Page 116 of Lovers Like Us

Sulli has her fingers to her lips. Her deep contemplation face at play. “When will we feel…the effects?” sheasks.

“I dunno.” Donnelly shrugs and leaves for the back like nothinghappened.

“Probably soon,” Farrow answers, and he’s staring right at me. Assessing. Kind of smiling. He’s always smiling, come on. Am I going to be paranoid? Will I just fall asleep? My stomach keeps tossing. Maybe I’ll puke and be done with this—or I won’t feel anything. I’m immune topot.

The potkiller.

That didn’t sound right. I laugh. Oh Christ…why am I laughing? I hone in on Farrow, and he has a hand to hismouth.

“What?” I lower his hand that hides full-blownamusement.

“You’re sopure.”

I let out a dry laugh. “You’re sofunny.”

He runs his tongue over his lip piercing. “I wasn’t thatfunny.”

I blink and blink. “Thank you for reminding me that you’re a kill-joy.”

“I only killyourjoy, wolf scout. I leave everyone else’salone.”

“Thank you twice over, then,” I say, sarcastic, and I nod a few times. He nods as well, his smile growing and I’m trying damn hard not to smile back—my phone rings. Interrupting whatever that was. Flirting? Head-nod flirting isn’t athing.

I’m not trying to make it one either. It’sweird.

I’mweird.

Caller ID:DAD.

Alright, I’m high for the first time. And I can without a doubt say that I’m notprepared for anything right now. I haven’t had a long conversation with my dad since the lake house. I can’t even tell you how we leftthings.

It was like we placed a semi-colon or an ellipsis on the end of a sentence.To be continued.Without an idea of when orwhere.

Answer the call, a voice whisperssomewhere.

I know I’m really high because I listen to that fucking weird-ass voice. And I accept thecall.

27

FARROW KEENE

Maximoff is so outof it, he lets me clasp his hand andlead himto the second lounge. I’d smile, but I still can’t believe he answered thatcall.

He holds his phone to his ear, listening to his dad talk. Not saying anything yet inreply.

I swing open the door. Finding Akara and Thatcher in a heated discussion about J.P., and I say, “Get the fuck out. Maximoff has to take a call, and both your clients are high in the firstlounge.”

They all bolt into thehall.

Alone, I shut the door, and Maximoff sinks down on a couch, clothes littered everywhere from when the rest of Omega and I undressed. I lower the volume of the musical Christmas lights, and he pressesspeakerphone.

“…she’s having a hard time here, and I’ve thought about flying out to you a million goddamn times,” his dad says, “but if your mom and I drag Luna home, she could just leave again. Next time, it could be somewhere worse…and at least she ran toyou.”

I sit calmly next to Maximoff, but hearing his dad talk reminds me of the years I spent beside Lo and Lily. And each time he turned to me, talked tome.

Trustedme.

At a café breakfast while we waited for Lily in the bathroom, Lo told me, “I woke up this morning, and I went,goddamn, I’m an adult.It still blows my mind that I lived this long, and Lil and I somehow managed to gift the world those four dorks.” He stared lovingly at his teenage children, a few tablesaway.