Addicted After All (Addicted #3)(55)

I check my arms.

Nope. Still red.

Ryke is the only one who remains spun around. He rotates fully, walking backwards with an aluminum-foiled taco in hand. Most of the guys are eating them after we passed a food stand. I chose to go with dessert and eat a churro as a late-night snack.

Daisy focuses on her boyfriend and almost trips over her feet.

“Watch it, Calloway,” he tells her.

“You watch it,” she says, her retort not as good with her drunken state. Poppy and I hold her firmly to our sides.

“I am watching it,” Ryke says, his eyes right on hers, “and she looks like a hot f*cking mess.”

“What are you going to do about it?” Daisy says in a smooth voice. Her smile radiates, but her eyelids droop.

Rose points an accusatory finger from Daisy to Ryke. “No flirting. We’re having girl time.”

Ryke ignores her and says, “I’ll show you later, sweetheart.” And then he spins around, walking with the guys. Ryke places a hand on Lo’s shoulder, and they talk amongst themselves. Laughter emanates from their huddle, and Lo’s is the loudest, the most full-bellied and jam-packed with true happiness.

My eyes sting with emotion.

Loren Hale is laughing.

It shouldn’t be a rare phrase. But it is.

I am most happy when he is happy. The same, I know, applies to him.

Poppy stares off into space before saying, “He has good lines.”

Daisy’s brows furrow. “Ryke?”

Poppy nods. “It was a cute one.” She smiles kindly at her.

“It wasn’t a line,” Daisy refutes with a deep frown. I sway, slightly shocked that she actually spoke her mind. I like this Daisy more than the one keeping the peace. It’s easier to tell when she’s having a good time and when she’s just appearing to for our sake.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Poppy says, giving her a side squeeze that unsteadies me. I gain my balance, thankfully. If I fall, so does my baby. It’s a thought that tickles my brain like a nervous spasm.

With only one free hand, I bite into my street-side churro that melts in my mouth. The long fried donut is a little phallic looking, but I try to employ the Ryke Meadows attitude of “not caring what other people think.” An audible moan even leaves my lips. I don’t care.

My cheeks and elbows do though, burning with disgrace.

I chew slowly to prolong the next bite. Even though I crave it. I swallow way too soon.

“He came on your face,” Rose says bluntly.

Back to this. I join in. “And you didn’t even tell us.”

Poppy adds, “It’s obviously an embarrassing moment for her.”

Rose adjusts her handbag on her arm. “And if she told me when it happened, I would’ve bought her jewelry and a ‘f*ck you’ dress.”

Daisy smiles. “What do those look like?”

Rose waves a finger at her. “No, no, you’re not going to distract me. I need more details than Connor.”

Daisy scrunches her nose. “That’s not possible. He was there.”

My eyes bug at all of this. I’ve encountered some pretty awkward moments in my life, but nothing like this. “Did you like it?” I ask the least important question, probably. I’m just curious if that’s a fantasy she’d repeat again.

“No,” Daisy says softly, actually starting to open up. Her arms like jelly, flopping by her sides. The liquor has just loosened her joints like a limp…thing. I cough on my churro.

Rose pats my back with a stiff hand. “I told you not to eat that.”

I smash the churro into her chest since the dessert is obviously not nice to me. Disgruntled, she tosses it on the sidewalk.

Poppy gapes, “Rose, you shouldn’t litter.” Our oldest sister leaves our side to pick up the churro and find a trashcan.

“I’m feeding the birds,” Rose calls after Poppy, who is already on an environmental mission.

Daisy is much harder to keep upright on my own, but I manage somewhat, resituating my clutch around her hip. Rose must see my struggle though because she replaces Poppy, hooking her arm with Daisy’s and leisurely strolling along.

“I hate giving blow jobs,” Rose suddenly opens up. She rarely talks about her sex life with Connor, so my lips part in shock. Maybe she thinks it’s only fair to offer some info when she keeps prodding Daisy. “I mean…” She sighs and rolls her eyes. “The first time wasn’t awful, but it’s my least favorite thing. I’m not good at it, and Connor is huge—do not mention that I complimented his dick. Please.”

I am soaring with these tidbits. “My lips are zipped.” No they are not. My mouth is permanently hung open. Though I can keep a sisterly secret. Rose has entrusted me with some before.

“Do you like them?” Daisy asks me with a tipsy smile.

“Yeah,” I say without blushing. Ah-ha! Success. “I like the control and watching Lo…” come. I can feel my ears heating. Damn.

“I’ve never really liked them,” Daisy says honestly. “And with Ryke, I can sometimes tell that he’d rather be pleasing me instead of me pleasing him. So he usually stops me before I get him off.”

“Aww,” I say. I’ve never made this sound out loud before, but this is an aww moment if there ever was one in my book. Some people would call it a perverted book, but I think I’m going to rename it The Lily Calloway Sexy Times Book.