Page 66 of Definitely Not a Thing

“Donotput your hands on anybody please.”

“So you can fight but I can’t?”

“Amelia…”

“What?!” I laughed. “Seriously – do you really think I need to be told to keep my hands to myself?”

He shrugged. “You’re a little unpredictable, so…”

I fake gasped. “Me?! Excuse you, I am quite reliable and organized and thingsconsistentlygo exactly as I planned them, for your information.”

“Sincewhen?!”

“Sincealways!” I countered. “I’ve just been having a difficult four to six weeks!”

“That is both too specific andnotspecific enough – why the range?”

“Well… I may or may not taken a little spill out of my chair the other day, and bumped my head the tiniest bit?—”

“You’reconcussed?!”

My mouth dropped open. “No!” I denied.

“The other day… meaning a little while after I left from hanging that chair up?”

I shrugged. “That’s such a subjective frame of reference?—”

“Iheardyou fall, and texted you,” he interrupted, pulling into a parking spot in front of a building in Blackwood. “You acted like you didn’t know what I was talking about!”

“I wasreallydazed.”

“Amelia!”

“It wasn’t that serious, relax.”

His eyes went wide. “Relax? You just impliedmemory lossfrom falling out of that damn chair!”

“So you’re the only one who can tell a joke now?”

He scoffed. “So you’re a comedian?”

“Notacomedian –yourcomedian,” I grinned. “I’m adding that to the personality for tonight.”

“What the fuck have I done,”he muttered, making me laugh as he climbed out of the car. A moment later, he was at my door, opening it to help me out… but not moving to give me any room. “Aye,” he said, from very close to me, hand at my waist. “I’m down with fucking around to pass the time, clowning, all that, okay?” he said, before putting a finger under my chin, tipping my face up to his. “But whatever role you’re stepping into… make sure there’s no ambiguity.”

“About what?” I breathed.

Barely.

Calvin stepped back, smirking as he laced our fingers. “About you being mine.”

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amelia

Iloveda good reality TV moment.

The drama, the shade, the insane displays of wealth that were often harbingers of financial woes… messy, messy, messy.