This was true. She wouldn’t.
Friends fit in your life, Benji added. They don’t take away from you living it.
Seriously, really, I hoped one day I met these guys.
Love you guys. I told them
Right back at you. Serenity told me.
To the moon and back. Benji said.
I sighed.
Go to your guy. Serenity urged.
Okay, later guys. I agreed.
Later, Inara. Benji said.
Later, Faye. Serenity typed.
I closed the chat and went off-line without looking to see what went down when Chace impersonated me partly because I didn’t want to know and partly because it might make me mad and we’d had enough of that for one night. Then I made a mental note to reprogram my chat software so it didn’t log me in on startup.
Out of the corner of my eye, a glass of wine appeared with Chace’s fingers around the bowl. I watched him set it on my Wonder Woman coaster and then tipped my head back to look at him.
“Did they vow on Luke Skywalker’s light saber that they’d stand down?” he asked. I saw he was no longer pissed, there was a teasing light in his eyes but that didn’t mean he didn’t still look troubled.
“Something like that,” I mumbled, dropping my eyes and reaching for my wineglass.
I felt the tips of Chace’s fingers under my chin so I looked up at him again. The second I caught his eyes, he demanded softly, “Assure me they’re done.”
“They promised me they’re done,” I assured him just as softly.
“Okay,” he muttered, leaned in and touched his mouth to mine.
Then he straightened, turned and sauntered to the kitchen while I watched and sipped my wine.
He hit the kitchen and called, “Deal is, I bake the potatoes and broil the steaks. You twice bake the potatoes. Potatoes are baked, darlin’. You’re up.”
“Chace,” I called back.
He closed the fridge his head was in, came out with a beer and his eyes came to me. “Yeah?”
“Promise me you’ll never speak to me and scare me like that again no matter how pissed you are at me.”
I saw his beer disappear as both of his hands went behind the high counter that cut the kitchen from the other space but his eyes didn’t leave me when he ordered, “Come here, Faye.”
“Promise me,” I pushed.
“Baby, come here,” he called gently.
My body started to move but my mind shut it down and I repeated, “Promise.”
He held my gaze and I let him.
Then he spoke.
“You f**ked up, Faye,” he told me, still talking gently but loud enough for me to hear across the apartment.