Lick (Stage Dive, #1)(70)

We walked another block in silence with David carrying the pizza box up high on one hand.

“Stop frowning,” he said. “When I picked you up last night you were lighter than in Monterey. You’ve lost weight.”

I shrugged. Not going there. Definitely not remembering him lifting me and my legs going around him and how badly I’d missed him and the sound of his voice as he—

“Yeah, well, I liked you the way you were,” he said. “I love your curves. So I came up with another plan. You’re getting pizza with fifteen cheeses on it until you’ve got them back.”

“My first instinct here is to say something snarky about how my body is no longer any of your business.”

“Lucky you thought twice about saying that, huh? Especially since you let me back into your body last night.” He met my scowl with one of his own. “Look, I just don’t want you losing weight and getting sick, especially not on my account. It’s that simple. Forget the rest and stop giving the pizza dirty looks or you’ll hurt its feelings.”

“You’re not the boss of me,” I muttered.

He barked out a laugh. “You feel better for saying that?”

“Yes.”

I gave him a wary smile. Having him beside me again felt too easy. I shouldn’t get comfortable, who knew when it would once again blow up in my face? But the truth was, I wanted him there so bad it hurt.

“Ba—” He cleared his throat and tried again, without the sentiment that would have earned him an automatic smackdown. “Friend. Are we friends again?”

“I don’t know.”

He shook his head. “We’re friends. Ev, you’re sad, you’re tired, and you’ve lost weight, and I f*cking hate that I’m the cause of it. I’m going to make this right with you one step at a time. Just … give me a little room to maneuver here. I promise I won’t step on your toes too badly.”

“I don’t trust you anymore, David.”

His teasing smile fell. “I know you don’t. And when you’re ready we’re gonna talk about that.”

I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat.

“When you’re ready,” he reiterated. “Come on. Let’s get you home so you can eat this while it’s still hot.”

We walked the rest of the way home in silence. I think it was companionable. David gave me occasional small smiles. They seemed genuine.

He tramped up the stairs behind me, not really bothering to look around. I’d forgotten he’d been here last night when he got my whereabouts from Lauren. I unlocked the door and took a peek inside, still scarred from catching Lauren and my brother on the couch last week. Living with them wasn’t going to work long term. I think everyone was getting to the point of needing their own space.

The last month, though, had been beneficial for Nate and me. It had given us a chance to talk. We were closer than we’d ever been. He loved his job at the mechanic shop. He was happy and settled. Lauren was right, he’d changed. My brother had figured out what he wanted and where he belonged. Now if I could just get my shit together and do the same.

Rock music played softly and Nate and Lauren danced in the middle of the room. An impromptu thing obviously, given my brother’s still-greasy work clothes. Lauren didn’t seem to care, holding onto him tight, staring into his eyes.

I cleared my throat to announce our arrival and stepped into the room.

Nate looked over and gave me a welcoming smile. But then he saw David. Blood suffused his face and his eyes changed. The temperature in the room seemed to rocket.

“Nate,” I said, making a grab for him as he charged David.

“Shit.” Lauren ran after him. “No!”

Nate’s fist connected with David’s face. The pizza went flying. David stumbled back, blood gushing from his nose.

“You f*cking *,” my brother yelled.

I jumped on Nate’s back, trying to wrestle him back. Lauren grabbed at his arm. David did nothing. He covered his bloody face but made no move to protect himself from further damage.

“I’m going to f*cking kill you for hurting her,” Nate roared.

David just looked at him, eyes accepting.

“Stop, Nate!” My feet dragged at the floor, my arms wrapped around my brother’s windpipe.

“You want him here?” Nate asked me, incredulous. “Are you f*cking serious?” Then he looked at Lauren tugging at his arm. “What are you doing?”

“This is between them, Nate.”

“What? No! You saw what he did to her. What she’s been like for the last month.”

“You need to calm down. She doesn’t want this.” Lauren hands patted over his face. “Please, babe. This isn’t you.”

Slowly, Nate pulled back. His shoulders dropped back to normal levels, his muscles relaxing. I gave up my choke hold on him, not that it had done much good. My brother did the raging bull thing scarily well. Blood leaked out from between David’s fingers, dripped onto the floor. “Crap. Come on.” I grabbed his arm and led him into our bathroom.

He leaned over the sink, swearing quietly but profusely. I bundled up some toilet paper and handed it to him. He stuffed it beneath his bloody nostrils.

“Is it broken?”

“I dunno,” his voice was muffled, thick.