Page 20 of Vying Girls

‘Went a bit too hard.’

‘Just a bit?’ Her voice is teasing. ‘Do you remember telling me I made your night shit? Shit because you couldn’t have your wicked way with me.’ She slaps me lightly. ‘You’re shaping up to be a bit of a brat. Do you know what I do with brats, princess?’

‘Take them underground and deepthroat them?’

She chuckles, a rich sound that finally makes me smile. ‘Pretty much.’

‘I’m sorry,’ I whisper. ‘I’m such a fuck.’

‘Next time I’m putting you over my shoulder. Or punching Nic one. You two need to sort your shit out for real.’

‘You’re not wrong,’ I reply quietly, mind ticking over with ways to trap her. She won’t seek me out. She’s closed up tighter than a tomb. I’ll have to find her tent, if she’s not moved it, or visit her at the Vaults when she’s more amenable, either coked up or fucked up.

Not really how I’d envisioned us meeting again, something I used to beg the moon for. Even went through an obsessive lucid dreaming phase. Anything to see her again, to heal the hole she left. Never works how you expect it to, does it? That’s spellwork 101. Be careful what you wish for.

I feel Haz stir, then the sensation of her breath on my neck when she kisses there. ‘Empty in my bed without you.’

‘Cutie-pie.’

She huffs. ‘Hardly. Just know where you belong.’

I’m glad I brushed my teeth when she grasps my throat and pulls my face around to hers. Her kiss is a little punishing, dripping with meaning.Don’t do that again.Remember whose you are.

It’s a welcome distraction, the perfect tonic. Her tongue licks the underside of my lips, making them tickle. She’s dressed in her Sunday comfies, but I still feel the firm ridge of her strap when she pushes into me.

‘If you’re not gonna use that thing, quit teasing me with it.’

Her hand tightens on my throat. ‘Remember what I said about brats.’

‘Trembling.’

‘Oh, you will be. Your legs in particular.’

There’s a light knock at the door. ‘Ay up,’ Elly says. ‘Beaten to the post, I see.’

‘Always first loser,’ Haz snarks.

‘Room for me there?’ Elly nods to my prone body. ‘Surprised you’re up for anything like that. State you were in last night.’

I roll my eyes weakly. ‘My god, sorrymums.’

Haz nudges me. ‘That’sDaddyto you.’

I shift into the middle of the bed, welcoming their weights from both sides. It’s anchoring.

‘How was the rest of your night?’ Elly asks.

‘Fine. Don’t remember much, to be honest.’

It’s something of a lie, but a believable one. One I don’t feel guilty in telling. Me and Nic…that’s a history that belongs to us. A relic of the past, to be kept where it was found. Maybe we’re cursed now, poking that mythical bear.

‘Glad Nic kept you safe.’

Yeah.

I close my eyes to all of it, willing myself to the moment. These two girls next to me, smothering any space between us. It heats my body. Every time they shift, each brush of their fingers over my skin.

Elly’s hand finds its way under my top, fingertips teasing the underside of my boobs. She does this a lot when Haz is around. Touches me in secret. I think she gets off on it.