Page 39

“You coerced me,” I accuse.

He raises a brow. “I helped you. But you seem to have a habit of being ungrateful.”

“And you have a habit of being a dick. Guess we both have things we need to work on.”

Yirah sighs loudly and flicks my hand away from her head. “Within the time you both were bickering, my head has already healed.” She stands and flattens her hair. “I enjoy my peace. Therefore, I do not want either of you in or near my apartment.”

Aiden nods. “So, it’s settled.”

I nod in return. “Yes. I’ll sleep in the office.” There is a bathroom in the office that has a shower. I can live there. I’ll miss my apartment though. It was perfect.

Aiden looks to the ground then to Yirah. He calmly says, “You talk some sense into her. I am five seconds away from strangling her.”

Yirah shakes her head and laughs. “Have you ever tried to talk sense into Joyce? It’s like telling a five-year-old that they cannot drink dish soap just because it looks like juice.”

“Hey!” I whine. “I’m not that bad.” Funny. I was that child who tried dish soap because it looked like juice.

Yirah raises a brow. “Then, stay with Aiden until we figure this out.”

I sigh in defeat. “Fine. Where am I sleeping? You only have one bed.” I want as much distance as possible.

“You can take my room,” he says.

I hope he’s a clean person. I’ve been in some men's homes, and it looked like a frat house. Nine times out of ten, their cars are squeaky clean though. That’s how they tricked me. A clean car, I’ve learned, does not equate to a clean home.

“Alrighty then,” I say, looking around my room. “Let’s pack up some things.”

We all begin to move around my room, collecting my belongings. We don’t pack up too much of my stuff because I’ll only be staying with him temporarily.

I turn and see Aiden opening the drawer next to my bed. I let out a scream and run over. I shove him away and slam the drawer. Yirah pops her head out of my closet.

She asks, “You okay, Joy?”

I nod. “Yes. Everything is fine.” She smiles and resumes her packing in the closet.

Aiden looks at me, a humorous glint in his eyes. “What is your problem now?”

“Uh, nothing. I’ll pack anything I need from this drawer.”

He waves his hand dismissively. “I got it.”

I shake my head feverishly. “No. It’s okay. Really. Thank you for offering.”

He gives me a lopsided grin that I feel straight in my chest. “Are you trying to hide the Intimidator from me?” With those words, that feeling vanishes. He did not just say the name I gave my new toy. How would he even know?

My eyes widen. I stammer, “W-what? What are you talking about?”

He chuckles. “Last night when you were too drunk to even know your name, you showed me your toy. I was impressed at the size.” He leans down until his lips are by my ear. “Let me know when you want something bigger.”

My mouth drops open. I swear on my afterlife, I will never get drunk again. I will never pick up another alcoholic beverage. No more mimosas for me. I have never been so embarrassed in my entire existence. A decent person would just act like that never happened. But not Aiden. Nope. He has to open his big mouth.

I point to the door. “Get out. Yirah and I can pack the rest. Take what we have packed and kindly go away.”

His smile widens. “Sure thing, Mrs. Intimidator.” I flip him off as he walks away chuckling. Once I hear the front door close, I let out a low scream.

Yirah comes out the closet with a suitcase. “Honey, what is wrong with you?”

I yank open the drawer and pull out my vibrator. “He fucking saw this.” I wave it in the air between us.