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And then it’s over, broken, and he’s heading for the stairs⁠—

“Hey,” I say, and it’s only when he stops in his tracks that I realize I don’t know what I was going to say next. I get to my feet slowly, suddenly sheepish. Can’t meet his eyes.

“Where…where are you going?” I ask.

“Out.”

“Out where?”

“Just out.” He smiles, but there’s no mirth in it. “Don’t wait up.”

CHAPTER 25

KIT

“Tink around?”

I nearly jump out of my skin, hearing Blue’s voice. I’m on my first break of what’s shaping up to be a very busy Saturday, and was just indulging in some doomscrolling and my third espresso at my station before I need to set up for my 2 p.m. client, and now he’s looming over me like some kind of sexy Grim Reaper.

“I, uh…” I glance up at him, trying not to think about the last time he and I discussed her. Or the last time he and I spoke, period. I swallow, and give my head a shake. “I don’t think so,” I answer. “Think she was going to the beach.”

Blue nods. “Good.”

“Why—”

Before I can ask and certainly before he can answer, he’s dropped onto a stool and rolled his way over to my station proper.

“You…need something?” I ask. I glance at his forearm. “More ink? Because you’re running out of real estate, honestly, and I don’t think my stuff’s really the style you⁠—”

“I think you should fuck Tink.”

I almost drop my demitasse.

“What?” I whip my head around, double- and triple-checking that the shop is in fact empty now that Blue’s client has gone. But it is: we’re alone.

Still, though.

“What?” I repeat.

“Did I stutter?” Blue says. “I said⁠—”

“No,” I interrupt, emphatic. “No, you didn’t stutter. You just…” I set the cup down so that I don’t drop it and rub my forehead, hard. “Why would you say that?” I close my eyes. “Can you just quit…fucking with me, man? What did I ever do to you?”

“I’m not fucking with you.”

When I open my eyes, Blue’s lips are curled at the edges, which must be his psychopathic version of a smile.

“And I said it,” he goes on, “because I know you’d like it, and I’m very sure that she would, too.”

Fuck it. In spite of myself, in spite of my better judgment, I feel something unclench inside of me at his words.

Because if he’s serious…

“You…are?” I say. No. What? Can’t be. I shake my head. “How, exactly? How are you very sure?”

Blue’s mouth goes to a full-on smirk. “Same way you get consent for anything. I asked her⁠—”

“You what?!” I can feel my entire body incinerate.