She smiled from ear to ear.

“What the fuck are you smiling at?”

“You care about me. It’s sweet that you got scared.”

I grumbled and pitched the half-smoked cigarette to the ground. As my eyes lowered to step it out, they snagged on Gia’s rack. She had on a sheer blouse, and her nipples were protruding through the fabric. I had the strongest urge to bite them, take out all my pent-up anger and frustration on sucking those things until they were sore as hell. My eyes rose up to meet hers. “I’m not sweet. Trust me.”

Unexpectedly, Gia threw her arms around my neck and hugged me. Her tits and those pebbled buds pressed up against my chest. It felt damn good. The blood still rushing through my ears, headed south. She kissed me on the cheek before stepping back.

“What was that for?”

“A lot of things. For being a big old softie under that hardass exterior you wear. For coming to make sure I was okay. Because you’re going to fix my car since you lost the bet. And…for stopping at 7-Eleven on the way home so I can pick up some victory candy.”

I shook my head and chuckled. “Let’s go, Rocky.”Gia flopped down on her bed. “Will you lie next to me for a while?”

“That’s not a good idea.”

She pouted. “But my eye really hurts.”

My lip twitched. “You’re full of shit and trying to play on my sympathy. I’m not picking up what you’re putting down.”

She grinned at being called out. “You’re not cashing what I’m checking?”

I shook my head. “Not itching what you’re scratching.”

“Not hitting what I’m pitching?”

I handed her the ice I’d carried in with me. “Put this back on for fifteen. And, no, I’m not rocking what you’re rolling.”

Her smile was fucking adorable. I walked over to the ugly doll closet and plucked the original one from the shelf. The left side of its face was charred where her eye had been. Same side as Gia’s blooming black eye. I set it down beside her on the bed. “Now you look like twins.”

My phone vibrated in my pocket. It had done the same on the drive over to Gia’s, too. It wasn’t until this second time that I realized it was probably Everly. I’d been the one to initiate contact and then stood her up.

Gia pointed her eyes to my pants pocket. “Aren’t you going to answer that?”

“No. Not right now.”

She assessed me for a minute, and then tilted her head. “It’s a woman?”

“I didn’t look, so how could I know that?”

She squinted. “It’s a woman, isn’t it? A late-night booty call.”

I looked down at my feet. “I had plans for tonight, yes.”

“Oh. I see….” The hurt in her voice killed me. “Then you should probably get going. I wouldn’t want to keep you from a good time.”

My head, the one attached to my shoulders, screamed take the cue…run! But for some godforsaken reason, what I found myself saying was just the opposite. “Move over.”

Her face lit up, and she tossed ugly doll on the floor as she inched over and turned on her side.

My brows rose. “Is that any way to treat your prized doll?”

She patted the bed next to her. “It’s not like I can make her look any worse.”

Knowing it was a bad idea, but doing it anyway, I lay down on the bed next to her. I stared up at the ceiling, tense.

Gia seemed way more comfortable than I was. She moved closer and lifted her head onto my chest.

“I can hear your heartbeat. It sounds like it’s going so fast.”

That’s because it is. I felt like the big bad wolf lying in Little Red Riding Hood’s bed, and I really wanted to eat her.

I glanced down at her just as her big eyes looked up at me.

My what big eyes you have,

The kind that drive wolves mad.

She smiled innocently and snuggled closer. Her firm breasts pushed up against my side.

My what big tits you have,

They’re sure to lure someone bad.

She yawned. “I’m so tired suddenly.”

Without thinking, I reached down and stroked her hair. It felt so natural and right. “Your adrenaline is crashing. It spiked when you jumped into that fight and even for a while after.”

She sighed. “Yeah. I’m sorry for doing that. I just sort of did it and didn’t think. I’m also sorry for ruining your plans for the night.”

“It’s fine. They weren’t important.”

A few minutes later, I heard her breaths change, and I thought she’d fallen asleep. Until I heard her groggy voice. “Rush?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m not really sorry I ruined your plans for the night.”

I smiled. “I’m not sorry they got ruined either, Shakespeare. Now get some sleep.”I woke to an empty bed.

Confused, I wasn’t entirely sure if I had imagined the entire night before. I had fallen asleep using Rush’s chest as a pillow, hadn’t I?