Page 7 of Sinners’ Appetite

I can’t get over how fucking beautiful she is.

I think I caught her off guard by showing up with gifts. She seemed to like everything, at least.

A few minutes after her and Sammi took off into the bathroom, Jeremy and I made our way back over to his place to finish the bookshelves. Jeremy doesn’t do so well with reading instructions and it’s rather comical watching him look at the materials with a confused look on his face.

“Fuck, there’s so many little steps to this,” he complains, stepping back from the pile of wood and screws in front of him.

“We only have one left to do,” I laugh, shaking my head at his frustration.

“Easy for you to say, you built an entire wall by yourself in no time.”

“Patience is a virtue, man. You just gotta take your time with it.”

He rolls his eyes and lets out a sigh. “How about I go make us coffee, and you can finish this?”

“Sure, princess.” I laugh as I reach for the top and bottom panels of the bookshelf.

During the time it takes him to head into the kitchen and make the coffee, I already have the majority of the shelf put together.

When he walks back into the room, he smirks. “Fuck—that’s impressive. We might have to hire you to do our basement renovations.”

“I’d be happy to help. I don’t really have a job yet, and I have a feeling my photography business might take a while to establish.”

“Then it’s settled,” he nods and passes me a mug full of coffee.

When I take a sip, I’m shocked by the fact that it actually tastes rather good. I’m super picky when it comes to how my coffee tastes. “You’re the first person that’s ever made me coffee that tastes decent.” I half-laugh, taking another sip.

“Sammi hates bland coffee, so we splurge on Peruvian coffee beans.”

I set my coffee down on the table and finish installing the last few shelves into the bookshelf. “Where is she putting these?” I ask.

“In our fucking bedroom. Wait until you see how many books she owns. That’s not including the ones she’s written herself throughout the years.”

My eyes widen. “She’s a writer?”

“She sure is.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah, I’m quite proud of her. She’s finally getting back into it and I can see that it’s making her happy. Finally.”

“Oh?” Now I’m curious.

“She was a writer when I met her. We had plans to start a family, so she stepped back from the author life and put her whole heart and soul into preparing for that journey, but it didn’t work out.

She lost herself for a while and I had no way to fix it for her.

It killed me to see her like that.” I can see the tears forming in the corner of his eyes.

“She slowly got back into writing over the course of a few months, and now she’s focusing on it again. ”

“I’m so sorry. That must have been rough.”

“It was one of the hardest things we’ve gone though as a couple. That appointment was hell for the both of us, and she blamed herself for a while. She thought I would end up leaving her so I did everything in my power to make sure she knew I wouldn’t.”

“Did you discuss adoption instead?”

“No. We decided to embrace the fact that it would be just the two of us for years to come. We’ve accepted it.”

I can’t imagine what that would have felt like for her.

“Anyway…” He trails off. “We should get these upstairs.”

“Sure, grab an end and just tell me where to go.”

We make our way around the corner and up the stairs then though the doors of their large master bedroom.

Once we have the one bookshelf all set up, I take a look around at the other four that are filled completely with all different genres of books. She even has special editions of certain novels that I’ve never laid eyes on before.

“Holy shit, you were right. This is a lot of books.” I step closer, my eyes drawn to one particular section.

“Yeah, she’s into dark romance hardcore.” He laughs, watching me reach for one of the books.

Being a morally gray man myself, I have an appreciation for the dark romance realm. Though—none of these people know what I’ve done in my life that makes me consider myself morally gray in the first place. Maybe they’ll never know.

“I think she wants one of the shelves in the living room., he mentions as we head out of their room to grab another shelf.

Once we set that one up in their room, we go back down to set up the last one, placing it next to the window in their living room space.

“Another coffee?” he asks as I take a seat on their couch for a minute.

“No, I have to get going. I have to sort through some boxes at home. I’ve been putting it off for too long already.”

“Well, I appreciate the help. Sammi will be so happy.”

“My pleasure. Let me know when you want to get started on the basement renovations.”

“Will do!”

I head out the door, making my way to my car. Just as I’m about to hop in, I see someone peeking through the curtain on Nikki’s side of the duplex. Just moments later, I get a text.

Thanks again. I’m sorry I didn’t really talk much. I’m still a little—shocked by everything.

No problem. I’m glad you liked the basket. I’m sorry if it was weird me being there when you woke up.

Not weird at all. I appreciated the gesture. So much.

Fuck. I don’t even know what to say to her. I don’t want to come off too strong.

Let me know if there is anything else you need. I know you have Sammi and Jeremy, but…

I’m sure they get tired of helping me all the time. Being a damsel in distress seems to be my thing lately.

Oh?

Long story. I just seem to have a lot of unnecessary bullshit going on in my life these days.

Anything I can help with?

Not unless you can get rid of a bunch of people for me.

Well shit. Now she’s speaking my language. Instead of texting her back right away, I start my car and head home. I’m not so sure she’s ready to hear about my dark past quite yet.

She said a bunch of people.

What was that supposed to mean?

Was that attack… planned?

Does she know something that I don’t? I thought she fell victim to another random mugging or something. She left the club with a bunch of cash in her pocket. Maybe there was more to it?

There’s only one way to find out. I’ll fish for more information. Not from her though.

Jeremy and Sammi know her more than anyone.

I reach into my pocket for my phone but as I do, it starts to ring. Speak of the devil—it’s Jeremy.

“Hey,” I answer.

“Hi! Don’t worry—I don’t have another shelf for you to build or anything. Sammi and I were wondering if you wanted to come over tonight for some drinks? Nikki will be there. She says she’s not drinking though.”

“She probably shouldn’t drink,” I blurt out, sounding more possessive than I had intended.

“You’re right. Not until she’s fully healed.”

“What time?”

He then calls out to Sammi in the background, asking her what time I should head over.

“Eight?” he questions.

“Sounds good to me. I’ll be there. Do you need me to bring anything?”

“Just yourself. We have plenty of alcohol here.”

“I don’t really drink much.”

“That’s fine.”

“Okay, I’ll see you all at eight then.”

I end the call and head to the bathroom to hop through the shower. This time, even though I really want to, I refrain from jerking off to the thought of Nikki.

Even still, I’m getting hard just imagining how soft her skin must be.