Rellik

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. I came to check on you, and my stuff was in here.” The lies rolled easier off my tongue than the truth. When you spent as much time as I did concealing your true self, it took no effort.

“No, it’s fine.” She sat up and pushed her hair from her face as she yawned. “How was the party?”

“Boring.” I tried not to stare at her legs as she stretched, rolling my neck from side to side. “So, you wanna talk about what happened earlier…with that guy?”

She shook her head as she tucked her hair behind her ear. “I really don’t know where he came from. I went home to change between shifts, and he was just there…waiting.”

“What are you going to do once we leave? You can’t really be sleeping on the streets or hanging out in dark alleys.”

“I met you in a dark alley, and you’re not so bad.” She shrugged, and I laughed sardonically. I was a curse, a black cloud. It was a sleight of hand. I hadn’t saved her, just lured her into my own web. She wanted to feel like she could trust me and all of this was on her terms, but I didn’t even trust myself.

“Maybe he wasn’t the one you needed to watch out for.” Subtle truths slipped through, veiled in sarcasm. It was the only warning she would get. I wasn’t strong enough to walk away.

“I’ll take my chances.” She stretched her arms over her head as she yawned, bowing her back forward. I couldn’t help but notice her small br**sts pressed against the thin fabric of my shirt. I wished I had chosen something that would conceal a hard-on better than these shorts. “I was trying to save up to go back home, but now I will have to start all over.” She pulled her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, hugging herself.

“Where’s home?”

“Technically here, but I don’t really remember much of it. I left when I was little. My grandmother used to live in Jacksonville before she passed. I’ve always wanted to go back and buy her place just in case.” She sighed as she rested her cheek on her knees.

“Just in case what?” My chest tightened as I thought about the memories I’d left behind and how hard it was to come back. I didn’t like how personal things turned with her.

“It’s silly.” She waved her hand as if to dismiss the conversation, but I knew there was somet