Page 106 of Reckless Vengeance

“If you like the couch, then that’s all that matters. Don’t get rid of things and regret it. You’ll decide to let go of things when you’re ready,” she promised, a soft smile on her face. “If you wake up one day and decide it’s time, I’ll help you.”

The thought of having anyone in my house freaked me out, and I wished I could let that go. It would be nice for Rory and the guys to be able to visit sometimes, coming over for a beer in summer so we could sit on the porch.

Sitting out there now just reminded me of how alone I was, and I’d always find myself staring at Sasha's empty chair that I hadn’t had the heart to put away.

I tightened my hold on Rory’s hand when she went to pull back, my thumb brushing back and forth across her skin.

“We had another bed when we first moved to the cabin. We broke it.” I chuckled, staring at a painting on the wall across the room. “Not doing what you’re probably thinking, but we got drunk one night and decided the bed was a trampoline. I’ve never heard her laugh so hard in all my life when the frame snapped and we went tumbling to the floor. It was a hysterical laugh where she couldn’t catch her breath and kept snorting. I couldn’t stop laughing because of it.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t throw up if you were drunk.”

“We definitely did by the end of the night. With our trampoline broken, we ended up dancing in the kitchen and doing other things I won’t discuss with you.” A small smile tugged at my mouth at the memory of ending up on the floor together in a tangle of naked limbs. “Is it like that with you and the guys?”

She snorted with amusement, grinning at me. “One night at Ty’s, we were cooking dinner together and ended up doing other things while we waited. I’m a terrible cook and Ty’s oven is fancy. I accidentally turned the stovetop on instead of the oven for the vegetables, and we’d put the bag of steaks on top. Slash walked in on us half naked in the kitchen, the fire alarm blaring, and me jumping up and down waving a dishtowel at the alarm to try and silence it.”

“What was Slash like with you? I’ve never really seen him with a girl he cares about. He’s usually detached when it comes to sex. It was obvious he was into you though, even before I heard his love confession in the van.”

The amusement fell from her face, and I wanted to kick myself for bringing him up, but she finally shrugged.

“He could be sweet. We didn’t get a lot of time alone, but it was nice when he’d come to Ty’s and hang out. We’d just watch TV on the couch, eat together, and he was surprisingly snuggly. He let his scary crew leader mask fall when it was just us,” she said softly, her brow creasing slightly. “He felt so guilty for keeping it from Skeet, but he knew the second we told him, he’d flip out. So waiting for midterms to end was the plan, and then we’d tell him. We were going to when we left the Shed, but the Soldiers showed up before we could.”

“Have you gone to see him yet?”

“No. I wanted to, but now I just can’t.”

“If you change your mind but don’t want to go alone, I can come with you. He’s near Sasha, so we can take a beer and hang out with them for a little bit,” I offered, releasing her hand when I realized I was still holding it.

She was easy to talk to, and I liked that I could talk to her about anything without a second thought, but I wasn’t used to having a girl as a friend. Was I touching her too much? I didn’t want to throw off the wrong signal and ruin our friendship, but at the same time, her touch calmed something inside me.

I didn’t know what to make of it.

“You can take me to the gun range for some shooting practice soon,” she stated, getting to her feet and grabbing the bottle of whiskey to refill our glasses. “I want to be prepared.”

“I can do that.”

“Are you coming to Thanksgiving? I’d like you to come,” she said carefully, and I winced.

“No offense, Donovan, but I really don’t want to be here. I’m a bit of an asshole on Thanksgiving, and it’s best if I stay home.”

“I understand. If you want to be an asshole around company, the invitation is still there. You’re always welcome here.”

I watched her as she put the bottle back on the shelf, and I took the second to study her. She was always a little prickly, but she’d mostly been nice to me from the beginning.

When had I started relaxing when she was in the same room as me? It was a sense of peace that I hadn’t had for a long time.

Her company was important to me, and I loved how she checked in with me often and asked for stories about Sasha from time to time.

She was looking healthier now too. Her skin seemed brighter and her figure less boney. She hadn’t packed on a lot of weight, but it was enough to make her look more filled out in a good way.

I was surprised that Skeeter hadn’t broken her though, she was still too skinny to be thrown around like how I knew he was doing to her.

Then again, I hadn’t always been gentle with Sasha, and she was a lot smaller than me too.

When I realized I was thinking about Rory’s sex life, I jerked so hard I almost dropped my drink. Where had that even come from? I couldn’t care less about getting laid, let alone the sexual patterns of other people.

“Are you okay?” Rory asked as she dropped down beside me again.

“I’ll be back, I need the bathroom,” I said quickly, putting my glass on the small table and getting to my feet.