Page 60

Eat You For Breakfast

Isobel

I hadn’t wanted to fall asleep here last night because I’d left my stash of pot in my underwear drawer back home, but I had been unable to look Finn in the eye and tell him no.

He’d loaned me a T-shirt and some boxers to sleep in that he’d gotten out of the dryer. There was already a hook hanging up over his bed, and Finn used it to hang my dream catcher. The bones rattled softly with a sound that soothed me as they clinked together.

Some people might have found the noise to be barbaric, but I quite enjoyed it. I had allowed it and the steady beat of Finn’s heart under my ear to lull me to sleep.

And sleep I did.

All night without any interruptions from my horrific memories.

There was no drowning.

There was no pain.

No abuse to my body.

And the best part, no waking up screaming.

I woke up splayed across Finn’s naked chest with my hair draped all around us like a blanket. I should have braided it before going to bed, but Finn had asked me to leave it down. He’d run his fingers through the long, dark tresses until I’d fallen asleep.

I thought he might have been just a little bit obsessed with my hair. I hoped it was more than that though, and it was simplymehe was obsessed with. That sounded crazy because obsessions could be dangerous, but I wanted it all the same.

I had to pee, but I didn’t want to pee for fear of waking Finn. He looked so peaceful, so at ease, and I had never seen him so relaxed before.

How long did it take to fall in love with someone?

This was a tricky question, because with Rain, it was almost instant. I wasn’t quite there yet with Romero, but I knew one day I would be.

But with Finn?

I thought maybe I was mostly there already. Nobody had ever treated me the way Finn did, like I was precious, special, something to be greatly desired, and someone very worthy of receiving love in return.

He made my heart race, and I knew what we shared between the two of us was special all on its own and would be nothing like what I shared with the other two.

I never expected to end up in a relationship with multiple partners because I’d wanted something normal or nothing at all, but I had seen the way my parents’ relationship worked, and I watched Ariel and her guys. I should have expected that each of my individual relationships would be different, but I guessed I hadn’t really given it much thought.

There were also the age gaps between myself, Rain, and Romero to take into consideration. It was bound to make things slightly different than what I shared with Finn who was close to my age.

None of that shit mattered, though, just so long as we had love between us. That and respect. Respect was important.

“I know you’re awake, baby,” Finn murmured in a husky voice that was thick with sleep. “How long have you been awake for?”

“Forever,” I replied as I pushed on his chest and sat up. There was no time for idle chitchat when my bladder was close to bursting. “Finally, you’re awake, and I can pee. TMI, I know, but you shoved your face in my vagina yesterday, so I think it’s okay to say ‘pee’ in front of you. If you want to talk about your poop, though, I’d advise you to think twice, because it’ll cause us to have some serious problems.”

I had to draw the line somewhere, and poop was a no go for me.

I leaned forward, kissed him on the cheek, and hopped off the bed. I ran to the bathroom, peed, washed my hands, and brushed my teeth with the brand-new toothbrush Romero had given me last night.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror and almost couldn’t believe the sight before me. The difference a good night’s sleep could make was almost miraculous. There were no smudges beneath my eyes, and I didn’t look tired. In fact, my eyes practically sparkled.

I hadn’t seen that look in my eyes since before my life had gone to complete shit. I had never expected to see it again.

Finn put that light back in my eyes, and I had no idea how to thank him for it.

And I had no time right now to figure it out. I had to get home, shower, and get myself ready for work. I bailed yesterday, and there was no way I was going to bail two days in a row. It would set a bad example for those boys who would have to cover my shift again for me. That, and Rain might actually really fire my ass if I just stopped showing up for work.