Page 63 of Burn Me Down

“Naked party! I love naked parties. Let’s go make some fire, Dragon.”

“Ava, I really need you to get off of me,” I said, a lot calmer than the full-on panic attack happening in my body as I stared at Beck’s confused and angry expression. “Ava, please get off of me,” I tried again. But instead, she clung tighter and jerked around on my body like she was a little kid throwing a tantrum.

“Let’s make fire for the naked party.”

“No, no fire.” I pleaded with my eyes for Beck to understand and not freak out. I was already freaking out enough for both of us. “Beck, I…I really can explain. Just give me a minute to um…to get untangled here,” I said as she grabbed her jeans and stuck her leg into them. No, this couldn’t be happening to me.

“No, I don’t think I want you to explain. In fact, I’m pretty fucking positive I never want you to explain,” Beck said, pulling on her blouse.

“Ava, I need you to get off of me right now,” I ordered, but she just giggled and kissed my cheek. This had been funny at the clubhouse, but now I was paying for laughing at Tanner’s jealousy. Karma was a cruel bitch. Then a thought occurred to me, something I’d seen Snake do. “Ava, why don’t you go make cookies,” I said.

“They’re in the oven,” Ava pulled back and smiled, obviously happy with herself.

“Then you better check on them. I think they’re burning,” I said, sniffing the air. Ava’s face paled. That did the trick. She jumped down and took off, but I focused on Beck. She already had her shoes on and her hand on her purse.

“Beck, please,” I begged and went to grab her shoulders, but she stepped out of my reach and held up my truck key like it was a sword.

“If you value your balls attached to your body, then you will not touch me right now. I need to cool off before I go nuclear and do something or say something that I really fucking can’t take back. Back the fuck up, now.” Her eyes were murderous, and my pulse couldn’t have gotten any more erratic as I tried to figure out what exactly to say.

“Let me explain who she is and why she is….” I paused, trying to figure out how exactly to explain Ava. “She is like me, but different,” I said, and Beck just shook her head as her eyes shot down to my cock that, of course, was still standing at attention, and I slapped both hands over it.

“I need air,” she said, marching for the door.

“Where are you going?”

“Work. I need to check-in. They probably think I’m dead or never coming back, and I need to keep my job, so I’ll talk to you later.” She opened the door, and it slammed behind her. With a roar, the truck started before racing out of the driveway.

“Cookies are done! Now we can have a naked, cookie, fire party.” Ava broke out into another song as I stomped to the bedroom where I was keeping my things. Slamming the door closed, I turned to look at the small bedroom and yelled in frustration. Every swear word known to man left my mouth and a number of new ones as I grabbed clothes and pulled them on before flopping down on the floor, my back against the bed and head in my hands.

“I’ll be fucking lucky if she ever speaks to me again. Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

The door squeaked and opened a crack to show a single eye looking in at me. “Did I make the Dragon mad?”

“I can’t talk to you right now, Ava.” I looked away from her as all the happiness and goodwill I’d managed to accumulate felt like it was no more stable than glass shattered under my feet.

Ava pushed the door open, and she was still naked but now wearing an apron. “I’m sorry if the Dragon is mad. Here, I made cookies, and later, I’m going to ride my bike and fight the evil bushes. They still move at night.”

Now, why couldn’t she have said that in front of Beck instead? At least it wouldn’t have sounded like we were going to have sex by a fire. I rubbed my eyes, trying to think. I could feel Ava sitting down beside me, and as much as I wanted to be angry with her, I couldn’t. I knew she didn’t mean any harm, and it was my stupidity for not mentioning her to Beck, so she was prepared for a moment like this. I mean, the girl was liable to show up and sit on the end of the bed and stare at us like a fucking golden retriever. Why was I so fucking dumb?

“Is the Dragon’s dragonette angry? Did she not want to party with us?”

Dragonette? “No, she definitely didn’t want to party, and neither did I. Why are you here, Ava?” There was simply no point in asking how she found me or even how she got into the house. When it came to her, some things were never going to get answered.

She shrugged and took a bite out of one of the cookies piled high on the plate. “I brought you this,” she said and pulled out my black lighter with the flame on the side. I’d been looking for that last night for the candles and thought I left it in the truck. “Chase gave it to Roach, who tossed it to Snake, who said that Tanner needed to return it. He said he was going to keep it, but it’s not his to keep it belongs to the Dragon. So, I told him, no, and he was bad. I took it from him, smacked him for taking what wasn’t his, and brought it back to you,” she said, smiling.

I picked up the lighter. This all happened because I left my lighter behind. Well, wasn’t that fucking ironic? I probably just burned down my entire future with a lighter, and didn’t even need a spark.

Rebecca

“Unbelievable,” I yelled at the truck. My hand was bruised with how many times I’d smacked it off of the steering wheel.

I didn’t know what to believe anymore. My ability to sniff out bullshit had failed me many times before. There were so many red flags with Derek, and he had an answer for each one.

He had been in love, but she was a nurse in the hospital he was locked in, so he only did some things but never had sex. Then there was Chase and his nickname. Was it really Cherry Popper? Oh, and I couldn’t forget about his favorite restaurant, Foxy Rail, where he apparently only goes for food, but everyone knows his name.

I pulled into my apartment parking lot, backed into a visitor spot, and just sat there staring at the building. Derek didn’t strike me as a liar, but it wasn’t normal for naked women to wake you up in the morning. I had no idea who she was, and honestly, Derek did look horrified to see her, but she could literally be anyone in his life. My hedge was another ex or maybe someone who he’d been dating but didn’t see often and never expected her to show up. But why did she hug me?

“This is too confusing,” I grumbled, hopping out of the truck and stomping inside. Should I have let Derek explain? Maybe, but I couldn’t. A blonde model was dancing and singing in his home and showing her cooch to us. I didn’t feel like I could trust my judgment anymore, and worse was that the words I’d dismissed last night from Vi were now ringing in my head.