Read Dark Paradise for Free Online

narrows my gaze. That’s new. When did she get pierced?
    â€œLike it?” she asks a bit breathless.
    â€œIt’s cool.” I wave my hand. “If you’re getting in, come on or you’ll miss the bubbles.”
    She frowns but is not deterred. You’d think she’d finally get a clue that I don’t find her remotely attractive. It’s not that she isn’t beautiful, she is. Stunning, if you like her type, but her pale skin and willowy—that’s what they call model-skinny girls—willowy frame isn’t what I crave. I want a girl with meat on her bones. Okay, I’m only obsessed over one girl’s curves, and Mala’s the exact opposite of Clarice. And Clarice stripping down to her panties and bra in slow motion is nothing but pure comedy.
    Her brother said she’s been going to girls’ night at the Armadillo Strip Club. I guess she picked up some moves, but her jerky hip thrusts aren’t exactly a come-on. I suck in my lips so I don’t laugh when she wiggles her narrow hips as she sinks into the water beside me. She’s got nothing I haven’t seen before, and she’s nothing compared to the girl I want to see do a striptease for me.
    The cool morning breeze blows across my overheated skin. The contrast feels good.
    â€œOh, yuck. Smells like something died out here,” Clarice says, pinching her nose. “Is Sasha still bringing her kills in for inspection?”
    â€œYeah, but it’s not the cat.” I tip my chin toward Mom’s prized rose garden. “Fertilizer.”
    â€œAh, gotta love the smell of shit in the morning.”
    I grunt.
    â€œMan, you’re red. It’s going to turn into a nasty bruise,” she says, staring at my chest. She glances up to catch me watching her watching me, and she blushes. “Why were you working out so early?”
    â€œLainey didn’t come home last night.”
    â€œSo? She’s grown.”
    I shrug, but I don’t feel it. “I don’t know. I’ve got a strange feeling that she’s in danger or something. It’s like an itch in my brain that I can’t scratch. The more I think about it, the more it bugs me.”
    â€œIs it like the time you warned me not to ride my bike?” Her bottom lip pokes out in a pout as she crosses her arms. “I still think if you’d said to watch out for stray dogs running in the road, I wouldn’t have crashed into the tree and broken my collarbone.”
    â€œIf you hadn’t gotten on your bike in the first place—” I splash water in her face, and she squeals. “Fine, blame me if it makes you feel better. At least you believe me, right?”
    â€œYeah. I remember when you dreamed about your grandmother passing the night before her stroke.”
    My heart skips. Don’t even think it. Lainey’s okay. “Nah, ignore me. I’m being stupid. It’s probably nothing. She’s out with that guy she’s been sneaking around with but is too scared to bring home.”
    â€œI don’t blame her after what happened with her last boyfriend. Did you ever figure out who the new guy is?”
    â€œWhy should I care? She should just move in with him so I don’t have to worry about her anymore.”
    â€œLiving in sin…” Clarice fake gasps, covering her mouth “…making the beast with two backs without the sanctity of marriage. Your daddy would kill her.”
    Yeah, she’s probably right. I tip my head against the side of the tub and stare at the shimmering golds and reds that fill the sky. The pain in my body starts to fade. The itch returns like a vengeance-packed wallop in the gut, and I sit up. “I should call the Sheriff’s Office,” I say.
    â€œStop stressing out. Gray hair looks distinguished on your dad, but you just turned twenty-one. I’m sure Lainey’s fine.”
    I growl.
    Clarice rolls her calf brown