Dix (Elite 8 Studios, #1)

by Emmy Sanders

I clutch the phone a little tighter. Fuck, I miss my friend.

“One time, I tied Hawthorne to the bed, and I decided to make him sweat it out a bit to heighten the anticipation, you know?” “Oh, dear God,” I mutter. “I waited an entire thirty minutes for my treat. But then,” he pauses, his words dissolving into soft giggles, “then, when I got back to the bedroom, Hawthorne was asleep.” He sounds fond, and I shake my head in disbelief.

“You nicknamed me,” he says in near reverence, eyes wide and awestruck. “I’ve only ever heard you do that with Mateo.”

I’m not unhappy. I just wonder if something is missing.”

Niko doesn’t take shots at me like he’s on a mission to see me crack, and I don’t growl every time he enters a room. We’re practically best buds.