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“Thanks again for this,” Kaiden says, closing the noisy door behind him.
Saint tugs me over to the table and pulls out a chair for me, gesturing for me to take a seat. Awkward as hell, I do, and he carefully pushes me in. Kaiden takes the seat beside me and flips open the first pizza box, while Saint moves over to the makeshift kitchen, rummages under in the cupboard, and returns with three mugs. They clang together when he places them down on the scarred table top, and I note that they’re made of tin.
It’s like stepping back in time. This is some real ‘Of Mice and Men’ shit here. I wonder if Saint has alfalfa for rabbits out the back?
“What’s your poison, Miss Odi?” Saint asks, holding up two bottles for me to choose from.
I squint at the dusty bottles. Vodka or Tequila. Which is least likely to kill me?
“Tequila please.” Always tequila to forget.
“Atta girl. I knew I liked you! Kaid?”
Kaiden shrugs. “I’ll take the vodka, so there’s more to go around.”
Saint laughs and pours more than a generous splash of vodka into Kaiden’s mug, before filling ours to the brim with tequila. Fuck. I really am going to die here tonight in this shack, aren’t I?
I give Kaiden a tight smile as the guys raise their glasses – sorry mugs – and cheers, and then they’re both staring at me, waiting for me to join in.
Carefully so I don’t spill any, I raise my glass in a silent toast and then take a large gulp of tequila. I prefer it with lime and salt, but there’s no denying it’s smooth and expensive and definitely doesn’t belong forgotten in the back of a dusty cupboard in this rundown hovel. I take another long drink before placing my empty mug down. Kaiden smirks at me, Saint looks impressed. He refills it, and then my stomach yowls like a dying cat and ruins it all. The guys laugh.
“Please feed me,” I whine at Kaiden.
“Help yourself, babygirl. I ordered your favourite.” He taps the box that I’m guessing is mine, and I eagerly pull it towards me and flip open the lid. A large meat feast pizza winks back at me and I know that even if I do die tonight, I’ll die in full belly greasy heaven.
Saint pouts, which looks hilariously comical on his rugged face. “I thought the meaty one was mine.”
“There’s plenty to go around,” Kaiden tells him amicably. I bare my teeth and growl when he reaches out to take a slice.
“I’m not sharing.”
He snaps his hand back and flips open the third box, revealing a boring margarita. I laugh at his forlorn expression. Pizza’s pizza. It all tastes good. Unless it’s got vegetables or fish on. Yuck. I’d rather have a pizza covered entirely in pineapple than something with mushrooms or anchovies on. Gag.
Kaiden takes pity on the Pres and slides his double pepperoni between the two of them to share. It’s a good choice. But why only pick one meat when you can haveseven?
I groan in bliss and demolish my pizza in record time, taking long drags of tequila between bites, and pretty soon my mug and box are empty. The Pres refills me again as I’m reaching to make a start on the margarita. I’m not letting it go to waste, and I’m still starving. Yes, I’m stress eating. Yes, eating this much dough will make me suffer in the morning, but to be honest, I’m still not convinced I’ll live to see morning, so I down the rest of my mug of tequila too.
I’m fine – totally fine–until I stand up to use the bathroom.
Oh fuck. When did this boat set sail? Why aren’t the walls staying still? And where did all the other doors appear from?
“I don’t feel so good.”
“I’ll take that as my cue to leave,” Saint says, getting to his feet and fist bumping Kaiden like they’re besties. “I’ll leave you the keys to lock up, just post them back to me when you’re done, but there’s no rush if you need to keep this place for a few weeks.”
“Thanks man, I owe you.”
“Say nothing of it.” He turns to where I’m swaying on my feet and clutching my rickety chair like it’s a lifeline. Only it’sreally rickety –I don’t know how I didn’t notice that when I was sitting on it – and together, me and the chair are bobbing back and forth on unsteady legs. “Odi, little lady, it was an absolute pleasure. If you ever decide that the mafia life isn’t for you, or if you get sick of those assholes, come join my MC, we could use a queen like you ruling over us.”
I give him an over the shoulder wave as I navigate the high seas towards one of the fifteen doors which I hope lead to the bathroom, stumbling and tripping all the way. I blink andKaiden’s got me, guiding me towards the door I need with steady footing.
“Are we on a boat?” I slur.
“Oh yeah, you’re sailing the Tequila Express right now.”
“I want to get off,” I whimper as Kaiden guides me, not to the bathroom like I was expecting, but to a comfy looking bed. He peels back the covers and I strip off my outfit so that I’m naked and ready for…well, for him.
“Fuck, Odi,” he hisses, running his hands through his hair. “Get into bed.”
