Page 28 of Sinners’ Appetite

“Isn’t she fucking beautiful?” I ask Dean as we take a seat around the campfire.

“She’s—cute,” he quickly replies.

“Just wait until she gets a few drinks into her. She’s quite the little firecracker.”

“You’ll have to fill me in on the story behind why she has so many cuts and bruises. Her friend too.”

“It’s a long story.”

I watch Nikki as she walks closer to the shoreline, sticking just her feet into the water while Sammi takes off running into the lake. Suddenly, I remember that we forgot to buy Nikki a new bikini before we left.

“Nikki!” I holler out to her.

She turns and smiles as she walks over to me.

“Does Sammi have an extra bikini with her?” I ask. “We forgot to grab you a new one.”

She shakes her head and smirks. “Nothing of hers will fit my tits, remember?” she chuckles.

“Well—you could just hop in naked, you know,” I suggest with a wide sinister grin on my face.

“Um—I don’t think so…” she shyly smiles, glancing over at Dean.

“Dean appreciates a nice set of tits—don’t you?” I snicker.

“I really don’t mind,” Dean replies. “Nobody will see you.”

“I’m super tired anyway. I’ll go in the water tomorrow,” she says as she takes a seat beside me.

“We can head back up to the cabin if you want, baby girl.” I reach over and rest my hand on her thigh.

She nods and turns toward Jeremy. “Tell Sammi I’ll see her tomorrow morning.”

“Sure,” he replies.

“What’s your plans for tomorrow?” I ask Dean.

“I’m getting up early to take the boat out on the water.”

“Mind if Nikki and I tag along?”

“Sure. I’ll be up at five. I think I have a few extra life-jackets kicking around here somewhere.”

“Why don’t you two go without me?” Nikki suggests. “Sammi and I can explore a little while you two catch up.”

“Are you sure? The lake is beautiful first thing in the morning. We can show you how to bait a hook too.”

“If that means shoving an ugly worm onto a hook—no thank you,” she laughs.

I reach for her hand before we take off toward the cabins. Once we get through the door, Nikki hops onto the bed and rests her head on the pillow.

“You okay, baby girl?” I ask.

“I have a headache. I’ll be okay. I think I just need some sleep.”

“Do you have ibuprofen with you?”

“No, I didn’t think to bring any.”

“I’ll go ask Dean if he has any. Be right back.” I lean in, kissing her on the forehead.

As I make my way out of the cabin, I glance down toward the beach and see Jeremy and Sammi huddled up near the fire. I don’t see Dean down there anymore, so I assume he went back to his cabin shortly after we left.

I knock a few times before opening the door. Dean comes around the corner with a bottle of beer in his hands. “Need something?” he asks.

“Nikki has a headache. We didn’t bring any pain relievers with us. Do you have a few we can steal?”

He nods his head and walks into the kitchen, reaching up into the cupboard and fetching a bottle of pills. “I have these. I’d suggest just half of one, though. She’s small.”

“I appreciate it. Thanks.”

“Does she know about Amber?” Dean asks, catching me completely off guard for a moment.

I shake my head. “No. I haven’t told her anything.”

“You probably should.”

“A lot of shit has happened since I met her. She’s not ready to hear about that yet.”

“The longer you wait, the harder it’ll be.”

“Why does she even need to know? It’s the past. It has nothing to do with her.”

“Why wouldn’t she need to know? Is that how this whole thing works? You move to another city, find an easy lay and forget that my sister even existed?”

I slam the bottle of pills down onto the counter and step closer to him, adrenaline pumping through my veins at full speed. “Is that what you fucking think? You think Nikki is just some distraction? We can leave right now if you’re so fucking bent out of shape about her.”

“I’m not. I just think she deserves to know.”

“I’ll talk to her, when I’m fucking ready, Dean,” I spit out, sweat beginning to form on my forehead. “And just so you know—she’s not some easy fucking lay. I’m falling in love with her. I’ve never felt this way about anyone in my entire life.”

He lets out a huff. “That’s great. I’m sure Amber would just love her. You know—if she was still alive,” he smirks.

“If Amber was still alive, we wouldn’t be having this conversation, would we?”

I grab one of the pills from the bottle and tuck it into my pocket, turning around to leave.

“Look…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said any of that,” Dean says, walking up behind me.

When I turn back around, I see a single tear fall down his cheek. I reach up and brush it away with my thumb. “I get it. I know how much you loved her, Dean. I loved her too.”

“Please don’t tell Nikki about what I said. She’s really sweet. I didn’t mean any of it anyway.”

“I know you didn’t. It’s fine, really.”

“You’ll have to fill me in on her story tomorrow when we’re out on the water.”

I nod. “I will. It’s a lot though. Fair warning.”

“Sammi seems nice too. Her boyfriend is a little quiet,” he chuckles.

“I think he’s just exhausted. He hasn’t really had the chance to sleep since everything happened.”

“Should we take him with us tomorrow? Maybe make it a guys day?”

“I’ll ask him when I get back to the cabins. I’m not sure that he’ll let Sammi out of his sight for a while.”

“It was that bad, hey?” he asks.

“Yeah…”

“Well—I hope you have a decent sleep tonight. Again, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t sweat it, Dean. It happens to the best of us.”

“I’m glad you’re here,” he says, leaning up against the counter as I slip my shoes back on.

“Me too. We have some catching up to do.” I smile. “See you in the morning.”

By the time I make it back to the cabin, Nikki is sound asleep, so I quietly hop into bed beside her, wrapping my arm around her waist as I nuzzle my face into her hair.

Dean was right. I have to tell her. If she finds out about Amber some other way, I’m not sure that she’ll forgive me.

Especially when she finds out what I did to the man who caused her death.