Page 31 of Trust Me

“Christ,” he said when he saw the bag. “Are you feeding an army?”

“Nah, just a tank.” I looked at him meaningfully. He was still shirtless. Utterly indecent.

As I unloaded the pile of burgers, I could practically hear him salivating. The smell of them was downright intoxicating, and I would’ve jumped right in, but that wasn’t the way of things tonight.

When he reached for one, I swatted his hand. “Down boy.”

With a grunt, he leaned his elbows on the counter. “What weird shit are you on, then?”

“Weird,” I repeated, amused. “What’s weird about me?”

He nodded toward the counter where I’d left the key and note. They weren’t there anymore, and I wondered if he’d thrown it away. My body felt charged with the urge to check the trash, but I refrained.

“I like notes,” I said. “People just text in class now. It’s lame.”

“You like doodling too.”

My lips curved. “Sure do. It’s been a human pastime since the dawn of time.”

“I guess that’s an interesting way to see it.”

“How do you see it?”

“I kinda thought it was childish.”

I shrugged my mouth as I thought about it. “Sounds like a boring mindset to have. Who decides what’s childish? People who put a tie on every day and become slaves to corporate society?”

“Oh, you’re one of those.”

It was impossible not to laugh. “We all have to live in this society, and I’m cool with it, but I’ll be damned if I let it decide what I’m allowed to enjoy when I’m off the clock.”

“I respect it. Can I eat my food now?”

I held up my finger briefly, then started unwrapping each of the burgers. It was clear that he was confused, maybe even annoyed, but I ignored him. I took off the top bun of one, then stacked an entire burger on top of it. After doing it a second time, I had a creation that might require me to unhinge my jaw.

“Fat, juicy, jaw-stretching,” I said before I brought it to my mouth. It took some wedging, but eventually, I managed to take a bite out of it. Setting the rest down, I put a hand in front of my mouth and began to chew.

Dean broke into laughter, which almost made me choke. I felt triumphant when he followed my example, except he added four together.

“Your bloodline is weak,” he said. After squishing it down the best he could, he took a massive bite, clearing nearly half of the mega burger in one go.

“Beast,” I garbled.

“Alright, what’s your favorite food?”

I tilted my head to one side, then the other. “I don’t know.”

“How do you not know?”

“It just depends on my mood.”

“If you were on death row—”

“Why am I on death row?”

“I don’t know. Just because.”

“Nah, I need a reason. Set the scene.”