p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"strongspan lang="EN-GB"ROXANNE/span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Another boring Saturday night in the Ruiz-Valavanis household. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I was curled up on the couch, cat purring loudly on my stomach and watching reality TV. In the kitchen, Leo was making emmoussaka/em, the smell of the spiced lamb making my stomach grumbled as loud as the cat's purring. Content and happy, the two of us living side by side with ease./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"My phone vibrated and I lifted my head to see the ID. Jo was calling me, the picture of her in a nightclub, flashing two middle fingers to the camera. She was probably going to insist I join her and her boyfriend out on the town. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I answered it with a "Hi, babe."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Can I ask a massive favour?" Jo sounded rattled and I could make out hurried heavy voices behind her./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Of course, name it." I scratched our cat, his lids heavy. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""A friend of mine got cum tossed in her hair while we were out. We're literally 30 seconds from your apartment. Would you mind if I brought her–and uh, her cousins over?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I sat up. "Yes, of course. Jesus, is she okay?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""I'll see you in a sec. Oh, and you need to prep Leo."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Prep him?" I glanced over at my roommate and fellow dancer. He was leaning against the kitchen cabinet, eyes trained down to the oven. Shirtless, ruffled hair, ratty sweats. I wasn't in better shape–I was braless, and my singlet said BONE ZONE. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Okay, we're coming down your street now–"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""See you in a sec." I hung up. "Jo's coming over, she's bringing some friends."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Leo looked up, brows furrowed. "I don't want any strangers in our home."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Her friend got cum in her hair. She's coming over to clean it out." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""So what? How is a messy blowjob our problem?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I pulled the cat off my chest. "A friend of Jo's is a friend of ours."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"He relented. Leo always relented when it came to Jo but I'd never pointed it out to him–some things were better discovered by one's self. "Fine, but I'm not sharing our dinner. They can cook their own fucking emmoussaka/em."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Understandable. But put the kettle on–she'll want some tea. Maybe even get some biscuits out."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Fuck 'em. And Roxanne, she's got cum in her hair, I don't think she'll be thinking about her next meal."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"He had a point but still I switched on the kettle./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Our intercom rang and I buzzed it before Jo spoke, then I leaned out into the hallway, cat curled up like an infant in my arms. When it came to buildings, ours was like most in Manhattan: overpriced, old, and contributed to crime statistics. Still the post-war building had a special place in my heart–my first home away from home./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Voices rose from the stairs and Jo came jumping up the steps. She was dressed in a tight black dress, hair pulled back into a slick ponytail. I didn't get the chance to compliment her, because the rest of her posse quickly followed her up. emFriend/em, Jo had said. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Well, Jo had some interesting friends./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Cobalt's, four of them; Beckett (who I knew and liked), Charlie, Eliot and Tom. Their bodyguards, intimidating and whose faces I also recognized...and Luna Hale. Mascara streaked down her glittery cheeks, stains covered the top of her green dress and her hair.../span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I hoped whoever did this choked to death in their sleep./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Before anyone said anything, I stretched out my hand to Luna. She blinked in surprise but seemed too out of it to deny me and slipped her cold palm into mine. "Let's get you cleaned up." I brought her into the apartment and mouthed emBe Nice /emto Leo./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"His brows furrowed then he spotted the Cobalt's filtering to the apartment and threw his head back. "Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Luna was quiet but let me lead her to the bathroom. I grabbed a clean cloth from under the sink and wet it with soapy warm water. "For your face." I passed her the cat. "For your heart."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"He instantly began purring and burying his head into her chest. "What's his name?" It was the first words she said, and they were so quiet I might've missed them./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Baby Leo."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"A tiny smile. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Leo hates it," I mused. "When we ring the vet, he always makes me do it because one time he did it and the receptionist laughed so hard after he said his name, she accidentally put him on hold."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Luna didn't smile a second time, but she did relax a little more./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"While she wiped gingerly at her forehead, I ran the shower, taking the shower head and holding it above the sink (our bathroom was so small that it was easy to turn it into a makeshift salon). Luna leant back, Baby Leo purring on her chest, and watched me with uneasy eyes. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I wet her hair, washing out the disgusting jizz, then took one of Leo's shampoos and rubbed it into the strands. While it was wet, I combed it, just to make sure it was all out./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Two bodyguards and a Cobalt–Eliot, I think–hovered in the hallway and watched me. I ignored them–they were just making sure their cousin was okay. If this had happened to me, all my Kotova cousins would react the same...after they had brutally murdered whoever had thrown the jizz./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""All done." I twisted her hair up into the towel. It was too cold to let her wet hair lay on her neck, she'd get sick. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Another tiny smile but it fell as she looked down at her dress. Blotches of stains covered the fabric from where it must've dripped./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""You can borrow some of my stuff." I grabbed her hand and led her into my bedroom. It was a mess but compared to Leo's it was as sterile as a hospital. She stood nervously as I pulled open my dresser. "Let me see here...Any preferences? No? Okay...Here these are clean." I handed her grey sweats and an oversized Raiders jersey. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I left her to get changed, Baby Leo still purring in her arms, running into her bodyguards in the hallway. One of them I recognised as Quinn Oliveira, Jo's brother, but the other one I didn't know. He was covered in tattoos, dressed in black and looking at my bedroom door with wide worried eyes. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""She's just getting change," I said. He didn't appear less worried. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I passed them and entered a silent war in the living room. Leo stood his ground in the kitchen, glaring at Beckett. Beckett leaned against the opposite wall, also glaring. His brothers also stood, eyes roaming over the eclectic and maximalist mess that was Leo and I's home. Jo was only relaxed one, sitting at the counter, eating a banana she'd taken from our fruit bowl./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""You can sit," I said, mainly to Beckett, but hoped the others heard me. "She'll be right out."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Leo met my eyes. emThis is some bullshit/em, his expression said./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"emspan lang="EN-GB"It's not that bad/span/emspan lang="EN-GB", I urged back./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"To the Cobalt's and bodyguards, I said, "Does anyone want some tea or something to eat?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""We're okay, Roxanne. Thank you." Beckett's voice wasn't unkind, but he seemed a little tense. Understandable./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I grabbed a trash bag out and seconds later, Luna was nervously walking into the kitchen. My sweat pants were a little small on her. She held up the ruined dress, "I'm not sure..."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I held out the trash bag and she sent me a grateful look. I tied it together. "Do you want to keep it or...?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"She shook her head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Fair enough." Her bodyguard took it from me–probably worried I'd sell it on ebay or something, but I paid him no mind. "Do you want anything? Tea, coffee–" I pointed to the booze shelf "–a shot?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Do you want some emmoussaka/em?" This came from Leo. Beckett looked surprised; I wasn't. Leo may be an ass, but he held my hand when I got my blood drawn and always waited up when I when out with a boy. On the inside, he was a massive softie. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Luna shook her head. "Oh, no, you've done enough..." She met my eyes, her expression open and raw. "Thank you." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Don't mention it." I waved away the air. "Yours is not the first head of hair I've had to clean cum out of." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"That made her smile. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"strongspan lang="EN-GB"LEO/span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Was I surprised Roxanne's bleeding heart had disrupted my Saturday night plans to kick back and eat an entire steak to myself? No./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Was I surprised when Beckett fucking Cobalt walked into my apartment? Yeah. Yeah, you could say that./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB" In fact, the whole Mötley Crüe filled up my apartment. Bodyguards and Cobalt's and poor Luna Hale–who I did feel bad for, but Roxanne was taking good care of her, so I didn't need to worry–and Joana Oliveira. I couldn't believe that Jo–Jo who I emtolerated/em for Roxanne–was my only ally in this moment./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Jo, who'd been here a thousand times, pulled herself up to the counter and grabbed a banana. "You two didn't go out tonight?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""We're trying to pinch a few pennies," I said. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I looked over to Beckett. He was looking around our apartment with slight horror in his eyes. Instantly, protectiveness swept over me. Yeah, it wasn't much, and sure, we had a witches hat next to the couch that we'd stolen one night when we got too drunk, but it was our home and we were doing Beckett a favour./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Beckett's family shat gold bricks, so I was certain he lived in a mausoleum-like apartment that had no personality and had like, boulders for couches or something equally stupid that rich people did. He'd probably never been into a normal person's apartment./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Beckett must've felt my glare because he looked over to me. "You should try out for America's Biggest Hoarders."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""You can wait in the hall," I snapped at Beckett. "This is Roxanne and I's home–emRoxanne/em, who by the way, is taking good care of your cousin right now."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"To my surprise, he nodded. "You're right." It was as good as an apology I was going to get./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Jo looked like she was trying not to laugh. I'd deal with her later–right now, my attention moved to Beckett's brother. It was his twin, Chris or Charlie or something–I made a conscious effort not to learn their names–who looked like he had just been fucked and was now looking around our apartment with intense focus./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I wasn't stupid. I'd seen how he looked at Roxanne after shows when he was waiting for Beckett in the lobby and we were on our way out, or how he had spoken Russian to her a few months ago. Roxanne would laugh me out the room if I even suggested a Cobalt wanted to get into her pants–she believed the godlike descriptions of the Cobalt's and very much saw herself as someone not worthy./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I thought Roxanne was worth 10 million Cobalt's, but I'd never say that to her face. Didn't want her getting a big head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Chris or Charlie or whatever paused when he spotted a photo of Roxanne and I at the beach. We were both in our swimsuits, red from the sun and grinning from ear to ear. I was giving her a piggyback and she'd taken the photo by accident when trying to open the Maps app./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Jo held up her banana peel, distracting me. "Bin."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""You know where it is."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"She rolled her eyes but leaped up. "God, you'd think a year living with Roxy and you'd be housetrained by now."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I snorted. "Pot, kettle, black."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""I'm very clean." Charlie's bodyguard made a face at his sister./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Your ass can wait in the hall, as well. I do not care."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Jo's smile was mean. My blood heated up. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""What's going on with dickhead boyfriend of yours?" I asked. emCuriosity/em, I told myself. emNothing more/em./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Beckett suddenly looked interested. Jo's brother rolled his eyes which meant he probably agreed with my description of her boyfriend./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"She huffed. "He's fine–and how do you even know he's a dickhead? You've never met him."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Roxanne told me."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Roxy told emme/em that she liked him."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Now it was my turn to smile meanly. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Boyfriend?" Beckett echoed. He'd forgotten all about the mess that was our apartment and now seemed keenly focused on Jo. "When did this happen?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""None of your business," she retorted. She grabbed another banana, giving me a rebellious look as if to say emI'm going to eat all the fruit in this fucking house/em. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Beckett's next question was cut off because Roxanne walked back into the kitchen. Her blue eyes roamed over us all./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Ever the polite one, she said, "You can sit. She'll be right out." When she looked at me, I gave her a meaningful look. She cringed but mouthed: emit's not that bad/em. She sent the Cobalt's another polite smile. "Does anyone want some tea or something to eat?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""We're okay, Roxanne. Thank you." He sounded a hell lot nicer to Roxanne than the rest of us. Good–if he had been rude to her, I'd thrown him out the window./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Roxanne grabbed a trash bag from under the sink. Seconds later, Luna came wobbling into the kitchen, pale and stricken, but looking better. She was wearing Roxanne's clothes and her hair was twisted up into a towel wrap. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Luna threw the dress into the trash bag, her and Roxanne sharing quiet words. I watched as Luna's bodyguard–a tall, tattooed man with piercings in his nose and ears –stretched out his hand for the bag. Roxanne didn't resist and handed it to him, her attention already back to Luna. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB" "Do you want anything? Tea, coffee, a shot?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Luna shook her head. God, she looked like she had been fucking through it. Food was the medicine in this house, so I asked, "Do you want some emmoussaka/em?" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"She shook her head. "Oh, no, you've done enough..." She looked at Roxy. "Thank you." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Don't mention it." Roxanne waved away the air. "Yours is not the first head of hair I've had to clean cum out of." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I snorted. Beckett's brother lifted his head in interest./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Ready to go?" Luna's bodyguard asked her. She nodded./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Jo sent Roxanne a look. "Before we go...do you think Ren is a dickhead?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Your Ren?" Roxanne's tone was sweet. "No...I like him because you like him."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Very smooth, Ambassador Ruiz," I said./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"The look she gave me meant she was going to give me shit for my big mouth once our guests had left. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Jo rolled her eyes. "Well, I don't care what you think, Roxanne. I've never liked any of your boyfriends." Her voice was full of good humor. Jo might be a bitch to me–and Beckett, apparently–but her and Roxanne had always gotten along./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Neither have I," she laughed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"They both shared a look and burst out laughing. Obviously sharing a private joke, I wasn't privy too. Luna looked between the two of them with a perplexed look but seemed considerably more relaxed than she had been fifteen minutes ago./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Do you want to use my hairdryer before you go?" Roxanne asked her. "It's getting cold and you might get sick."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Luna shook her head. "I'm okay. Thank you, though."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""The car's out front," said Jo's brother./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Thanks, Roxanne." Beckett glanced briefly at me. "Leo."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I ignored him and headed to the fridge, speaking to Luna. "Take some embaklava/em home with you." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Roxanne nodded. "It has healing properties, swear to God. Leo makes it for me whenever I hurt myself and I instantly feel a thousand times better."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I grabbed the container with the leftover baklava out the fridge. The container was an old margarine container, but Roxanne refused to buy Tupperware when food literally came in emnot-ready-to-use-yet-Tupperware/em. I passed Luna the embaklava/em and she held it close to her chest./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Roxanne followed them as they began to filter out. "I hope you feel better soon, Luna."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"The tallest Cobalt met Roxanne's gaze then mine. There was an intensity to his blue eyes that none of his brothers seemed to share. "We are in your eternal debt." He spoke like he had fallen out of emThe Secret History/em. He was out the door before we could reply./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Jo kissed Roxy on the cheek as she walked out. "Tell Ren to go fuck himself."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"The two shared another laugh and soon our apartment was just the two of us again. A few moments after they left, Roxanne turned to me, a peculiar look on her face and said, "I'd hate to be famous."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Roxanne was a lot more introspective than people thought. People usually wrote her off as a clumsy but sweet girl who would only ever be categorized as the funny best friend and never the main character, but she was a lot smarter than she let on and often she saw things in people that no one else could see./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Me too, kid. Me too." I switched off the oven and pulled out the tray with our steaming dinners. "Still feel like eating?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""If I ever say no to that question..."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"We both laughed and once again, we settled into another quiet Saturday night. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: AppleSystemUIFont;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: AppleSystemUIFont;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Another boring Saturday night in the Ruiz-Valavanis household. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I was curled up on the couch, cat purring loudly on my stomach and watching reality TV. In the kitchen, Leo was making emmoussaka/em, the smell of the spiced lamb making my stomach grumbled as loud as the cat's purring. Content and happy, the two of us living side by side with ease./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"My phone vibrated and I lifted my head to see the ID. Jo was calling me, the picture of her in a nightclub, flashing two middle fingers to the camera. She was probably going to insist I join her and her boyfriend out on the town. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I answered it with a "Hi, babe."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Can I ask a massive favour?" Jo sounded rattled and I could make out hurried heavy voices behind her./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Of course, name it." I scratched our cat, his lids heavy. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""A friend of mine got cum tossed in her hair while we were out. We're literally 30 seconds from your apartment. Would you mind if I brought her–and uh, her cousins over?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I sat up. "Yes, of course. Jesus, is she okay?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""I'll see you in a sec. Oh, and you need to prep Leo."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Prep him?" I glanced over at my roommate and fellow dancer. He was leaning against the kitchen cabinet, eyes trained down to the oven. Shirtless, ruffled hair, ratty sweats. I wasn't in better shape–I was braless, and my singlet said BONE ZONE. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Okay, we're coming down your street now–"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""See you in a sec." I hung up. "Jo's coming over, she's bringing some friends."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Leo looked up, brows furrowed. "I don't want any strangers in our home."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Her friend got cum in her hair. She's coming over to clean it out." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""So what? How is a messy blowjob our problem?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I pulled the cat off my chest. "A friend of Jo's is a friend of ours."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"He relented. Leo always relented when it came to Jo but I'd never pointed it out to him–some things were better discovered by one's self. "Fine, but I'm not sharing our dinner. They can cook their own fucking emmoussaka/em."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Understandable. But put the kettle on–she'll want some tea. Maybe even get some biscuits out."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Fuck 'em. And Roxanne, she's got cum in her hair, I don't think she'll be thinking about her next meal."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"He had a point but still I switched on the kettle./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Our intercom rang and I buzzed it before Jo spoke, then I leaned out into the hallway, cat curled up like an infant in my arms. When it came to buildings, ours was like most in Manhattan: overpriced, old, and contributed to crime statistics. Still the post-war building had a special place in my heart–my first home away from home./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Voices rose from the stairs and Jo came jumping up the steps. She was dressed in a tight black dress, hair pulled back into a slick ponytail. I didn't get the chance to compliment her, because the rest of her posse quickly followed her up. emFriend/em, Jo had said. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Well, Jo had some interesting friends./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Cobalt's, four of them; Beckett (who I knew and liked), Charlie, Eliot and Tom. Their bodyguards, intimidating and whose faces I also recognized...and Luna Hale. Mascara streaked down her glittery cheeks, stains covered the top of her green dress and her hair.../span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I hoped whoever did this choked to death in their sleep./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Before anyone said anything, I stretched out my hand to Luna. She blinked in surprise but seemed too out of it to deny me and slipped her cold palm into mine. "Let's get you cleaned up." I brought her into the apartment and mouthed emBe Nice /emto Leo./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"His brows furrowed then he spotted the Cobalt's filtering to the apartment and threw his head back. "Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Luna was quiet but let me lead her to the bathroom. I grabbed a clean cloth from under the sink and wet it with soapy warm water. "For your face." I passed her the cat. "For your heart."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"He instantly began purring and burying his head into her chest. "What's his name?" It was the first words she said, and they were so quiet I might've missed them./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Baby Leo."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"A tiny smile. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Leo hates it," I mused. "When we ring the vet, he always makes me do it because one time he did it and the receptionist laughed so hard after he said his name, she accidentally put him on hold."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Luna didn't smile a second time, but she did relax a little more./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"While she wiped gingerly at her forehead, I ran the shower, taking the shower head and holding it above the sink (our bathroom was so small that it was easy to turn it into a makeshift salon). Luna leant back, Baby Leo purring on her chest, and watched me with uneasy eyes. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I wet her hair, washing out the disgusting jizz, then took one of Leo's shampoos and rubbed it into the strands. While it was wet, I combed it, just to make sure it was all out./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Two bodyguards and a Cobalt–Eliot, I think–hovered in the hallway and watched me. I ignored them–they were just making sure their cousin was okay. If this had happened to me, all my Kotova cousins would react the same...after they had brutally murdered whoever had thrown the jizz./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""All done." I twisted her hair up into the towel. It was too cold to let her wet hair lay on her neck, she'd get sick. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Another tiny smile but it fell as she looked down at her dress. Blotches of stains covered the fabric from where it must've dripped./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""You can borrow some of my stuff." I grabbed her hand and led her into my bedroom. It was a mess but compared to Leo's it was as sterile as a hospital. She stood nervously as I pulled open my dresser. "Let me see here...Any preferences? No? Okay...Here these are clean." I handed her grey sweats and an oversized Raiders jersey. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I left her to get changed, Baby Leo still purring in her arms, running into her bodyguards in the hallway. One of them I recognised as Quinn Oliveira, Jo's brother, but the other one I didn't know. He was covered in tattoos, dressed in black and looking at my bedroom door with wide worried eyes. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""She's just getting change," I said. He didn't appear less worried. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I passed them and entered a silent war in the living room. Leo stood his ground in the kitchen, glaring at Beckett. Beckett leaned against the opposite wall, also glaring. His brothers also stood, eyes roaming over the eclectic and maximalist mess that was Leo and I's home. Jo was only relaxed one, sitting at the counter, eating a banana she'd taken from our fruit bowl./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""You can sit," I said, mainly to Beckett, but hoped the others heard me. "She'll be right out."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Leo met my eyes. emThis is some bullshit/em, his expression said./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"emspan lang="EN-GB"It's not that bad/span/emspan lang="EN-GB", I urged back./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"To the Cobalt's and bodyguards, I said, "Does anyone want some tea or something to eat?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""We're okay, Roxanne. Thank you." Beckett's voice wasn't unkind, but he seemed a little tense. Understandable./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I grabbed a trash bag out and seconds later, Luna was nervously walking into the kitchen. My sweat pants were a little small on her. She held up the ruined dress, "I'm not sure..."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I held out the trash bag and she sent me a grateful look. I tied it together. "Do you want to keep it or...?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"She shook her head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Fair enough." Her bodyguard took it from me–probably worried I'd sell it on ebay or something, but I paid him no mind. "Do you want anything? Tea, coffee–" I pointed to the booze shelf "–a shot?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Do you want some emmoussaka/em?" This came from Leo. Beckett looked surprised; I wasn't. Leo may be an ass, but he held my hand when I got my blood drawn and always waited up when I when out with a boy. On the inside, he was a massive softie. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Luna shook her head. "Oh, no, you've done enough..." She met my eyes, her expression open and raw. "Thank you." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Don't mention it." I waved away the air. "Yours is not the first head of hair I've had to clean cum out of." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"That made her smile. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"strongspan lang="EN-GB"LEO/span/strong/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Was I surprised Roxanne's bleeding heart had disrupted my Saturday night plans to kick back and eat an entire steak to myself? No./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Was I surprised when Beckett fucking Cobalt walked into my apartment? Yeah. Yeah, you could say that./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB" In fact, the whole Mötley Crüe filled up my apartment. Bodyguards and Cobalt's and poor Luna Hale–who I did feel bad for, but Roxanne was taking good care of her, so I didn't need to worry–and Joana Oliveira. I couldn't believe that Jo–Jo who I emtolerated/em for Roxanne–was my only ally in this moment./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Jo, who'd been here a thousand times, pulled herself up to the counter and grabbed a banana. "You two didn't go out tonight?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""We're trying to pinch a few pennies," I said. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I looked over to Beckett. He was looking around our apartment with slight horror in his eyes. Instantly, protectiveness swept over me. Yeah, it wasn't much, and sure, we had a witches hat next to the couch that we'd stolen one night when we got too drunk, but it was our home and we were doing Beckett a favour./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Beckett's family shat gold bricks, so I was certain he lived in a mausoleum-like apartment that had no personality and had like, boulders for couches or something equally stupid that rich people did. He'd probably never been into a normal person's apartment./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Beckett must've felt my glare because he looked over to me. "You should try out for America's Biggest Hoarders."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""You can wait in the hall," I snapped at Beckett. "This is Roxanne and I's home–emRoxanne/em, who by the way, is taking good care of your cousin right now."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"To my surprise, he nodded. "You're right." It was as good as an apology I was going to get./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Jo looked like she was trying not to laugh. I'd deal with her later–right now, my attention moved to Beckett's brother. It was his twin, Chris or Charlie or something–I made a conscious effort not to learn their names–who looked like he had just been fucked and was now looking around our apartment with intense focus./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I wasn't stupid. I'd seen how he looked at Roxanne after shows when he was waiting for Beckett in the lobby and we were on our way out, or how he had spoken Russian to her a few months ago. Roxanne would laugh me out the room if I even suggested a Cobalt wanted to get into her pants–she believed the godlike descriptions of the Cobalt's and very much saw herself as someone not worthy./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I thought Roxanne was worth 10 million Cobalt's, but I'd never say that to her face. Didn't want her getting a big head./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Chris or Charlie or whatever paused when he spotted a photo of Roxanne and I at the beach. We were both in our swimsuits, red from the sun and grinning from ear to ear. I was giving her a piggyback and she'd taken the photo by accident when trying to open the Maps app./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Jo held up her banana peel, distracting me. "Bin."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""You know where it is."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"She rolled her eyes but leaped up. "God, you'd think a year living with Roxy and you'd be housetrained by now."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I snorted. "Pot, kettle, black."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""I'm very clean." Charlie's bodyguard made a face at his sister./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Your ass can wait in the hall, as well. I do not care."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Jo's smile was mean. My blood heated up. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""What's going on with dickhead boyfriend of yours?" I asked. emCuriosity/em, I told myself. emNothing more/em./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Beckett suddenly looked interested. Jo's brother rolled his eyes which meant he probably agreed with my description of her boyfriend./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"She huffed. "He's fine–and how do you even know he's a dickhead? You've never met him."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Roxanne told me."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Roxy told emme/em that she liked him."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Now it was my turn to smile meanly. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Boyfriend?" Beckett echoed. He'd forgotten all about the mess that was our apartment and now seemed keenly focused on Jo. "When did this happen?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""None of your business," she retorted. She grabbed another banana, giving me a rebellious look as if to say emI'm going to eat all the fruit in this fucking house/em. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Beckett's next question was cut off because Roxanne walked back into the kitchen. Her blue eyes roamed over us all./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Ever the polite one, she said, "You can sit. She'll be right out." When she looked at me, I gave her a meaningful look. She cringed but mouthed: emit's not that bad/em. She sent the Cobalt's another polite smile. "Does anyone want some tea or something to eat?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""We're okay, Roxanne. Thank you." He sounded a hell lot nicer to Roxanne than the rest of us. Good–if he had been rude to her, I'd thrown him out the window./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Roxanne grabbed a trash bag from under the sink. Seconds later, Luna came wobbling into the kitchen, pale and stricken, but looking better. She was wearing Roxanne's clothes and her hair was twisted up into a towel wrap. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Luna threw the dress into the trash bag, her and Roxanne sharing quiet words. I watched as Luna's bodyguard–a tall, tattooed man with piercings in his nose and ears –stretched out his hand for the bag. Roxanne didn't resist and handed it to him, her attention already back to Luna. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB" "Do you want anything? Tea, coffee, a shot?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Luna shook her head. God, she looked like she had been fucking through it. Food was the medicine in this house, so I asked, "Do you want some emmoussaka/em?" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"She shook her head. "Oh, no, you've done enough..." She looked at Roxy. "Thank you." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Don't mention it." Roxanne waved away the air. "Yours is not the first head of hair I've had to clean cum out of." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I snorted. Beckett's brother lifted his head in interest./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Ready to go?" Luna's bodyguard asked her. She nodded./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Jo sent Roxanne a look. "Before we go...do you think Ren is a dickhead?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Your Ren?" Roxanne's tone was sweet. "No...I like him because you like him."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Very smooth, Ambassador Ruiz," I said./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"The look she gave me meant she was going to give me shit for my big mouth once our guests had left. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Jo rolled her eyes. "Well, I don't care what you think, Roxanne. I've never liked any of your boyfriends." Her voice was full of good humor. Jo might be a bitch to me–and Beckett, apparently–but her and Roxanne had always gotten along./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Neither have I," she laughed./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"They both shared a look and burst out laughing. Obviously sharing a private joke, I wasn't privy too. Luna looked between the two of them with a perplexed look but seemed considerably more relaxed than she had been fifteen minutes ago./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Do you want to use my hairdryer before you go?" Roxanne asked her. "It's getting cold and you might get sick."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Luna shook her head. "I'm okay. Thank you, though."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""The car's out front," said Jo's brother./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Thanks, Roxanne." Beckett glanced briefly at me. "Leo."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I ignored him and headed to the fridge, speaking to Luna. "Take some embaklava/em home with you." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Roxanne nodded. "It has healing properties, swear to God. Leo makes it for me whenever I hurt myself and I instantly feel a thousand times better."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"I grabbed the container with the leftover baklava out the fridge. The container was an old margarine container, but Roxanne refused to buy Tupperware when food literally came in emnot-ready-to-use-yet-Tupperware/em. I passed Luna the embaklava/em and she held it close to her chest./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Roxanne followed them as they began to filter out. "I hope you feel better soon, Luna."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"The tallest Cobalt met Roxanne's gaze then mine. There was an intensity to his blue eyes that none of his brothers seemed to share. "We are in your eternal debt." He spoke like he had fallen out of emThe Secret History/em. He was out the door before we could reply./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Jo kissed Roxy on the cheek as she walked out. "Tell Ren to go fuck himself."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"The two shared another laugh and soon our apartment was just the two of us again. A few moments after they left, Roxanne turned to me, a peculiar look on her face and said, "I'd hate to be famous."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"Roxanne was a lot more introspective than people thought. People usually wrote her off as a clumsy but sweet girl who would only ever be categorized as the funny best friend and never the main character, but she was a lot smarter than she let on and often she saw things in people that no one else could see./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""Me too, kid. Me too." I switched off the oven and pulled out the tray with our steaming dinners. "Still feel like eating?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB""If I ever say no to that question..."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB"We both laughed and once again, we settled into another quiet Saturday night. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: AppleSystemUIFont;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: AppleSystemUIFont;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-indent: 11.35pt; line-height: 28px; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"span lang="EN-GB" /span/p