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I wanted him dead.
I don’t want to be culpable.
I could have stopped it.
I didn’t want to.
“Shit,” I expel.
“Look son, if it’s too close to home, I’ll take you off. But we need you if you’re up for it. This could all turn sideways fast.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Good.” He ends the call.
With one look back towards where I know Cinnamon is, I stuff my phone into my pocket, push my glasses up the bridge of my nose, and sprint back to my car that is unfortunately miles away across town.
24
A Bucket of Ice
Cinnamon
“We should head back,” I whisper to Orzo, but he only curls up closer to me.
And I accept it. I allow the comfort.
Usually my encounters with men led to them crawling out of my bed in the middle of the night or worse than that…
I shut the thought down and force myself to just enjoy this.
A loud, piercing unfamiliar ring infiltrates the quiet peace about twenty minutes later.
Orzo jolts up. The sun is casting hues on the horizon but hasn’t decided to beam down on us yet.
He offers me a heated look before digging into his pants beside us and getting his phone to answer it.
“What do you want?” he barks.
I can’t hear what the person says, but his entire demeanor changes.
“I understand. I need a ride.” He looks down at me. “Two rides.”
He pulls the phone away from his ear, and I catch “idiot” through the speaker.
I bristle, not enjoying the way he is being spoken to.
“Shut up, just work it out. I’ll send you the address of where we’re at.” And then he ends the call. Orzo stares down at me, his tongue lashing out to wet his lips. “This can’t be our only encounter.”
Sitting up, I bend over, lifting a board and dragging out a dry bag.
Opening it, I find a clean set of clothes I have stashed out here. I throw them on before acknowledging Orzo.
“I can’t promise you anything. You agreed to share… Relationships…”
How do I explain to him that I tried to be in one, and the universe decided to smite it?
He zips up his leather pants while keeping my attention. “I’m not asking for a relationship.”
