Page 31 of Bleed Me

“Do you? Fuck your bunny, Giver.”

“You fuck her. I’m good.” I stripped off my jeans and headed toward a showerhead.

“Hey!” She marched in after me. “What’s your hang-up with sex?”

“What makes you think I have one?” I turned the shower nozzle on. “Because I refuse to fuck a stranger?”

Blinking, she stuttered, “Uh, well… yes.”

The water heated quickly. I stepped under it and sighed relief. It was washing away the alcohol the boxing bag made me sweat out. “Do you fuck strangers?”

“I have.”

I turned under the water. “I call bullshit.”

“Why?”

“Control is how you survive.”

She fell back a step. “How the hell does a young man like you know anything about that?”

“A lot can happen to someone in a short amount of years.” Water dripped from my chin as I stood there, motionless. Young man… “How old am I, Justice?”

The way she answered, I knew she knew the age on the internet was a lie. “Twenty-five.”

Shower water fell from my eyes knowing they were sad again. “Oh, yeah. That’s right. Twenty-five.”

“Shit,” she sighed, probably realizing that age was way off. “Your smarts had me believing it.” She examined my chest again. “Are you even done growing?”

It was a complicated dance for us to communicate. She already felt like a comrade of sorts, but I couldn’t be honest with her. The only saving grace was she understood my deceit.

“Giver, after we have a meeting and I explain what I’ve found, Prez may fill us in with more details. Maybe then you won’t feel so muzzled—” Her head snapped to the left to see down the locker room hallway. She scowled. “You were supposed to text me when at the door.”

“Oh. Sorry. I—” Sapphire stopped.

I was finally meeting my ‘bunny’ face to face, and I was naked as a newborn baby. Huge blue—almost turquoise—eyes raced down my body.

This whole time, I had been having a conversation, while naked, with Justice, and felt like I was talking to a buddy—who happened to be smokin’ hot—but I was still very relaxed with her presence.

Sapphire? I suddenly felt like I was on display, and I wasn’t in the mood. “Fuck,” I mumbled as I turned to face the spraying water. “What’s with you and me and showers?”

At my reaction, she sounded sad. “I guess we can’t seem to get a good start. Sorry.”

I peered over my shoulder. “No sweat. All good.”

She attempted a smile, but it was weak as she handed Justice some items. “I, uh, bought him some new boots, too.”

Holding the items, Justice pointed to the floor. “Throw those in the pit, would ya?”

“Hey!” I barked. “Those are mine.”

Justice laughed. “They are screaming bad Ju-Ju and need to be burned.”

My jaw dislocated. “Please tell me you don’t believe in that shit.”

She pulled a silver chain out from under her shirt. Hanging from it was a crystal. “For protection.” Then she told Saph, “To the flames they go.”

Her giggle was cute. “Will do, Captain.” Shyly, she smiled and gave a little wave. “Hope everything fits okay.”