AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What would you do if the only person you saved was yourself?” I’ve never told Gavin exactly what happened in my past life. Davi. The reason I can’t ever hold a gun again.
A warm, callused hand brushes my jaw, cupping my face.
“Oh, Lena. I’ve been there, too. When it’s you or them, you always have to choose you.”
Tears well up, spilling down my hot cheeks. He pulls me close. “Then you live harder. Make it matter. Because you matter.”
I sniff, nodding. “You matter to me. So much.” Stupid Hellena. Stupid words.
Just tell him.
Gavin smiles sadly, taking it in stride. “I think I feel like I finally do, too.”
We sit like that for a while, holding each other, carrying each other’s demons. Until hunger drives us to make dinner clean up the kitchen, all in companionable silence.
The air feels lighter.
When it comes time for bed, I find that despite my nerves, I’m exhausted. Good, too, because I can't go into Gavin's room tonight. With all the built-up angst and sexy thoughts of Evan and Tell, I may lose my shit and do something foolish and stay up all night taking out my frustrations. Risking having to re-suture Gavin’s wounds in the middle of the night is the worst idea.
I need to stay focused like Evan said.
Or unfocused? Sleep is the opposite of focus, sort of…
Thinking in circles has me drifting off before I can finish the thought.
My outfit is… not a lot.
The box arrived earlier, dropped off by courier. Of course, Evan would make it mysterious and save the surprise for the very last minute.
It’s the last thing left to do before I'm ready to go. I have no clue how to put it on.
Most of the day, I spent relaxing, trying to keep myself occupied, distracted from the nerves. So, I took a bath. Drank a bit of wine. Not too much, though.
After that, I took my sweet time on my nails, my hair, and my makeup. Nadia and I compared notes on painting our eyes and the rest of our faces to go with our costumes the past few weeks. We must have gone through a dozen kits, testing out colors and blending. I’ve always loved the smoky eye, a wicked flick of mascara. But I never really had many opportunities to go all out until I started working for Evan and dressing to the nines every day.
Now, it’s like second nature.
The body paint, on the other hand…
Evan’s guy will have to give me my ‘accents’ when we get there.
“Hey, will you give me a hand with this thing?” I yell out the spare bedroom door. Gavin pokes his head in, his cheeks immediately going pink.
“You’re naked.”
“Not completely.” I argue, bobbing my eyebrows over my shoulder at him and pulling my arms closer to hide my exposed chest from him.
His eyes nearly bug out of his head when I shake my ass, only hidden by a thin pair of no-show boy shorts. After a deep drag of air through flared nostrils, he edges into the room, his limp barely noticeable.
I stifle a laugh at the tent in his jeans.
“Don’t act like you didn’t cause this.” He shrugs, quirking a half grin.
“Mmm. Proudly. But if I’m the cause, then you can be the effect…”
“Wow!” He bursts out laughing. “That was terrible.”
“Ha! Tell’s sense of humor is rubbing off on me, sorry.” I giggle, leaning back toward him, resting my back on his chest, eager for his body heat.
