Page 79 of Between Steel and Secrets
“No.”
At least this time, I don’t have anything to hide.
Ashton interrupts with the next question, keeping Bristol from entirely running the game, or maybe he’s just trying to steer away from mafiaesque questions. “Do you prefer to give or receive oral?”
I laugh under my breath. “Are you asking because you’re interested?” I joke. “Give.”
Ashton pretend-coughs. “Liar.”
I glare at him, and he shrugs with a smirk.
“Favorite kink in the bedroom?” Luca asks.
“I like dominating a girl,” I admit.
“Who doesn’t?” Ashton glances at Luca. “Am I right?”
Bristol glares at me when she rattles off her next question. “Did you call my father just to piss me off?”
The timer buzzes, but I still answer the question.
“No, I reached out to him because I was worried about you.”
And I’m glad my turn is over.
Bristol doesn’t meet my stare, she glances away, and the silence is deafening between us. She’s stewing, and I want to reach out to her. But I get the distinct feeling if I so much as touch her, she might scream at me.
I have so many questions for Bristol, but it’s not her turn. It’s Nova’s.
How the hell did Bristol know my father is mafia?
Why did she ask if I’ve ever been arrested?
I suppose I know the answer to one question, is she still mad that I reached out to her father? That’s an obvious yes.
Bristol ignores me. Quietly, she gets up and heads past everyone, down the hall, for my bedroom. Bristol doesn’t so much as look at me or acknowledge me.
Did I say something wrong?
“Maybe you should go check on her,” Harper whispers to me, before resetting the timer for Nova’s turn.
Sighing, I stand and head for my bedroom, finding Bristol digging through her overnight bag. Well, she hasn’t asked me to take her to the bus station yet.
That’s still a good sign.
“Hey.” I step into the bedroom. Standing by the door, I size her up, trying to figure out what’s going through her head.
Both her mafia and her arrest questions threw me off my game. Then again, I wasn’t the nicest, asking if she’d always hate me.
Her answer admittedly stung.
“Hey. I just needed to grab my meds,” Bristol says and shows me the container. She walks past me and down the hallway to the kitchen.
I’m right on her heels, following to make sure she’s okay.
Silence fills the space between us as I reach into the fridge and grab a bottle of water, and hand it to her.
She opens it, downs the pills along with a swig of water, and finally glances at me, making eye contact. “Thanks.”
