackenzie hugging and both wiping away tears.
And then the door shuts, and it’s just me, Camile, and Rook.
The air between us seems to grow and stretch with something unnamed. We’ve had this dynamic a few times, so why does it feel as if this carries more weight tonight?
Camile leads the way back to the living room, and once there, she shocks me by pushing Rook first, and then me, onto the couch. From her smile and hooded eyes, I can tell she’s a little tipsy.
“I’ve got something for you both,” she says in a singsong voice.
Rook and I exchange a glance, half interest, half concern. What’s our girl up to?
She grabs a remote and selects a song. I recognizeUmbrella, by Rhianna. What the hell?
