Page 46 of Mending Me
“Finally. Nicely done, Auffroy.” Conrad sighed. We had been stuck on this quest for over an hour, each roll setting us back a little bit. We’d battled an ogre, fought some goblins, and solved two different puzzles before getting to this point. Kolbi was putting us through it today and the dice weren’t playing in our favor.
“Auffroy?” Bailey’s voice came from across the table and we all looked to her. We had been so enthralled in the game that none of us noticed her walk in and stand next to the table.
“You okay, hermosa?”Shit.I squeezed my eyes shut before looking at my friends. The nickname had slipped and I knew I was going to hear about it.
“Yeah, I’m good. I was just going to get more water. Anyone need anything?” Her hands rested on the backs of Conrad and Malcolm’s chairs. Malcolm turned his neck to look at her and I didn’t miss how his eyes passed over her chest for a few seconds too long. Conrad kept his eyes on the board as if looking at her would turn him to stone.
“I would take another beer, beautiful,” Malcolm mused up at her, giving her his most charming look. I wanted to punch him in the throat.
“I’m fine, thank you for asking,” Kolbi gave her a warm smile which she returned.
“You need anything Conrad?” She looked down at him but he continued to ignore her glance.
“No,” he grunted. She gave me a look, furrowing her eyebrows just long enough for me to see. I could tell Conrad’s lack of enthusiasm towards her was throwing her off.
Before leaving the table, she walked behind my chair and wrapped her arms around my shoulders possessively and rested her chin there, “And what about you, you need anything?” She spoke directly into my ear and a shiver ran down my spine. The growing bulge in my jeans was almost too much to hide.
“I would take another beer if you don’t mind.” I brought my lips to her cheek and kissed her. Fuck my friends and what they thought, I wasn’t afraid to show my girl affection in front of them. I would deal with the hounding I’d get from them later.
“You got it,” she whispered before kissing the top of my head. As she walked towards the kitchen I whipped my head towards Malcolm.
“Don’t call her ‘beautiful’,” I spat.
“Why? You did.” He gave me a cocky smirk before crossing his arms over his chest confidently.
“How did you?—”
“I took Spanish in high school you moron, I know what ‘hermosa?1’means. I might be Asian but my Spanish is quite good. It also doesn’t hurt that I heard you speaking it with your dad growing up.”
“Well, don’t call my girl beautiful like that, or look at her like you did, it’s disrespectful.”
“Your‘girl’? So you’re official now?” Kolbi interjected.
“I mean, I think so. We haven’t given it a name yet.” My mind flashed back to her laying under me this past weekend when I had called her mine and how she told me she would like it if she was. I guess I just assumed that meant we were together. Maybe I should ask her just to be sure.
Malcolm looked as if he was about to say something when Bailey came back in with a fresh glass of water and two beers. She handed one to Malcolm before walking over and handing me the bottle. She leaned over to meet me at eye level and placed a tender kiss on my cheek.
“I’m going to go back to my book, let me know if you need anything,” she hummed.
“I will for sure, thanks.” Her lips being so close to mine felt like an invite and I wanted nothing more than to press my lips to them. She stood and walked down the small hallway once more and I watched her go.
“That is one fine woman you got yourself there,” Kolbi said quietly so she wouldn’t hear.
I was too distracted by the way her hips swayed and how much she felt like she belonged in this chosen family of mine to respond. But I knew he was right.
Bailey was one fine woman.
And she was all mine.
1 beautiful
27
BAILEY
Itapped my fingernails nervously on the coffee table, my legs tucked under it and my back leaning against the couch. Ophelia always asked me why I sat on the floor like this versus sitting on the couch. Personally, I thought it was more comfortable. When we would watch TV together, she would curl up on the couch like a normal person and I would sit on the floor. More often than not, I ended up stretching between commercials and Ophie would laugh at me while I did. It felt nice to stretch after lifting at the gym in the morning and the practice had become a habit.
Now I sat on the floor staring at yet another rejection email from a job I applied to earlier in the week. This is the fifth one I’ve gotten this month, each one stinging more than the last. I had my degree in hospitality and tourism management, yet I couldn’t find a job in it to save my life. I was lucky that Ophelia was letting me live with her and that I only needed to cover the cost of my food and utilities or else I would be on the streets. I had some freelance events coming up, but I needed something more stable.
