Page 50 of Code Violation

Because I can’t fucking help it, I brush my lips over hers, desperate to convey what I’m struggling to verbalize.

“If you’ve ever considered what it would be like to be with me,” I softly breathe into her mouth, “I want you to know everything would be easy. Every choice would be yours. And when it comes to your body, the only demand I’ll ever make is my need to worship it on the regular.”

I watch the way Vesper’s shoulders relax, knots of tension unraveling beneath my touch.

“You’re a really special person, Silas. Truly one in a million.”

17

. . .

Vesper

“Do you think anyone in the drugstore recognized you?” I ask Silas as we both step into my apartment and I lock the door behind us.

I know he has to leave for practice in a few minutes, but having an unsecure home makes me feel naked, and using the dead bolt Drew had installed when she moved out and I was left living alone has become a ritual for me.

“The clerk who served us didn’t seem to care, and no one else saw my face properly, thanks to this baby right here.” Silas pulls on the bill of his black baseball cap.

I clench my jaw and pray that he’s right as Silas removes his cap and sets it on top of my head. He’s trying to be playful and lighten the mood, but I couldn’t be more stressed out if I tried.

“Would it help if I attempted to color another one of those fancy drawings? You laughed all night at my expense.”

I attempt a smile at the memory of that first night he stayed over at my place, and we sat, coloring, on the couch, just behind where we’re standing now.

Back then, it felt risky, having Silas over. If only I knew the kind of fire that I’d be playing with today.

“If Kane gets wind of us being in CVS together, he’ll⁠—”

Silas cuts me off, pressing a soft finger to my lips. “He won’t do anything, Ves, because I won’t let him.”

He drops his attention to the brown paper bag in his other hand. Inside is a box of Plan B—something I vowed never to take again in my life.

I meant what I said to Silas earlier—about the next guy I slept with wearing protection and how disappointed I was in myself for being irresponsible last night.

“What time do you have to head out?” I ask, an anxious inflection in my tone.

He walks across to the kitchen island and sets the brown bag down on the counter, moving back toward me. Silas has always carried himself with confidence, and I’d be a liar to deny how attracted I am to that in a guy. I guess he has every reason to be self-assured—a famous athlete, a millionaire, with women no doubt throwing themselves at him every day. And that’s even before adding his handsome looks into the mix.

“In a few minutes,” he replies, pulling my shoulder bag off and setting it by the door.

He removes the cap from my head and replaces it backward on his. Next, he crouches down and unzips my boots, and I step out of them.

“What are you going to do with your day?”

I gaze at the couch, coffee table, and TV. “Likely the same as I always do before I head out for work. I might go for a walk if the rain stops.” My eyes land back on the paper bag. “It all depends on how shitty I feel once I’ve taken the tablet. As long as I don’t puke it up within the first hour, then I’ll be in the clear.”

Concern creases his face. “Wait, Plan B makes you sick?”

I shrug, praying this time will be different. “Usually. Like I said, my body doesn’t do well with any kind of contraception.”

He opens his mouth, but then clamps it shut, closing his eyes like he’s in pain.

“I’m not sure what grades you got in biology, Si. But you taking it on my behalf isn’t going to work.”

He opens his eyes and narrows them on me, muted amusement relaxing the tendons in his jaw. “That wasn’t what I was going to say, but, hey, it got you to give me shit, and that’s one of my favorite things, so I guess I’m still winning.”

His goofy grin makes me giggle like a teenager, and I swat him in the chest.