Deep (Heavy Hearts Book 2) by Sarah Duncan (red seas under red skies txt) 📗

She sits up again, this time crossing her legs, a glint of mischief in her dark eyes. “I can see I have my work cut out with you, Lexi. I would never have guessed you were so green. Or perhaps vanilla is a better word for you.”

“I am not vanilla… I think.” I frown. Am I vanilla? Isn’t that boring? What if Ayden doesn’t like vanilla?

WTF! I don’t need to think about that because I’m not getting back together with Ayden!

Rhys laughs, “You totally are! That’s fine. It’s just because you are so green. You said you gave Ayden your virginity, so I’m guessing you haven’t seen a lot of cocks in the flesh.”

“Rhys!”

“Don’t Rhys me! I can tell you haven’t.” Rhys’s dark eyes stay locked on mine as she leans forward a little. “A hood is foreskin. Gross!” She gags, “A Helmet is a pretty circumcised dick. So much better when they are in your mouth.”

My cheeks heat at her words, but I say nothing, because I think I’m actually learning something. I think.

“I like my men to be circumcised. Some chicks don’t care, but I do. If he has a hood, then we are a no go!” Rhys looks so serious right now. She’s having this conversation with me so casually like we are talking about baking cakes.

“So, what happens if you’re in the heat of the moment, and you see that the guy you’re with has an, ah- hood?” I ask, genuinely interested.

“Oh, I never even kiss a guy until I know they are hood free.”

“What?” I screech, and she nods. “So how did you know Marcus was hood free?” I can’t believe I am having a conversation about Marcus’s dick!

“I asked him, of course. Then I made him send me a dick pic to confirm.”

My brows reach my hairline, “But you were all over each other in the back seat of the car last night. There was no time to have that conversation between him carrying you out upside down, to putting you in the car.”

“Oh, Lexi, Lexi, Lexi. We have been chatting for a few days on SnapChat. I found out about his glorious cock a couple of days ago.” Rhys declares with a huge smirk.

“Wow. You work fast.”

“Of course I do—no point in beating around the bush when you both want the same thing. Life’s too short to hesitate, Lexi. You gotta grab what you want by the balls and claim it.” She wags her dark brows, reaches up to her hair, and starts to pull pins out of her buns.

I’m quiet as I watch her unravel each bun to reveal beautiful extra-long dark hair. She’s stunning, even with her black lips. She reminds me of a supernatural goddess of some sort.

“So, are you going to ask the questions you want to ask about my family? My past? Better to get that shit out of the way now.” Her mood changes, and for the first time since meeting her, I see her confidence wane.

“Rhys, it’s none of my business. You don’t have to tell me shit.”

“Well, isn’t that what best friends do? Tell each other everything?” She runs her fingers through her long hair, combing out the knots.

I consider her words. I used to think that until I started keeping secrets from Abbey and until she betrayed me.

“I used to think so. Now I think friendships should be about respecting boundaries. I like you, Rhys. I know you’re a good person, and I even like your craziness. I want you to know that I don’t need you to tell me things if you don’t want to. I won’t hold it against you. We all have our demons remember?”

Before I even know what’s happening, Rhys launches herself off her bed and wraps her arms around my neck.

“Thank you.” She whispers, and for a moment, I think she may be crying, but when she pulls back, her eyes are smiling as big as her mouth. Pulling away from me, Rhys strips out of her clothes and changes into a Creed t-shirt and nothing else but her black lacy knickers. She has no problem getting bare in front of me, but I turn away because it seems she is right; I am a little green.

“My mum died when I was nine.” I turn at the sad words and see Rhys sitting on the end of her bed. “She was into drugs. Loved them a little too much. I found her when I woke to get ready for school one morning. When I found her, I knew straight away that she was dead, so I went next door to Mrs Mabel, and she called the cops. Since no family came forward to claim me, I went into the foster system. I lived in a few dodgy homes during my first year, but then I was placed with Julie and Brian.” Rhys smiles. “They were okay, I guess. Julie could be a mean bitch, but Brian was good to me. The best and only dad I’ve ever known until William. I was with Julie and Brian until I was twelve. I was happy there, but then… something happened… and I had to leave.”

I’ve never seen Rhys look miserable. Pain contorts her face as she remembers her past.

“Anyway,” she waves the pain off, “then I was placed with a few more families that couldn’t handle me until Cynthia walked into the group home. It’s like she sought out the most unstable kid and said, yes, let me take this child to stir up my boring life! Turns out she already had Charlotte, who is more fucked up than I am.”

I’m not sure what happened when Rhys had to leave Brian and Julie’s home, but she seems genuinely upset about it. It must have been bad, though. I can’t imagine what could have happened.

“You’re happy here with Cynthia?” I ask, hoping she is. I’d like to keep her around.

She shrugs, “Yeah, they are okay. Bit