"That's better," she breathed and I had the urge to turn and kiss her head, but I held off. Because that shit was bordering on creepsville.
"You know what's weird?" Chase mused. "I don't feel weird. Like, if someone hurt you again, Rogue, or any of us, I'd happily drag them out to sea and feed them to the fishes."
"That's dark, bro," I pointed out with a laugh and Rogue laughed too.
"I just don't wanna think about it. It’s not even the death part, or the dumping him in the sea part that freaks me out, it’s just thinking about the way he touched me, what he was going to do to me..." Her upper lip curled back and I squeezed her hand firmly.
My throat was tight and there was a fire in me that burned on her behalf. It normally simmered low, but tonight it was roaring and urgent. I just couldn't shake the thoughts of how much worse this could have been. But I should have known Rogue could take care of herself. She could have seen off a sea storm blowing into the cove any day of the week. I just wished she hadn’t had to.
"What would take your mind off of it?" I asked her, realising she'd stopped shivering.
Chase took out a box of cigarettes and lit one up, taking a few drags before passing it to Rogue.
She looked to me, her lips twisting in thought before she took a toke. "Would you rather have tastebuds in your butt or tastebuds in your fingertips?" she asked and I burst out laughing the same moment Chase did.
We often played this game and we were always trying to outdo each other with how ridiculous we could make it.
"Well, do I have to eat through my butt or just taste everything that comes out of it?" I asked, snatching the cigarette from her.
"Valid question," Chase said with a snort.
"Why would you have to eat through your butt?" Rogue laughed and I freaking loved that sound. It was all throaty and sexy and full of life that she didn’t try to hide from. It was why I tried so damn hard to be funny, because I was addicted to hearing her laugh.
"Well why would there be tastebuds there otherwise?" I refuted and I grinned as she cracked up, releasing our hands so she could clutch her stomach.
"I vote fingertips," Chase decided as I passed the smoke over to him.
"Naw man, then you'd have to taste your junk every time you peed," I said.
"Well my junk is squeaky clean so maybe that's more of a you problem," he tossed back.
"What about when you touch a park bench or a shopping cart or a public toilet seat?" Rogue said, wrinkling her nose. "You'd basically be licking all of that people scum."
"I don't wanna taste my own shit though," Chase balked.
"Better than tasting other people's shit by accident," I said and we all fell apart again.
"Alright how about this one..." Chase said, puffing on the cigarette. "Would you rather have to shit yourself once a year in public or once a week in private?"
"Hmm, can I go to the next town over for my public shit?" Rogue asked.
"Nah that's cheating. It's gotta be in Sunset Cove," I pushed and she sighed dramatically.
"Fine, but I'll do it in the upper quarter in front of some fancy ass restaurant every time," she said with a smirk. "Just as those posh assholes are about to shove foie gras into their mouths, I'll pull my pants down and do a crap in the street."
"No one said you had to shit on the street," Chase laughed.
"I know, but if I'm shitting in public once a year, it might as well be worthwhile," she reasoned.
"They'll get to know you as Lady Dumpington who comes for her yearly shit outside the Le Petit Dauphin," I said and she giggled.
"That has a nice ring to it," she said. "So would you rather have no dick or five dicks?"
"Five dicks," me and Chase answered at the same time and Rogue barked a laugh.
"What would you pick?" I asked.
"Well, that depends. If I say no dick, can I keep my vag?" she asked. "Or will I be like a Ken Doll down there?"
"Definitely a Ken Doll, little one," Chase said, smirking as he stubbed the cigarette out on the Space Invaders machine and flicked the butt away.
"Well five dicks it is," she decided. "That's actually the perfect number because you can all help me satisfy myself. It'll be a bonding exercise."
I roared a laugh as she fell against me then nuzzled into Chase who smiled stupidly at her.
"Okay I've got another one," Rogue said. "Would you rather live forever but always be poor like we are now, or live a long normal life but be as rich as kings?"
Silence fell and the game suddenly took a serious turn. I glanced at Chase as he contemplated it and Rogue frowned as she thought on it too. We'd always fantasised about having money, buying this pier and doing it up, opening the amusement park again and living right on the beach in a big house we all built for ourselves. It wasn’t the same for Fox and Rick, the Harlequins were a big gang and Luther was loaded. It was one thing they could never fully understand about the three of us and a special, pathetic kind of bond that me, Chase and Rogue shared exclusively. If you hadn’t had to wear clothes with holes in them, wash in cold water or skip a few meals on a regular basis, it really wasn’t something you could understand.
"Live like kings," I decided. "We could have everything we ever dreamed of and fill a whole lifetime with all we could ever want."
"Yeah...me too. I could pay someone to kill my dad and set my mom up on a yacht," Chase said with a smirk, his tone only half joking. "What about you Rogue?"
A crease had formed on her brow. "I'd stay like this. Forever. With the four of you. I mean, I want the house and stuff, but I don't really care about the money. I just want to be here with my boys. Always."
My heart squeezed and my fingers itched to touch her. I wanted to say something reassuring like the fact that things wouldn't change. But deep down, I knew they would. I just hoped they'd change for the better. I really did plan on having my friends around me forever, but I also planned on me making it big somehow. Getting money and setting ourselves up. But we all knew our little bubble was going to pop eventually. Most likely when Rogue either decided she wanted one of us, or someone else. The idea of her picking anyone was painful, but someone outside of the group was unthinkable. I wanted to keep our bubble unpopped for as long as humanely possible. But time just kept slipping away.
"I'm gonna go grab those snacks we stashed behind the slot machines," Chase announced, pushing the blanket back and getting up.
He headed away and silence fell between us, the heat of Rogue's body calling to me on a primal level. I hated that puberty was being a royal dick to me lately. My friends were shooting up all around me, and though I was the same height as Rogue, I still felt like I was getting dwarfed by Maverick with his bulk, Fox with his height and Chase with his ever-thickening arms. The more I worked out, the skinnier I seemed to get. Though I was the only one of us who could claim to have abs because of it. So there was that. But I'd seen the way Rogue had started appreciating the guy's bodies when we went surfing. And she was growing too. In places I liked fantasising about way too fucking much. I swear we'd all noticed she'd got tits long before she had.