“Did he?” I blurted. I slapped my hand to my mouth. I shouldn’t be doubting Christos like this. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. Of course the other guy started it.” I meant it. Every time Christos had ever fought someone in my presence, the other guy had started it.

“It’s okay, agápi mou. Yes, the other guy started it. Despite all the shit I’ve done in the past, I haven’t started a fight in years.”

“So tell the jury that. Tell them you don’t start fights.”

“It’s not that simple,” Christos sighed. “There’s all these rules about what constitutes self defense and what doesn’t. It’s different in every state, and I don’t understand half of it myself. That’s what my attorney is for. But I do know that we have to prove that the only option I had in that split second moment was to defend myself.”

“Was it?” I asked.

He looked at me thoughtfully. “Without a doubt,” he said confidently. “I had no choice.”

“Then you’re going to win!”

“That’s my plan.” Christos stood up from the bed. “I need a glass of water. Do you want any?”

“Sure.”

I heard the faucet running in his bathroom and he returned a moment later with a glass.

“Thanks.” I took the glass and sipped at it.

“Hey,” he asked, “what happened after I left you guys back at SDU?”

I gulped down several swallows of water. Did I want to tell Christos that, aside from his trial, those rugby jerks were now blaming him for starting the fight? Not really. “Oh, uh, Romeo called campus security and a bunch of cops showed up. What happened to the two guys who chased you?”

“I have no idea. I hopped on my bike and ditched them. That was the last I saw of them. Did you get your phone back? I tried calling you.”

“Eventually. After the cops left, Romeo and Kamiko kept calling my phone while we looked around behind the Dining Hall. It took forever, but we found it in some bushes.”

“Sorry it was such a hassle. Those rugby buttplugs were a bunch of Upper Assmen.”

I giggled. “Is the upper ass like a high quadrant of the anus near the colon? Or is it someone who’s taking advanced courses in assery?”

“Both,” he chuckled. “Hey, if your phone is all banged up now, and you need money for a new one, let me know. I feel like I owe you.”

“Thanks, Christos. You don’t owe me. Those guys were to blame, not you. Anyway, if I need a new phone, which I don’t, I’ll pay for it,” I lied. I didn’t have any cash to spare, but I didn’t want him worrying about yet another thing.

“You sure? Are you getting a quarterly bonus from Grab-n-Dash?”

“Yeah. My boss promised me a free ICEE,” I grinned. “I’ll see if I can use it as a down payment on a phone.”

Christos and I crawled into bed after I finished my glass of water.

I had no idea what the next 48 hours would bring, but for the moment, Christos was in my arms, and I was in his.

CHRISTOS

Thoughts of my pre-trial had me wired and jolted me awake before Samantha. I showered and dressed as quietly as possible. I don’t think I’d put as much effort into going out on hot dates as I was for going to court. There was something fucked up about that.

After I shaved, I examined my shiner in the mirror. Nice. Black ringed in red. You couldn’t miss it. Loved it. I grinned at myself. My upper lip was redder and fuller than usual, but I didn’t think anyone would notice. With my rugged good looks, maybe the judge would attribute it to a recent collagen injection. Yeah, right. While the bruise didn’t say, “This guy went twelve rounds with Mike Tyson and lost,” it did say, “This guy fights more than most people.”

I considered bugging Samantha for some concealer, but then I remembered she’d worn progressively less and less makeup since we’d met. If she had any, it was at her apartment, and I didn’t have time for a detour.

Whatever.

After buttoning my shirt, I knotted my tie in the mirror.

“Sexy,” Samantha said, standing in the bathroom doorway. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you dressed up before. Or clean shaved.”

I flashed a cocky grin at her while cinching the tie up to my collar. “You like?”

“I love,” she smiled as she walked up behind me and slid her hands over my chest. “Do I get to see you with the jacket on?”

“Sure.” After giving her a quick kiss, I walked into the bedroom, pulled the jacket off the hanger, and slipped it on. I buttoned it and smoothed it down. “There.”

“Wow, Christos, I knew you could pull off ruggedly sexy like no one else, but damn, I think you put that guy from 50 Shades of Grey to shame!”

“I think my shiner adds that hint of street danger that the 50 Shades guy was missing.”

“Definitely,” Samantha purred. “Do I have time to shower?”

“What do you mean?”

“Before we go?”

I arched an eyebrow. “We?”

Her face sunk. “Don’t you want me to come with you?” she asked meekly.

I sighed and walked over to her. I grasped her arms and looked her in the eyes. “Agápi mou, it means a lot that you want to come with me. But this is just the pre-trial. Nothing is going to happen today. It’s going to be a lot of boring talk from the lawyers about technical details, and which arguments they’re going to use. Shit like that. Besides, you have classes, right?”

“Yeah, I guess. But I want to be there for you.”

“You’re here for me right now, agápi mou. I promise, you won’t miss anything.”

“Promise?”

I kissed her gently on the lips. “Promise. Now, I gotta run out the door. Don’t wanna be late for court. You still have your key, right?”

“Yeah,” she sighed.

“There’s food in the kitchen if you’re hungry. Take anything you want.” I kissed her again and went down to the garage and hopped in my Camaro.

SAMANTHA

After Christos left, I showered, dressed, and went downstairs. I opened the refrigerator in the kitchen and stared at the contents. Who was I kidding? I couldn’t think about eating when Christos was going to court. I gently closed the door and nearly jumped out of my skin.

Spiridon was standing right there.

“Oh!” I gasped. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Good morning, koritsáki mou,” he said. “My apologies. I didn’t realize you were still in the house.”

I was always amazed by how much Spiridon looked like an older, silver-haired version of his blue-eyed grandson. Spiridon’s eyes still shone as brightly as Christos’. I had no doubt that Spiridon had been quite the ladies’ man in his day and I suspected he still was, but I had yet to meet any of the women who most certainly were pursuing him. I knew he went out in the evenings all the time, but I wasn’t quite sure where he went or who he saw. Christos had hinted frequently about the women in his grandfather’s life, but so far it was nothing more than juicy insinuations.

“Would you like me to make you some breakfast?” he asked.

“Oh, no thank you. I don’t have much of an appetite.”

“You have to eat something, Samoula. You can’t go through an entire day without food.” Spiridon pulled out a loaf of olive bread and spread soft cheese onto a slice. He handed me the plate. “Try this.”

I took a bite. The cheese was salty and very peppery. It had some kick to it. It went great with the olive bread. “What kind of cheese is this?”

“You like?” he grinned.

“It’s delicious!”

“It’s called Kopansti. A friend of mine imports it from Mykonos.”

“Wow, it’s so good!” I chomped another bite and savored it. Somehow, the Manos men always managed to set me at ease, as if everything in the world was just right, and every moment was a decadent celebration of life. I hadn’t had an appetite five minutes ago, but now I was ravenous. “Can I have another slice?”