AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh damn. That’s a step up from when I went to SHSU.”
“You went to SHSU? How old are you?” I don’t mean it to sound rude, but she doesn’t notice.
“I only went for two semesters on and off. And I’m twenty-five. I know. I look fifteen. Fucking genes.”
“You wear them well,” I tease, plucking at a tear in her pants. The little goblin smirks, reaching up to tweak my boob. “Hey! OW!”
“You really don’t look like the type. What were you up to? Pretty boy jock infatuation? Captain of the baseball team’s your baby daddy?”
“A little more complicated than that.”
“But there was a boy…”
“No.” I hesitate way too long for the lie to be believable. Memories of Tell gripping my ass sends shivers running down my legs. “Ugh. Yes. You’re spot on, but way off base. He wasn’t one of the frat boys. Some older guy who was there checking on his cousin.”
Ora stares at me blankly for a second.
“Okay. That. That makes him sound creepy,” I admit.
“Super creepy.” Ora nods.
“He’s not.”
“Sure.”
“He’s also not the reason I was there. But I don’t really want to get into it with…” I nod toward the front desk.
Ora nods dramatically, making a zipping motion across her lips.
Ora shifts gears abruptly. “We should hang out.”
“Aren’t we hanging out right now?” I joke, feeling a lot lighter despite my predicament. Having someone to talk to, someone who feels like a friend, makes the hours fly by, and makes it feel less like a night in jail.
Until around five a.m., when a gritty and cracked voice interrupts us from the cell next to ours.
“Hey, will you two bitches keep it down?” A grizzled old dude in a dirty white shirt sits up, glaring through the bars. “Either make out and give us a show, or can it!”
Ora and I exchange glances right before we both yell, “Shut the fuck up!”
“Yeah, look over here again and I’ll kick your teeth in, Larry Connor! Then I’ll tell your old lady where you been all night!” Ora high-fives me as we double over laughing.
Larry Connor looks like we just spat in his cereal as he turns over.
And we keep talking, sharing stories as the morning progresses. They bring us some shitty fast food breakfast sandwiches around six, and it tastes way better than it should. Ora picks off her bacon and gives it to me, swearing the stuff makes her gag.
I think she saw how much I was enjoying mine and just wanted to share.
It’s weird, this connection. It’s like I can be completely… me. Like we’ve known each other forever. What are the odds I’d meet two people like this in one night?
Ora goes on about some bar she likes to hang out at and the hot guy whose dad owns it, talking like I have any clue who these people are, and there’s a charm to it that I don’t try to resist. She seems to know everyone in town, at least down by the bay, the docks, and the waterfront. I get an entire history lesson and the who’s who of Sanctum in less than an hour.
Somewhere in the mix, I pick up on the fact that her dad, or maybe her grandfather, must be someone relatively important, at least in those circles, but I leave it alone. If anyone can respect someone having a shady family, it’s me.
“Clive. You’re up.” Delaney sighs, interrupting our conversation. He unlocks the cell and waves half-heartedly. “Can you just…”
But she does exactly what he’s hoping she won’t do and hops up, hugging him and planting a little kiss on his cheek.
“Thanks, Roddy. You always give the best turndown service. One of these days, you’re gonna have to let me give you a handy to pay you back!” Which has Delaney sucking a deep breath through his nose, doing his best impression of a tomato. Ora grins and turns back toward me. “Hell! Look me up on social. We’re best friends now, so don’t go fucking off and ghosting me, huh?”
