Page 64 of Their Wicked Ways

Ez smiled in that smirky way that only made my stomach issues worse.

“Ready for your next taste of freedom?” Wes put his hand on the small of my back and gently nudged me toward the doors.

“Ready.”

I tried not to think about Wes’s hand on my back as we headed out of the restaurant and instead focused on how I was about to have a hole punched through my nose.

There. That was the perfect way to make sure my dick didn’t get any ideas and make things weird again.

12

JETT

“Do you have any cherries?”

I looked up from where I’d been staring blankly at the bar in front of me. “Sorry?”

“Oh my god, you’re hot!” Nick exclaimed from the other side of the bar.

“I am?” I couldn’t stop the corners of my mouth from lifting in a smile. Nick’s brain was as crazy as mine. He just said everything he thought out loud, whereas I’d learned to keep things in my inner monologue.

“Heck yeah! Well, you were always hot. But now you’re leveled up hot.” He leaned closer and peered at me shrewdly. “Is it real?”

“My nose ring?” I wanted to be sure we were talking about the same thing before I answered.

He nodded.

“It’s real. I got it done yesterday before work.”

“How did I not know that? Did I see you yesterday?” Nick looked up, like he was cycling through his memories. “I did,but”—he grinned triumphantly—“you had on that silver meshshirt, and it distracted me. You know how sparkles and sexy arms are my weaknesses.”

“You wanted cherries?” I asked, bringing the conversation back to where it started.

“Right!” Nick beamed a big smile at me. “With stems, please.”

“How many do you need?” I went to the fridge where we kept the prepped fruit.

“Four should be good.”

I put four pitted cherries in a small glass and handed it to him. “Dare I ask why you want these?”

He snickered. “Nothing nefarious. I just need to prove to a couple of doubters that I can tie one of these with my mouth quicker than them.”

“You can do that?”

He nodded. “It’s a fun party trick.” He looked at me closer. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, why?” I said, not quite lying but not telling the whole truth.

“You’ve been weird lately.” He put the cup down on the bar. “Distant and a bit spacey. Are you sure everything is okay?”

I started to tell him I was fine but stopped.

“They’re notnotokay,” I said with a sigh.

Nick’s expression softened. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Did I?