Page 53 of Rev

My herbal tea, made on the camp stove, doesn’t help.

I can’t focus on the stupid dating show I’m hooked on.

All I can think about, in alternating sequence, is that man’s hands on my body, and then Rev and his violent reaction; and then the almost-kiss in the hallway; and then those three men watching me, the red-orange cherry of their blunt glowing in the darkness.

I jump a mile off my couch when a firm knock sounds on my door. Instead of calling out, I move quietly to the peephole.

A huge body, in the shadows. I recognize the breadth of the shoulders, though.

“Rev?” I call.

“It’s me.” His voice is low, quiet.

I unlatch the chain and open the door—he pushes in and shuts it behind him. “Hi?”

He’s wearing black basketball shorts, black-and-white ADIDAS slides, and a sleeveless hoodie, the hood deep and drawn to obscure his face. “Came to check on you.”

“You…did?” I ask, confusion, attraction, and curiosity making me stupid.

Gosh, he’s gorgeous. His arms are so big, so thick, and that outfit? Gah, it’s too sexy. Why, I’m not sure.

“You okay?”

I shrug. “Can’t sleep.”

He doesn’t answer immediately. “You clock your friends?” he asks, eventually.

“Yes.”

He nods. “Phone.”

“What?”

He holds out his hand. “Phone.”

“Can you speak in complete sentences?”

He just glowers at me, hand outstretched. “Myka, give me your phone.” He says this slowly, carefully enunciating each word.

I fetch it from the kitchen counter where it’s charging, unlock it, and slap it into his palm. “We’ll discuss manners later.”

He ignores this too—programs his number into my phone, and then calls himself from my phone—his pocket buzzes twice before he clicks my phone off and hands it back. “Get any funny feelings from those fuckers, call me.”

“I will.”

He just stands with his back to the door, his eyes, deep inside the hood, fixed on me. “Sure you’re okay?”

I nod. “I’ll be okay.” I swallow hard. “I just…I keep feeling him grabbing me. It was gross.”

He sighs. “Take a shower and think about something else.”

“Like what?”

A shrug. “Anything good.”

Like that’ll help. Instead of arguing with him, I change the topic. “Why are you wearing a hoodie, Rev? It’s eighty-five degrees out there.”

A pause. “Best if I’m not seen around you in public.”