Page 156 of A Love Like Venom
“You look well and throughly fucked,” she comments for everyone to hear.
My cheeks heat in response and Reed pulls me closer to his side.
Stella’s mouth gapes open like a fish as she stares wide eyed between Haven and me. I’m certain she’s feeling the second hand embarrassment. “Haven,” she gasps.
Haven only shrugs. “What. I recognize that walk. Iknowthat walk. How else do you think I got pregnant?”
Stella stifles a laugh while it’s my turn to stare at her with shock. “You’re pregnant?” There is absolutely no way. She’s not even showing.
She beams at me and rubs her nonexistent belly. “Three months,” she answers proudly. Then I notice that she is in fact glowing. A glow that only comes with pregnancy.
“Congratulations!”
“If he doesn’t keep it wrapped you might be joining her,” Rosa chimes in pointing a finger at Reed.
If my cheeks weren’t red before they certainly are so now. He kisses the top of my head and then rolls his eyes at Rosa. “Would that be so bad?” He jokes. Even though he jokes my heart stops.
Because would it? I mean one day. One day far off in the future. Would it be so bad to have his child? To have someone inthe world who is ours? One who we would shower with love and affection. Giving it a childhood we were denied.
Would that be so bad?
Turning my head I find him gazing down at me. With a lightness in his eyes and a lazy smile on his face I don’t think that it would be so bad after all.
A piece of food is thrown at us from across the room. The chicken tender that breaks our moment falls to the floor with a soft thud.
Then a rushing of movement happens. Before I can blink Slater is in front of us picking up said chicken tender.
Picking it up he brings it to his mouth and finishes it in two giant bites.
When he’s done we are all staring at him and some can’t hide their clear disgust. Especially Rosa. “Slater, that had germs on it!” She scolds him.
“That was a perfectly good chicken tender that would’ve been wasted,” he argues.
Rosa puts her hands on her hips. “It was on the floor.”
“And I picked it up before five seconds,” he adds to help his defense. We all look at him knowing that’s not the truth. He sighs. “Okay, ten maybe fifteen but not enough to where I couldn’t eat it.”
Still, Rosa isn’t pleased. “There are plenty more for you to eat.”
His clear water blue eyes grow distant as a forlorn expression crosses his face. A look I recognize all too well. One I have seen in the mirror many of years ago.
My heart aches for him. It aches for the man standing before me who now resembles a lost boy.
And I want to comfort him somehow. As I go to move towards him Reed’s arm around my waist halts me. I go to lookat him and he subtly nods his head. Raising my brow he then mouths at me,later.
Then Reed does something I don’t expect.
Removing me from his side he reaches Slater and claps him on the shoulder. Then with a gigantic smile on his face, one that is used for show and distraction he says loud for all to hear, “Slater needs all the food he can get to keep up with his ever growing fan club.”
Slater blinks up at Reed and he winks at him in return. He gives him a good shake, playfully hitting him on the arm before adding, “Plus he needs to get a little bigger if he ever wants to win in a fight against any of us.”
The distant look in Slater’s eyes that were so apparent and jarring to see vanish. He smiles at Reed, ducking his head and hitting him back on the arm. “Fuck you, Snake. The ladies have no complaint about my size. And I can kick your fucking ass.”
Hearing him call Reed, Snake, reminds me that everyone here calls him by that name but me.
“You sure about that? Because just last week-” Slater cuts him off by forcing him in a headlock. Reed can easily get out of it but he doesn’t. He lets Slater have his little moment of jest.
Seeing Reed like this, teasing yet caring, proves what I have known about him since the first moment I met him.
