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“Why me of all people? If anything, I should be the exception. Kiara knows me. She knows I’m not some psychopath.”
“You’re right—she does know you. Which means she’ll be harder on you than anyone else because she expects more from you.”
I look on as Cody shoves the whole top of a drumstick in his mouth and pulls it out clean, eating the gristle and everything. Gross.
I cringe. “Why do you do that?”
“That’s how you eat a wing, asshole.” He goes for the flat wing next, twisting and pulling until one bone pops out. Then he inhales it like he did the drum.
“Fuckin’ barbaric, man.” I shake my head, and grab the celery and blue cheese from the coffee table. For whatever reason, I love this combination—the cool crunch of the celery with creamy, tangy blue cheese dressing. It’s the stuff dreams are made of.
“No, what’s barbaric is you eating the celery and white shit, like some chick. And wanting to bang the MILF.” His fists fly up. “Yeah, homerun! Take that, Yankee suckas!” Cody’s hoots and woos are loud enough for the both of us. In fact, he isn’t even pretending he’s listening to me anymore.
Which is fine by me because I don’t need another person telling me this won’t work out. It’s more than wanting to “bang the MILF”, though the idea is fucking appealing. I’d give her a night she’d never forget and make her breakfast the next morning, and every day after that. That’s how serious this is.
I need to strong-arm my sister to see things from my perspective. For the first time in my life, I want someone. Someone spectacular. That shouldn’t be a bad thing. Maybe if I get Kiara to see my side, Mae will give in. It would be nice to keep my job too. It’s not too much to ask, is it?
“I need to tell Kiara.”
This gets his attention, and he whips his head toward me. “You better give a guy a warning before you do, so I can be in Alaska, off-grid. She won’t think to look for me there.”
I bark a sharp laugh. “What? You hate the cold. You bitch about moving every winter.”
“Precisely my point. I give her epic orgasms, and she still scares me.”
I almost gag. “Don’t paint that picture for me, please.”
“You are her pain in the ass. You should be terrified.”
Wrestling with a napkin, I wipe my mouth and reminisce. “She used to kick my ass when we were kids, so I know how hard of a punch she throws. Thing is, I’m more terrified of losing Mae.” I pin my friend with a look. “She’s important, Cody.”
“Okay, she’s important. More of a reason to not get involved romantically. If this doesn’t work out, everyone gets hurt—you, Mae, and most importantly, Isabel. You know, the little girl you’re supposed to be caring for?” Cody rolls his eyes then goes eerily quiet as the next hitter steps up to the plate.
“Yeah, bu—”
“Shhh!” He holds a hand up to my face while facing the television. When the batter hits it out of the park, my friend jumps up and roars like he’s actually on the field with the players.
I stick my forefinger in my right ear. “God, you’re going to worry the neighbors. They probably think you lured me here under false pretenses, only to cut me up into tiny little pieces.”
“You don’t have to worry about me, man. Once Kiara finds out what you’re doing, she’ll take care of your ass for me.” Bases are loaded, and Cody’s fist pauses mid-air, waiting for a grand slam.
A ball of dejection drops in my stomach. I couldn’t care less about who’s winning what. “And what is it that I’m doing?”
“Making a horrible mistake.” The pitch is hit out of the park, and all three runners make it to home base. Cody is jumping up and down like he won the game single-handedly. He grabs me by the collar and pulls me into a victory hug. “That was fuckin’ awesome!” He shouts another shrill “Woo!” before sitting back down. “I have some good advice, though. You want to hear it?”
“That would be fucking nice. I’m out on a limb here.”
He looks like he’s ready to impart some sage guidance, so I lean in with open ears. Because right now, I need all the help I can get.
My best friend grabs my shoulder and squeezes. “Call Mandy.”
Standing there like Goddess Venus, rifling through her bag, Mae plucks out some cash, her ID, and phone, then slips them into a small wristlet. “I can’t believe you talked me into doing this.”
My eyes feast on her ass, lick down her legs, and salivate over those fuck-me heels. “I’m really glad I did.”
She looks over at me with a smile, most likely thinking I want her to blow off some steam. I do, but there is another reason I’m glad she’s going out with the girls—seeing her in that dress. When she first walked down the stairs, I almost bit my palm to hide the soft groan vibrating in my throat. She’s wearing a black bandage dress that looks like it was painted on her.
“Do I look okay?” She does a small turn. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a girls’ night with adult women.” While she’s not an insecure person, new situations make her uneasy. For Mae, this is a big deal.
