Second Base by Raven ShadowHawk Read Free Book Online

He’s been watching you all night.’
    A shiver of cold rippled down her spine. ‘Really?’
    ‘Like a dog eyeing a bone. Kinda creepy.’
    Karen looked again, this time under the pretence of waving at her neighbours. On the peripherals of her vision Pete stared at her, his brow furrowed into a deep frown. His right hand clasped a bottle of beer, the knuckles hard and white.
    He is watching me. Shit.
    She picked at a join in the sofa. ‘What should I do?’
    Sam interrupted her intense study of the back of her hand to give a lazy, one-shouldered shrug. ‘Simple, isn’t it? Tell Dan.’
    ‘I can’t. They’re friends.’
    ‘He won’t hear it from anyone else. Don’t you think he should know? Wow . . .’ she giggled. ‘I have loads of scars on my hands.’
    ‘Sam! Focus.’
    ‘I am. Look, that’s when I fell off my bike—I was ten. This one was Mittens; I hated that cat. This one was Cindy. She bought me a ring but it was too small. The hospital had to cut it off.’
    ‘Sam, please.’ Karen grabbed her hands and waited until she looked up. ‘I know you’re stoned, but you need to talk to me. I can’t tell Dan, okay? They’re best friends.’
    Another shrug. ‘Then tell Cindy. She’ll fix it.’
    She would, but that’s not an option if Pete ever wants to fit another shop front.
    ‘No. And don’t you say a word either.’
    Sam lolled back against the sofa. ‘Fine. Fine, fine, fine . . .’ She trailed off into a low, distant humming, tracing more scars on the backs of her hands.
    I need a drink.
    She leapt up. Dodging well-wishing neighbours and colleagues she grabbed a plastic cup off the table and a half-empty bottle of cheap vodka. She poured a double and knocked it back. Then another.
    ‘Everything okay, Kaz?’ Pete appeared at her side. He didn’t look at her, not fully, but placed his hand on her shoulder. His grip was warm, fingers tight on her skin.
    She eased away. ‘I’m fine.’
    ‘You’ve been crying.’
    She peered into his face. A whiff of beer-breath puffed across her nostrils, hot and sour. ‘And you’ve been drinking.’
    ‘So? It’s a party.’
    ‘That’s right. My party. I’ll cry if I want to.’
    ‘Touché.’ He snagged a handful of peanuts from a dish and crammed them into his mouth. ‘Can I talk to you for a second? Alone?’
    The request tied her stomach in knots. The thought of being alone with him sent lines of cold racing up and down her spine. They hadn’t been alone since the cage incident.
    Until that moment Karen never realised how tall he was. How big. His arms, thick and knotted with muscle from all that hard labour. He gazed at her, close enough that every breath caused his chest to brush her arm.
    ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea.’
    ‘It will only take a second. Out there.’ He gestured to the door of the living room.
    ‘But—’
    ‘He’s not here, Karen. Can’t he spare you for three seconds so we can talk? Or are you so into this slave thing that you can’t make up your own mind?’
    Unease melted beneath a rush of irritation. ‘He doesn’t own me.’
    ‘Then come talk to me. Two minutes.’ He walked out.
    From her position on the sofa Sam began to giggle, a shrill, constant, most un-Sam-like sound.
    Karen walked passed her, following Pete’s retreating back as he aimed for the garden.
    On the way Karen heard the disgusted voice of someone in the downstairs bathroom and the burbling of a toilet refusing to flush. A sickly smell permeated the hallway and she held her nose as Pete led her out the back door.
    Outside, with the cool crispness of October tugging at her clothes, she wrapped both arms around herself and waited. ‘Well?’
    ‘I got you a present.’
    She froze. ‘Why?’ The word was sharper than she intended, but she couldn’t help it.
    ‘Call it a housewarming gift. I saw it and thought of you.’ He reached down to the floor near the sliding doors and held up a small plastic bag.
    Karen didn’t take it,