“Back that way,” he mutters, turning me around and gently guiding me through the throngs of bikers. We stop at a table for two at the back of the room. “Sit.” I take a seat and Cree sits opposite me. He clasps his hands together, staring down at them. A few minutes pass before I flop back in my seat and sigh loudly. He looks up and frowns like he’s surprised I’m sitting here. “Show me,” he mutters.
“Show you what?” I ask coldly. “And if you say something crude, I will kick your ass.”
“How to be so . . . ” He puffs out a breath of air and waves his hand around in a circle in front of me. “You.”
“I don’t know what that means, but if it’s another insult, then you can fu—”
He cuts me off by slamming his hand on the table. I blink at him a few times, pressing my lips closed in shock.
“Do you ever stop talking?” he asks. He brushes his hand over his face. “I see a shrink.”
“Okayyy,” I say, dragging the word out.
“She told me I had to try and talk to . . . ” He pauses. “Women.”
“Michelle is a great talker,” I say sarcastically. “Run along to your mistress.”
“You make everything such hard work,” he mutters, shaking his head. “You have an answer for everything. You piss me off all the goddamn time, and the only time you were quiet for more than a fuckin’ second was when I stuck my tongue down your throat.”
I widen my eyes at his sudden outburst. “Seems you have no problem talking.”
“I’m going to spend the day with you tomorrow. I’m going to talk to you. You’re gonna show me how to be normal.”
I frown. “Why me?”
“Because you annoy me the most, Sprinkles,” he says, and I frown at the odd nickname. “They’re annoying little candy bits that spill everywhere and make a mess. Crazy little fuckers that brighten shit up.” He mutters the explanation as he stands, scraping his chair back. I bite on my lip to hide the smile on my face. I think that might be the nicest thing Elijah Cree has ever said to me.
I join Anna and Kyle at the bar. Riggs is standing at Anna’s side, growling words into her ear, and she stands with her head down, listening. When she tries to speak, he puts a finger up to hush her and I smile to myself. It takes a brave man to shut Anna up.
“What did the beast want?” asks Kyle. I glance over to Cree, who is staring at me unashamedly.
“My help,” I say.
I wake to a bang and sit up looking around for the source of the noise. It’s only nine in the morning. The banging gets louder and I realise it’s knocking at the front door. I groan as I grab Cree’s shirt, pull it on, and head downstairs.
Cree stands before me at the door, looking freshly showered and smelling amazing. He holds up a brown paper bag and two takeout cups of coffee. “Breakfast,” he says, and I open the door wider.
“It’s early,” I mutter and yawn.
“Not when you’ve been up since four,” he says, handing me a coffee.
“So, what do you want to do today?” I ask.
“What do you usually do on a Sunday?”
“Watch a film. Laze around. I have dinner with my mum.”
“Right, well, let’s just do that.”
I stare for a second. “You just wanna hang out here?”
“I’ve never done it before, so yeah,” he says. “I don’t know the last time I watched a film.”
“You get weirder by the second,” I mutter. “I’ll get dressed.”
Cree eyes the shirt and shakes his head. “No, I like that shirt on you.” I don’t understand him when he’s nice like this. It confuses me.
I choose the film Top Gun, mainly because Cree doesn’t know what sort of films he likes. He stares at the screen from start to finish, completely wrapped up in the story. When I try to ask him a question, he shushes me. The credits roll and he turns to me. “I liked that,” he said.
“It’s been out for a long time. I’m surprised you haven’t seen it. Don’t you like watching films?”
“I just never thought about it. I’m always doing something.”
“Everyone should relax and have some chill time. Didn’t you ever have a girlfriend who just wanted to cuddle up and watch something?” He shakes his head. “Wow,” I add. “Let’s try something else.”
We’re ten minutes into Pretty Woman when he turns the television off. “I don’t like that,” he mutters. “It’s not real. Prostitutes don’t look or act like that,” he adds.
“It’s just a film. It’s romance in the end. She falls in love with Richard Gere.”
“Exactly, bullshit.”
I shrug. “Fine. I’ll get dressed and then we’ll take a walk over to my mum’s. She cooks a mean roast dinner.”
Mum cooks enough food for an army, so she doesn’t look fazed when I turn up with Cree. I take my usual spot at the breakfast bar and motion for Cree to do the same. Mum goes straight into details about her friend Annie, who lost her cat. It’s a pointless story, but she loves to chat and I love to hear her. When I was a kid, I’d sit in this exact spot and she’d tell me other stories. I didn’t care as long as I heard her voice. “You like chicken, Cree?” she asks. He nods his head. “Good. You look like the kind of man who eats meat.” I snigger. “Big and strong,” she carries on.
“Mum, you sound like you’re hitting on him. Stop.” I wail with laughter.
She blushes. “I’m being friendly.”
“You’re flirting.” We all laugh.
“When Evalyn was little, she sat there
