Page 39 of Anyone But You

“That Three Musketeers is sounding delightful right about now,” I said with a smile, hoping to distract her from the shark bite to the back of my calf. I sighed when she crooked a finger and beckoned me to her. I complied, and she silently motioned for me to turn around.

“Knox Kilroy—”

“Not my fucking middle na—”

I was cut off when she slammed the bag of treats into my chest and stormed off to our hut.

Correction… condo.

I tore open the bag, rifled through it like a trash panda, and snagged the chocolate bar. I ripped it open and devoured half the bar in one bite. “Fuck me,” I whispered blissfully, closing my eyes as an orgasm exploded in my mouth. I seized when an intense burn shot up my leg.

“That’s unpleasant,” I complained, taking another bite out of the chocolate bar, this time smaller to savor my treat.

“Quit being a baby. It’s just rubbing alcohol. I don’t think you need stitches.”

“Then I think I’m justified in saying that you overreacted,” I murmured as I inventoried the remaining treats.

Chips, popcorn, cherry licorice, the treats seem endless. I wonder…

“Island wife.”

“Please don’t call me that.” She laughed softly as she bandaged my leg.

“On a scale of one to dead, where would I fall if I ate these peanut M&Ms?”

“Silent treatment,” she answered, securing the bandage.

“That’s what I thought,” I said, moseying over to her suitcase to see what else she packed. “What’s that?”

She peeked around me. “Tell me you don’t get bitches without telling me you don’t get bitches. It’s a vibrator, Knox.”

“That’s obvious. I’m referring to the case beneath it.”

Victoria crouched on the balls of her feet and retrieved the box. She hunched over it, blocking my view.

“Everybody get the fuck down right now! Move it! Down!” she yelled, pointing a gun at me. I dropped the bag of snacks and my body down to the sand. Victoria fell into a snorting fit before returning the firearm to the case. “Somebody has never seenSet It Off.Knox, get off the ground.”

“Why the hell do you have a gun?” I asked, slowly climbing to my feet.

“We literally live in Gotham City. I always carry, even on vacation.” She fell silent, and I could see the wheels turning in her head. “Can you do me a favor, Knox?”

“No.”

“What if it’ll end my suffering? What if I fall off a cliff and I hit the rocks, but I’m still alive, but my wounds are fatal?”

“Then I’d do what must be done, but there’s no reason to have this conversation.”

“You’re right…let’s head to the falls and wash up before dinner.”

* * *

“This feels amazing, Knox. The only thing we’re missing is hot water,” Victoria sighed as she washed her braids with a coconut-scented shampoo and conditioner. I hummed softly as I washed my own hair. I could feel life slowly returning to the dried strands and felt almost human again.

“Here.”

Tears welled up in my eyes when Victoria handed me a brand-new toothbrush and toothpaste. “I don’t know who isenjoying your suitcase more—me or you,” I remarked, accepting the toiletries.

“Me. Hopefully, I won’t be subjected to your dragon breath every morning now.”