into her room, throwing a pile of blankets on the couch when I told her I couldn’t share the bed with her.
She was nice enough not to question me about it.
“Did he… hurt you? It’s— I mean, I love that asshole like a brother but if he hurt you I’ll castrate him. I know how, my sister taught me. She says all girls should learn how to.”
My arm slowly slides away from my face and I give her a look. I’m both shocked and impressed.
I can’t imagine this grinning, sunbeam of a girl hurting anyone but… yeah, that’s a fucking deadly serious look on her face.
Huh.
So Rue needs to watch out for his dick then.
Noted.
“He didn’t hurt me. Not... not like that. I don’t talk about this shit, Poe, not with anyone.”
She shrugs. “I’m pretty damn good at keeping secrets. I swear, I’m a vault.”
She’s so damn sincere. I take a deep breath. There’s truths I can give her without giving her everything. Maybe just enough that she understands me. “I don’t like… touch easy. I don’t like the feel of people touching me at all. It takes me a long time to get over that.”
She nods. “I noticed. Speck told me not to ever touch you, he knows I’m a hugger.”
I give her a wry grin. “Yeah, I noticed. So I’ve gotten better about it since I moved here. I can hug you sometimes. I’ve hugged Speck too.”
She nods and stands up, stalking over to the window and opening the curtains to peer down at the Callaghan house. It’s like she’s giving me a little space to get my shit together and I appreciate the hell outta her for doing it.
“I had sex with Tomi last night.”
She makes a little squeaking noise which ends in a gag. “Ew! Gross! He’s like my brother, that’s disgusting. Wait, you let him touch you? Thomas freaking Callaghan, the boy who got so fucking wasted at his sixteenth birthday he puked in the fucking pool… that I was swimming in? That Tomi? Christ, I just fucking can’t. I can’t. I thought you guys hated each other? I thought he scared you or something?”
Goddamn my freaking body, I blush like an idiot. “Yeah. That one.”
She gags again but at least I’m not feeling awkward about it anymore, just embarrassed. “Right. Okay, so you fucked Tomi. Why does that make it a bad night? Oh fuck, please don’t describe anything to me!”
I snort at her dramatics and then groan. “It wasn’t the sex. It was after that. He kicked me out… said girls aren’t allowed to sleep in his bed. There was a party going on and I didn’t really want to have to face Speck or Rue during my walk of shame so I just… walked over to the garage. I’m staying at a hotel for a few days while I wait for my house to be ready. I wasn’t expecting anyone to be there and then Pops walked out and scared the fucking shit outta me.”
Poe’s eyes narrow and she sits down on her bed with a huff. Hell, she looks pretty fierce like that, without the big grins and bubbly personality she’s fucking… intense.
“I will have Tomi’s fucking balls for this. I will cut them the fuck off.”
I scoff at her. “Why, because he fucked a stripper? Poe, he’s well known for that shit. He didn’t force me into anything, I should have known that he was just hoping to get laid. I was the fucking whore that spread her legs for a biker and then cried when he kicked me out. I’m the dumbass!”
She stands up and props her fists on her hips, staring down at me like I’m a disobedient asshole. “If I catch you talking shit about yourself like that again, we’re fighting and I’m warning you now, I can kill a man with my bare fucking hands. I’ll kick your ass six ways to Sunday.”
I groan and sit up. “I’m not trying to sound all fucking sorry for myself but like… what exactly was I expecting? I am a stripper, Poe. That’s exactly what I am.”
She throws her hands up into the air. “So fucking what? Hell, I’d totally be one if I could! I’ve seen how much money you make, fuck, I’d suck a dick for that kind of green!”
The door opens and I just about die when Thorn’s frowning face pops into the room. “Take that shit back right now Poe before I lock your ass