Page 16 of Thorns of Desire

“Do you want a joint?” Raven asked, frowning. “Will it make you braver for our bookstore operation?”

Laughing, I kissed all their cheeks one by one. “I think so.”

Thirty minutes later, we giddily stumbled our way to the bookstore, hands full of boxes.

Looking inconspicuous and completely innocent—right—we made our way into the alley, our steps slightly unsteady and our giggles incessant. We’d laughed so much my cheeks hurt, and it was already the perfect birthday.

Until we got to the side metal door. Raven stopped, confused, and we all followed suit, her eyes darting between the door and the window five feet away.

“What is it?” I singsonged.

“It seems wrong to go through the door,” she muttered.

I glanced over my shoulder at the rest of the girls.

“What is she saying?” Phoenix signed.

Reina lowered her box and told her sister, “She thinks we shouldn’t go through the door.”

“Why not?” Isla seemed as confused as the rest of us. “Don’t book suppliers go through the door?”

Raven whirled around. “Yes, but during business hours.”

I looked around left and right, the world tilting on its axis. “It looks like daytime to me.”

“But are they open?” Raven demanded to know.

I frowned, my brain too slow to process her question.

“Are they?” Phoenix signed.

“How in the fuck should I know?” I hissed. “I thought we had a plan?”

Isla shrugged. “Well, we kind of did. We just have to get in.”

Raven pouted, looking around the alley, her gaze landing on the window.

“We’ll go in through that window,” she declared, pointing as if there weren’t multiple windows in the alley.

A dry breath escaped me, suddenly feeling as if I needed another hit of that joint to survive this.

“Oh, look,” Isla said, stepping around me. “Raven’s ass is hanging out.”

As if pulled by the same string, we all turned around to find Raven’s upper body inside the window, her ripped yoga pants giving us the perfect view of her bare ass.

Two heartbeats passed before we burst into full-blown belly laughs that had us folding over.

“Stop laughing and help me,” Raven grunted.

One shared glance with the girls and we howled and roared as tears pricked our eyes.

“Come on, girls, I’m stuck,” Raven whined.

Isla bumped shoulders with me, then pushed me away playfully. “You help her.”

“But I’m the birthday girl,” I grumbled, but I was already making my way to the window. “Stop moving, Raven. I don’t want to touch your naked ass. I love you, but not that much.”

From the sound of it, the girls were rolling on the ground behind me as I awkwardly attempted to grab Raven’s legs. Despite my complaining, I was lucky to find friends who could be as crazy as I was. Not many people could say the same.