Raw, стр. 34

Pulling out my wallet, I remove my business card from it and walk over to the desk to write a note for Hamid when he comes to.

Declaring war was a mistake. For the record…I won.

I always win.

Walking over his limp body, I let the card flutter down onto his chest and walk towards the exit, men in tow. As we approach the SUV, I hail one of Hamid’s goons and state, “You want your boss to live, you’ll call an ambulance. Right now.”

His eyes widen before he runs towards the office. My men packed up and ready to leave, we roll out to the sounds of hell breaking loose.

Turning to Michael, who sits next to me, he watches me through wide eyes.

I smirk and tousle his hair.

Yes.

The boy will do fine.

Turning the key to unlock my unit, I wonder why Twitch never responded to my message asking if Michael is okay.

Face bunched in confusion, I hang up my coat, set down my bag on the breakfast bar, and walk towards my room. Stopping mid-step halfway down the hall, I listen closely.

The shower runs.

“Twitch?” I call out.

A familiar voice calls out, “No, baby. It’s me.” Dave. My smile dies as soon as he adds, “And we’re going to talk about why you think that strange man is in your shower as soon as I get out.”

Shit.

My phone pings.

Nikki: Girls night! Whoo! Be there soon x

Girls night? Tonight? There’s no way I would’ve forgotten something like that.

Having had a shower this morning, I dress in sweats and a tank, then spray the crap out of myself with deodorant.

You know…just in case.

As I walk into the kitchen, the bathroom door opens and I hear thumping footsteps coming towards me. Dressed in only a towel and still wet from his shower, Dave engulfs me in a bear hug that I’m not ready for. Faceplanting into his wet chest, the ass hugs me tighter when I say a panicked and muffled, “Can’t. Breathe!”

Pinching his side, he chuckles and hugs me harder. Literally having my air supply cut off by a hard chest, I act on instinct. Given no other choice, I bite his nipple. Hard.

Dave yelps and jumps away from me, looking miffed but still grinning, “That hurt, bitchflaps!”

Placing a hand on my hip and breathing heavily, I screech, “I was almost suffocated by man-boob!”

Dave gasps, “Those boobs are muscular, fabulous pecs, ho!”

Unable to stop myself from laughing at his offended expression, I ask warily, while running a hand down my face, “Why’d you call a girls night? What’s up?”

He smiles like a goddamn loon. “All in good time. Nikki needs to be here for this.”

Rolling my eyes, I turn and walk into the kitchen, making sure to have Cocoa a la Lexi ready for whatever news my friend is going to tell us.

Placing the cocoa on a tray, I walk it over to my coffee table just as the front door to my unit opens. Looking up, I find a much too happy Nikki strolling in with a container.

A container full of...

“Double choc, peanut butter niknaks?” I almost screech. “You made double choc, peanut butter niknaks?”

Taking in her grin, I bounce on the spot in excitement. Those niknaks are the shit.

“What’s the occasion?” I ask from her side, reaching into the container. Slapping my hand away, she chuckles at my forlorn expression and utters, “All in good time, honey.”

When Dave strolls into the living area dressed in light grey sweat sans tee, towel drying his hair, he takes one look at Nikki and grins cockily, “I’m so glad you’re here!”

She sends him an equally winning smile and lays on the sweetness a little too thick. “Oh, sweetie, I missed you too! Come have a niknak.”

Dave spies the niknaks. His face pulls into a frown. Almost asking himself, he mutters, “Why do we have niknaks today?”

Nikki motions for us both to sit and says, “No. You go first! Tell us your big news!”

Dave, looking like a child being told he is allowed to jump on the bouncy castle, sits and starts, “Whelp. I know we had a little competition going on the other night with who would nail Happy…” Holy shit, this is news to me! My eyes widen in shock as he continues, “…so I hope there’s no hard feelings, sweet cheeks.”

Nikki’s eyes narrow dangerously. “What do you mean?”

Reaching for his cocoa, he sips then smirks into his mug. “I won.”

Nikki pulls the cocoa out of his hands and Dave glares at her, “Hey, it’s no big deal. He’s just into guy—”

But she cuts him off with an abrupt, “When? When did you fuck him?”

Dave clears his throat, “Well, technically, he fucked me. And the event occurred last night.”

Well. This is awkward. I wish the ground would swallow me up.

A small smile breaks out on Nikki’s face and I’m not sure what to make of it. It’s almost like the Mona Lisa smile. I narrow my eyes while searching her face. She’s hiding something.

Dave blinks a moment before he blurts out, “Well, this sucks. I thought I’d feel all triumphant, but now I just feel like poo on a shoe! Thanks, Nikki. Thanks a lot,” then shoves not one, but two niknaks into his mouth in an attempt to show his current state of depression.

My wide eyes drift from Nikki to Dave, while trying to blend into the background like a chameleon.

I read somewhere that they can smell fear. Be still and impersonate a leaf.

That’s when Nikki picks up a niknak and nibbles on it. With a sigh, she looks upset as she tells Dave, “Don’t sweat it, babe. But you’re wrong.”

Still nibbling her treat, Dave looks confused as he asks her, “What do you mean I’m wrong?”

Shoving the niknak into her mouth, she replies a garbled, “Oo didit in. I id.”

Dave and I look at each other, unable to decipher her food-talk. Dave shrugs. “Yeah, I didn’t quite catch that.”

Taking her time chewing, she finally swallows, stands, and points at Dave, shouting, “You didn’t win! I did!”

Poor Dave. His level of confusion just went from I don’t get it to I’m special.

He mutters, “What? Whe—?” Gasping, he stands, points right back at Nikki, and yells, “Extra-long bathroom break at the masque!” Narrowing his eyes accusingly, he shakes his finger in her face. “There was no line, was there? You were getting porked! By the hottie!”

I can only watch in surprise as Nikki curtsies and announces, “Best fifteen minutes I ever spent in a bathroom.”

Unable to stand being a mere spectator any longer, I also stand and holler, “Who are you people and what have you done with my best friends?”

Nikki and Dave look shocked at my outburst before they look at each other and burst into laughter.

Dave moves to stand by Nikki, wrapping an arm around her waist. “Honey, this isn’t news. We do stuff like this all the time. You know? Playing who can get the guy.”

Nikki leans into Dave and nods, “Yeah. He’s right. Not the first time. Won’t be the last, either.”

I’m dumbstruck. Mouth gaping, I clarify, “So neither of you are pissed at each other? You don’t care that you’ve slept with the same guy?”