Maybe it wasthe worst birthday ever and the best.
I burned down what was left of Bianca and became Pink that night.
I fell asleep on the ride back to his Vegas resort and casino. As much as I hated knowing I was going back to what I knew was practically my dungeon, I had Bane’s shoulder to lay on.
He told me things would change, and although I didn’t believe him, I felt changed myself. I’d exorcised one or more demons burning down that house and I overcame the silence.
And when we got back in that penthouse, he left me for only an hour. In that time, I’d cut my long black hair and called down to room service for pink dye. A hair stylist came and walked me through the process.
By the end of it, I had a razor-sharp pink bob and a completely new look.
She left me with the old pile of clothes I didn’t want though. And Bane was still gone. I guess his absentee tendencies hadn’t changed but mine had. I took all my nail polish remover and poured it on the pile of clothes I threw together.
The smoke alarms went off.
Everyone rushed in.
I stood there with a hand on my hip until Bane ran in like a man actually scared of losing something. I just wasn’t sure if he was scared to lose me or that his resort was burning to the ground.
Instead of yelling, he paced right up to me like he was going to beat the shit out of me. I would have welcomed it. I stood tall and tilted my chin, not stepping back at all. His hand flew up and still I didn’t flinch. “Your beautiful curls, baby girl.” His fingers threaded through my new hair.
“Out with the old, in with the new.” I pointed to the heap of steaming clothes Pepe and security had thrown water on. “I don’t want to be the little Bianca they molded me into.”
“Who do you want to be?” Bane had a small smirk his lips as he stared down at me.
I tilted my head at him and murmured, “I think I just want to be Pink.”
He nodded slowly and glanced at the hole I burned in the rug. “Done with this little fit you’ve had now?”
“Maybe.” I shrugged. “Maybe not.”
He chuckled and pulled a black card from the wallet in his trousers and set it down on the dresser. “Buy whatever you want on my card. And it better not just be a bit of food.”
“I intend to spend thousands.”
“Try harder. Hit a mil if you want me to be impressed.”
What a show-off. I scoffed and rolled my eyes before swiping it off the dresser to go sit cross-legged on my bed. He watched me put on an audiobook and then start scrolling shopping sites. “That’s it? You got nothing else to say to me?” He seemed concerned or confused that I wasn’t asking him for more.
I had a whole new identity to embody though. “I’m done worrying about you,” I told him with finality.
He frowned at that and then tilted his head. “What the hell are you listening to?”
“Oh? This one? It’s by Shain Rose. The main character is a forbidden fire witch and the hero is supposed to imprison her, but he’s about to screw her instead. He’s got ice powers though or nulling powers maybe? And—”
“You like the hero.” It wasn’t a question.
“Lovehim.”
His jaw popped three times as he continued to listen to the narrator. “Now I have to compete with magic?”
I tilted my head. “Find a girl who doesn’t listen to fantasy and you’ll be fine.”
He scraped his teeth over his bottom lip. “If I’m with someone, I’m letting them listen to all this, Pink, because I intend to live up to every standard that woman deserves.”
Damn it. That might have been the most romantic thing he’d ever said, and it wasn’t even meant to be. He left me there hot and bothered with his credit card.
So I used it way more than I intended to, buying a wardrobe that would make him drool in the future.
