Tainted Black - Williams Shanora. Страница 60

“I’m okay. I swear.”

“You don’t look okay. See, I knew I wasn’t crazy. Something seems so off about you today. I didn’t want to say anything in case you were on your period or something, but now I see it’s not that time of the month for you.”

“Next week,” I sighed.

“So what is it then?” She sat beside me. When I didn’t speak right away, her face changed, and she justified herself. “Look, I know we don’t see each other as much as we used to, but you’re still my best friend, Chlo. You can talk to me about anything.”

“I know.” I cleared my face. “I know, Iz. I’m just so stressed out about my dad. I keep wondering why I tortured myself by coming back here.” Lies.

“That’s not torturing yourself. I was supposed to come but… college is a lot harder than I thought.” She sighed. “We were supposed to hang out too, but… shit happens. Plus, you have a good heart. You did good by coming back to Bristle. He needed family around. Your mom didn’t want to step up to the plate, so you did. No one can blame you for that. If anything, your mom should be to blame… leaving him alone like that. What kind of wife does that to her husband anyway?” Her face pinched.

I shrugged. “Selfish ones.”

“Yeah,” she scoffed. “Exactly. But you’re not selfish. So calm down and come with me. Dad said the food should be ready in a bit. You can help me set up the table.” I nodded, allowing her to pull me up to a stand. She playfully pinched my cheeks when I was upright, giggling as she then bumped my hip with hers. I couldn’t ignore her silliness. I laughed, dropping my head as we exited the bathroom. From the hallway, the soccer game sounded louder. I heard Sterling hooting, cursing, and cheering for God knows what team.

Izzy went to the kitchen to pull down some Chinaware, and I went for the cupboard, pulling down four glasses. I purposely forgot the fifth one. Fuck Trixie. After setting up the table, Theo was inside with the rest of the food. I placed the salad down, and Sterling assisted Theo with the meat, placing it in the center of the table.

Then we took our seats.

And dinner was served— a really fucking awkward dinner.

Izzy, of course, talked as if the world revolved around her. She went on and on about summer school and even the wreck and how it all went down as if we hadn’t heard that story a million times.

Sterling was nice enough to comment and chime in on her stories when Theo and I couldn’t stand to. And Trixie glared at me the entire time as she nibbled on a hotdog without a bun. She downed three glasses of wine like it was a ritual, but she was afraid to eat a piece of bread? She was ridiculous.

She purposely leaned in to Theo, whispering to him. He’d ignore her until Izzy would glance their way and force a smile at the weird couple. Despite the sick control Trixie had over our lives, I couldn’t help but think she felt out of place. She finished off her glass of wine and took three wine coolers out of the fridge, making those alcoholic beverages her friends for the night.

Dinner was a wrap within twenty miserable, desolate minutes. I was ready to go. “I think I’m gonna hit the pool.” Izzy looked out the window. “It’s so nice out right now. Hey, Chloe, you wanna join me?  Sterling?”

Sterling and I looked at each other. “Nah, Izzy, I think I should just get home. See how Dad’s doing.”

“Oh! Right.” She nodded, and surprisingly, she didn’t pout about it. She understood, especially after my fib about being stressed over him. “Well, what about you, Sterling?”

“I… should probably get home too.”

“Aww.” She whined this time. “But we haven’t even lit the fireworks yet! I have a car too, you know? I can take you back if you want.”

Sterling glanced my way for a brief moment. I remembered him saying how he hated passing up the opportunity to swim. I had no reason to hold him back, so I shrugged. “Okay. Sure,” he agreed.

“Cool. I’ll go change. I think my dad has some trunks you can borrow.”

Once Izzy had given Sterling a pair of trunks and then changed into a gold and black two-piece bikini, they left the condo. I blew a breath as I collected the dirty plates from the table, bringing them to the kitchen where Theo stood. It was then that I noticed Trixie wasn’t around.

“Where’s your girl toy?” I asked.

He walked around me, going to the table for the half-empty trays of grilled meat. “Drunk as fuck in the bathroom. Probably shoving a finger down her throat to get rid of the little bit of carbs she ate today.”

“She acts worse than me.” I helped him clean off the rest of the oak table, picking up the cups, beer cans, and the one wine glass that belonged to the trick. “She isn’t staying the night, is she?”

Theo didn’t answer. He dropped everything on the counter as I tossed the cans in the recycling bin and then the cups in the sink. When my hands were free, he pulled me into his arms, clutched my face in his hands, and devoured my lips whole. He crushed them but not too much to the point it caused pain. Just enough for me to feel it—to know that he’d wanted this to happen all day long.

Like always, our tongues did a slow dance, mingling and swirling, my body pressing into his. A moan filled the kitchen, one I couldn’t hold in, and then I sighed as he groaned. I felt his cock hardening through the jean material, and when the kiss broke, his brown eyes were like hot coals, black and burning.

“No.” He finally answered my question. “But I wish you could stay tonight.”

“I can’t,” I moaned.

“I know. I guess tonight didn’t turn out as bad as you thought,” he murmured, planting a kiss on my cheek and another on my forehead.

“I guess not,” I whispered.

He held my face in his hands, looking me over. “Alright. What’s bothering you?”

I batted my lashes. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, other than Izzy and Trixie being here, there’s something bothering you. What did you need to talk to me about with that Sterling kid? I’ve been wondering all day. I can tell when something’s wrong with you.”

“Oh… yeah…” I sighed. “There’s something you should know about Mrs. Black… something I found out just yesterday night.”

In an instant, Theo’s body went stiff, his face going hard like stone. He didn’t like me mentioning Mrs. Black… not when it involved something he may not have known about. “What are you talking about?” His question came out hurried and discouraged.

My throat worked harder than usual to swallow. He stared at me, and at first, I was willing to tell him, but when I spotted the raw concern—the cold, dead look—I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to be the one to break the bad news to him. I didn’t want to be the one to ruin Mrs. Black’s reputation as a good wife. He deserved to hold onto the goodness of her. Who was I to taint it with black?

“Chloe?” Theo demanded.

Just as his voice bellowed, the front door shot open, and Izzy rushed back in with Sterling trailing behind her. “Forgot my towel!” she said, but she was too buzzed to wonder why we were standing so close. I pulled away, tucking my hair behind my ear, and Sterling walked closer, brows raised as if it were a close call.

“Thanks for the heads up,” I snipped at him.

“She was going too fast.” He looked away. “I thought you were going home?”

“I am.” I gave him a look, one that was plainly telling him to leave me alone. Theo had his eyes fixed on Sterling. His look was cold and cruel. Furious and heated. And then it hit me—the reason he’d gotten so livid. Sterling… he had no shirt on. He’d taken it off most likely when he was on his way to swim. He was oblivious… but only because he didn’t know.

“Holy shit,” I breathed, and Sterling heard me.

He looked confused. “What?”

He pointed his gaze on Theo next, but when he caught the fury in his eyes, he took a minor step back, one eyebrow furrowed. “What the hell is that?” Theo’s voice boomed even louder than before. Storming out of the kitchen, he wasted no time gripping Sterling by his throat and pinning him to the nearest wall.