Page 67 of Himbo Hitman
“He what?”
Some of Perry’s awkwardness fades as he paces to the center of the room. “With Luther. Thinks that I’m probably going to be killed tomorrow, and I know it’s probably not fair complaining about this to you, but I don’t actually want to die. Even if it might seem like an easy way to avoid Margot’s disappointment, I can’t fix any of it if I’m dead. And I want to fix things. A lot of things. Too many things to die.”
I pat the bed beside me, and Perry doesn’t hesitate to take up the spot. “You said you trust Luther.”
“I do! Did. I mean, I don’t think he’ll hurt me or anything, but then Lars put the what-if in my head, and now I’m having a case of the doubts.”
“I think that’s normal.”
His breathing is loud, like he’s working himself up. “There’s so much I haven’t done yet.”
I tilt my head, curious. “Like what?”
“Like … I can’t solve a Rubik’s cube. Or play an instrument. And I’ve never skipped a rock, like, ever.”
“You don’t want to die because you’ve never skipped a rock?”
“Don’t sound so shocked.” His voice takes on that sweetly indignant higher pitch. “We didn’t go to the water much as a kid. I can barely swim.”
I wouldn’t have guessed that. Actually, I wouldn’t have guessed any of his list because when I think about whyIdon’t want to die, it’s as simple as I want to keep going with my life. Not that I have this list of random things I’ve never done. “Well, why don’t you get through tomorrow, and then we’llbothgo to the beach and learn how to skip rocks together?”
“You don’t know how to either?”
“Nope. I didn’t realize that was a huge failure on my part.”
His dark eyes meet mine, gaze flicking from one eye to the other. “What’s one thing you’ve always wished you could do?”
“I have spent exactly zero percent of my time thinking of the answer to that question.”
His lips twitch, and he nudges me. “Think now.”
What do I always wish I’d done? There’re plenty of things that look fun. Skydiving, riding a Jet Ski, running a train on someone, but while they sound great in theory, I’m not so sure I’d ever actuallywantto experience them. I’m an okay cook, and I have no interest in being more than that. I don’t want a garden or to learn an instrument or to raise a herd of wild mountain goats … Finally, after dismissing what feels like every hobby on Earth, I land on something super simple. Something that looks easy, that my cousins used to do all the time, and that I never mastered.
“It would be cool to roller-skate.”
“Oooh, that’s a good one.”
Of course that’s his response. “I don’t actually want to go roller-skating or anything; I just want to do it. Once. So I know that I can.”
Perry holds out his hand. “When we’ve both got the all clear, and Colin’s found, and Margot’s no longer pissed with me, we’ll learn those things.”
Considering his list of tasks to do first feels impossible, there’s no risk when I reach out and shake his hand. “Deal.”
“We have a lot of deals.”
“We do. And I can’t help but notice you’re the one who comes up with them all.”
He taps his temple with his free hand. “I’m the brains behind this operation.”
“And what am I? Because we both know it isn’t the brawn.”
Perry’s gaze immediately drops to my bare chest. It lingers there for long enough to make my skin prickle, and his thumb slides across the back of my hand he’s still holding.
Perry swallows. Loudly.
“So there’s, umm …” he whispers. “There’s one thing that I … that if I die, I’d sort of like to do first.”
Fuck. Just his voice and stare is enough for my nipples to harden. I really, really need Perry to stop looking at me like that, and then I need him to get the hell out of my room so I can jerk off again.
