Six hours later,I walked back into my apartment after a whirlwind day, in desperate need of a shower. Training had gone well this morning, and when I relayed my takedown of Brian, Wells had been impressed, but made me go over other moves to make sure I didn’t just get lucky next time.
The dogs were getting along well, and I loved how Fort and Barkley seemed to have bonded. My two babies instinctively knew they belonged together. I hadn’t told Wells yet, but I wanted to contact the farm and see if I could get Fort when he was finished. I’d grown too attached to him to let him go at this point. I didn’t know how Wells did it.
Imogen and I had a good conversation as well, and she’d open up a little more about her capture. She hadn’t said it yet, but I had a bad feeling she’d been raped, and I knew it was going to be a hard thing for her to tell when she got to that place. Sax had made me a picnic lunch, and we sat outside in the backyard under the trees. He even pulled out a guitar and played a song for me. It was such a different side to him. I didn’t know how to take it. And for once, we spent the whole time with all of our clothes on. I was dangerously close to falling for the dirty talking brute. I was beginning to think I didn’t care about the consequences and wanted to jump all in headfirst.
Atticus had tried to talk to me again. I’d thanked him for his help in both of the situations I’d asked and had given him the information I’d recovered from Christine about a possible trust. But, unless it was something about Immy, I didn’t have any further reason to talk to him at the moment.
The small voice inside who liked to people-please whispered I was too hard on him, too unforgiving. The woman who’d sat through his ridiculous dinner table conversation knew otherwise. I knew he saw me as a threat, but it didn’t mean I was someone he could control. I was learning I liked standing up to Atticus, and that might’ve been his biggest mistake of all—giving me an outlet for my rebellious nature to emerge.
“I’m going to shower. Can you preheat the oven and put the cookies in when it beeps? The directions are on the box.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Thanks, JuJu.”
“You’re not going to stop, are you?” he asked, looking annoyed, but I could tell he secretly liked it.
“I will if you hate it.”
He paused in his doorway, thinking. “I guess as long as it’s just us, I don’t mind. Just, you know, not around people my age.”
“That wouldn’t be anyone in particular now, would it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His face blushed, and I grinned wider.
“Uh-huh. Sure. Good talk. Don’t forget about the contraceptive one we had!” I yelled as he shut his door, and I heard him moaning in distress.
“I take it back. Nope, you can’t call me that.”
“Too late, Juju!”
Laughing, I ran to my room and took the world’s fastest shower before putting on my comfy pj’s and blow-drying my hair. When I came out, Jude was taking the cookies out of the oven, and someone knocked on our door.
“Perfect timing, I'll grab it.”
Pulling it open, I found Levi and Monroe grinning at me. “Levi! I’ve missed you, bud.” Squatting down, I opened my arms, becoming more familiar with hugging people but wanting to offer him the chance to say no. He rushed forward, hugging me tight, though, and I melted. “Missed you too, Lor.”
I secretly loved all the little nicknames the guys and people in my life were giving me. I’d never had one before outside of sweetheart, and now that one made me cringe.
“Guess what we made, just for you?” I asked, pulling back. He sniffed his nose, his eyes going wide.
“Are those cookies?”
“Not just any cookies, but the kind they served at the art show.”
“No way!” He took off running, his batman pj’s swishing by me as I stood, and I could hear him calling out to Jude as he made it to the cookies.
“You doing okay after everything this morning?”
“Yeah. I was shaken up at first, almost fell back into the place I’d been with him, but when he spat on me, it was like the slap I needed to retake my control. Plus, I got to play with the dogs and punch Wells. That’s always a good way to spend my day.”
“I’m starting to think you have an obsession with punching him.”
I shrugged. “He was so surly in the beginning, he’s kind of owed it. Now, it’s more like foreplay.”
“So, there is something between you two then?”
“I think so. I’m trying not to think about naming it all and just letting things play out how they do. I worried a lot about having to choose, but realized I’m not keeping anything a secret and no one has asked me to be exclusive. So, I’m spending time with the people I like and letting things evolve as they do.”