Sighing, my head fell into my hands. “How can you be so nice? I left you. I abandoned you.”
Cindi blew on her nails, waving them lightly in the air. “You ditched me in what you thought was a safe place to save your best friend.”
“Yeah,” I admitted.
“Trish might have died if you didn’t do what they said. That’s Grim’s woman.”
“And you’re Lucky’s,” I pointed out.
“Yeah, but I wasn’t being held at gunpoint.”
“He-he hurt you,” I stuttered, upset that she wasn’t mad or frustrated. Why wasn’t she pissed that I took off and left her stranded? “Dawg almost killed you.”
She blanched at my words. “I know that, Sasha.” It was the first time I detected any emotion in her tone. “I refuse to break. I won’t lay down and forget that I exist or drown myself in drugs or booze. I’m a survivor. I didn’t die.” She pinned me with a focused look. “We aren’t victims, Sasha. We’re fucking badass bitches. I plan on living my life and not having any regrets. I’ve dealt with my shit.” She ticked her head in my direction. “Have you?”
Wow. She completely caught me off guard. “Shit,” I whispered. “I don’t know. Yes and no.”
“Then I think your looks of pity and remorse can fuck off. Yeah? I need a friend not someone who tiptoes around me or thinks I’m too fragile to hang with.”
My lips lifted in a smile that felt way too wide but was genuine. “You’re right. I could use a friend too.”
She tilted her head to the side. “What’s your favorite color?”
“Purple, like royal purple.”
“Knew it.” She gave me a smirk, plucking a bottle from her bag and reached for my hand. “I think this shade is perfect.”
“Yeah, it is,” I agreed, admiring the sparkles in the light.
Half an hour later my nails were done and the tension was gone. I may always feel a bit responsible for what happened to Cindi but I wasn’t going to let that ruin our friendship.
My phone chose that moment to vibrate my pocket and I was glad my nails had just finished drying.
“Better answer that,” Cindi advised with a smile, “It’s probably your man.”
I swiped across the screen at the same time I heard Bodie say “Hey, baby.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of that greeting.”
“Oh? Like the sound of my voice?”
I heard one of the guys make gagging sounds in the background and giggled. “I don’t think there’s a thing about you I don’t like,” I admitted, walking away from Cindi for privacy. “As a matter of fact, I was just thinking how much that cock of yours makes me smile.”
“Fuck, baby. You can’t say shit like that when I’m not home to take care of you.”
“What?” I asked innocently, playing coy. “I could always pull out my vibrator and –”
“No fuckin’ way,” he growled. “That pussy is mine and there’s only three options, sweetheart – my tongue, my fingers, or my cock. Can’t have any confusion on who’s fucking you and making you come.”
My thighs clenched together as I leaned against the wall close to our room. My teeth began to nibble on my bottom lip as I imagined all the ways he would follow through with those words as soon as we were together.
“I need you,” I whispered huskily.
“Fuck, that makes two of us.” He was breathing heavy and I knew if he was here, I’d be bent over and fucked hard within minutes.
“When are you coming home?”
“Not sure.”