Page 26 of Sinners’ Appetite

I figure since I drained her of energy last night, I can at least prepare her a full breakfast.

So far, I’ve managed to burn only five pancakes while standing against the counter, daydreaming about how incredible last night was.

Both of us established from the very beginning that we weren’t fond of cuddling, but last night—we were glued together all night long.

I manage to clear my thoughts enough to flip this set of pancakes on time, subconsciously giving myself a high five as I place them onto a plate and smother them in butter. I didn’t have any blueberries to add in, so I used chocolate chips instead.

As I’m pouring the water into the coffee pot, I hear a creak on the floor behind me. I smile as I turn around, met by the most beautiful blue eyes I’ve ever laid eyes on.

“Good morning! How’s my girl feeling?” I ask, setting the carafe down onto the counter.

“Really fucking sore…” She sighs, leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed over her chest.

I lightly chuckle, quite damn proud of myself for being the reason she can barely walk. “Do you want me to kiss it better?”

“For now, I think you should just keep that mouth to yourself,” she grins.

“That’s a lot to ask of me,” I tease before turning back around to load a single cup coffee pod into the machine.

A minute or two later, the coffee finishes brewing and I add the milk along with the sugar then pass it to her.

I watch as she takes a few sips, a satisfied moan escaping her lips.

“My god—this is amazing.”

“Jeremy mentioned those coffee beans the other day, so I thought I’d grab some online and try them out.”

“That’s where I’ve tasted this before!” she exclaims.

“Oh—speaking of Jeremy. He called this morning. Sammi is on her way home as we speak. They’re packing for the trip and then heading this way. Sammi tried to call you, but I think your phone might be dead.”

“Shit.” She sighs. “I forgot to grab my charger from my house last night anyway.”

“Mine is plugged in right there, if you want to use it,” I suggest, pointing toward the outlet near the dining room entrance.

Once she’s done plugging her phone in, I grab our plates of food and head into the living room. In an impressive amount of time, Nikki’s plate is empty.

“Are you still hungry?” I ask, looking down at the last pancake remaining on my plate.

“No, I think I’m good. I’m sorry for eating like a damn pig. I was hungrier than I thought,” she snickers, standing to take her plate into the kitchen.

I scarf back the last pancake while Nikki checks her phone. I still have to pack my bag, so while she’s still busy, I head into my bedroom, hauling a suitcase out from the closet.

Moments later, she appears in the doorway with an uncomfortable look on her face, her eyes pointed down at her phone.

“Um… They found Justin’s body,” she whispers, lifting her phone up so I can see the screen.

Sure enough, a post from the city police reads “Body discovered behind dumpster at well-known club.”

“It’s a wonder it took this long. Doesn’t the owner take his garbage out?” I ask, fumbling through a box of shirts.

“He does, but he usually tosses them in from a distance.”

“The smell should have given it away. It’s been hot and humid lately.”

“He’s oblivious. I bet it wasn’t even him that made the discovery.”

“Well—at least they found him before he started to really rot.” I shift over to another box, opening it to see if the rest of my pants are in it.

“I should text Jessica,” she suggests.

“I wouldn’t. She’s probably still a little shaken up from the other night. Even if her brothers were complete garbage—losing two in just a few days, might be too much for her to handle. They’ll let her know one way or another.”

She sighs. “I can’t imagine being the only sane one in my family. Their mother was—odd.”

“Oh?”

“I stayed over one night when Jessica and I were younger and her mother got so high that she locked herself in the bathroom. She kept screaming that worms were eating her flesh. We tried to get in, but she had the door barricaded with what we later found out was the vanity that she ripped off the wall.”

“Fuck. No wonder Justin and Nolan were so fucked in the head. Jessica got lucky.”

“I wouldn’t call it lucky. She just had a better head on her shoulders. She refused to be like her mother.”

“What happened to her? You spoke of her in past tense…”

Nikki lowers her head. “She killed herself. Jessica and I found her, actually. That’s how I met Nolan. Being the older brother, he had to come home and make the funeral arrangements.”

I toss a few pairs of pants into the suitcase, along with several undergarments and a hoodie, just in case it gets cold at night near the lake.

Just then, my doorbell rings.

“That must be Sammi and Jeremy!” Nikki announces, spinning on her heel to practically skip out of my room.

I hear the two girls shriek in unison as soon as the door creaks open. Grabbing my suitcase off the bed, I zip it closed the rest of the way and wheel it out of the room behind me.

“Good morning!” Sammi greets me as soon as I make my way into the living room.

“How are you feeling?” I ask, dropping my suitcase off by the door.

“I think I slept a little better last night,” she replies. “Jeremy read a book to me for a while.”

“Which one?”

“Dark Notes by Pam Godwin.”

Nikki clears her throat. “I told you that one was good.”

“Jeremy is quite the narrator—aren’t you babe?”

He smirks. “Only for you, baby.”

I take a quick glance at my phone. “Should we get on the road? It’ll take us a good ten or more hours to get there.”

“Can we stop to grab—” Nikki starts to say, before I finish her sentence.

“Gummy bears?” I ask.

“Yes. Gummy bears. Maybe I’ll go all out this time and grab some chips too.”

Nikki starts to laugh. “Did you feed her this morning? She seems a bit sassier than usual.”

“Oh—I fed her lots. She ate a lot last night too,” I snicker.

Nikki then smirks at me with a mischievous look in her eyes. “He sure did.”

“You two are fucking adorable,” Sammi smiles, leaning against Jeremy.

“We should go. Let me know where you wanna stop to grab what you want. I’ll call Dean to let him know we’re on the road.”

All four of us head out the front door and I lock it behind me, double checking that it’s securely closed before walking away with my suitcase.

“You’re driving, right?” Jeremy asks, hopping into the back seat with Sammi.

“Unless you want to,” I offer, but he shakes his head no.

“Can I just sleep? I’m not sure that I can keep a conversation going for ten hours straight,” Sammi laughs as I rev the engine and back up out of the driveway.

“I know someone that can,” I chuckle, shooting Nikki a teasing glare.

“You’re an asshole,” she chirps before turning her head to look out the window.

“I know how to shut you up though, so I’m not worried.”

“Still an asshole.” She turns to me and smiles. “But I really like that cock of yours.”