Page 57 of No Cap

I followed her without a word, unsure what to say. What I wanted to say was probably something she wasn’t ready to hear when it came to her toxic parents, and since I wanted more with her than just today, I chose to still my tongue.

She walked up to her door, placed the key in the lock, and opened it.

The iguana’s tail fell into the gap the door made.

She turned, ignoring the tail, and stared at me with those cognac eyes of her.

So freakin’ beautiful.

“Thank you.”

I leaned forward, kissed her chastely on the lips, then pulled away before saying, “I was serious about returning that stuff and taking you somewhere. Get the receipts of whatever you need to bring with you.”

She stared at me for a few long moments before saying, “Okay.”

I followed her into the apartment, which she left open, and turned just as I made it through the door.

“He’s big,” I said to her as she disappeared into her room.

“He’s over nine feet long,” she called out from her bedroom. “His name is Zilla.”

“Godzilla, Zilla for short?” I wondered, studying the large animal that had a tail as long as the door frame he was perched above.

I never really did like iguanas. They were kind of creepy.

“Does he bite?” I wondered.

She answered as she was coming out of her room, now completely changed out of her earlier outfit—which was hot—but this one?

She was in black leggings, a black tank top, and black and white Jordans.

Her hair was now up in a ponytail on top of her head, and her eyes were still that beautiful shimmering reddish brown.

My dad’s favorite Brandy was some French brand that had to be imported. But it was the same color of her eyes and made me want to melt into them.

“He whips his tail,” she said. “As long as you touch him anywhere but on his tail, he’s good. Face. Eyes. He’s all right, but there’s just something about when you touch his tail that he doesn’t like. I think the only reason he tolerates it when I come in and out is because he knows he’s in the way. But if I try it any other time, no deal.” She shook her head, smiling.

“I can’t say that I’ve ever petted one,” I admitted, not making a move to touch him. “Are you ready?”

She held up her hands with the receipt and said, “I hope they take it back. It’s about a week shy of being three months since I bought the bag.”

They would be taking it back. I’d make sure of it.

Everything went smoothly but the bag.

But since I was there with her, and I could glare the stupid cunt of a man down over her shoulder, he reluctantly took the return. He also said, “I can’t believe you’re returning this. Everyone wants this bag. They’re selling for three times this amount on eBay.”

She reached for the receipt to sign, making my heart do a funny little flip inside my chest.

She didn’t stop or even hesitate at the knowledge that she could’ve sold the bag on eBay, gouging someone for their hard-earned money just to make a buck.

“Thank you for your help,” she replied carefully, smiling so fakely that I wanted to pull her into my arms.

Patience, Carter. Patience.

The cop at the front door is never a stripper when you want him to be.

—Hollis’s secret thoughts