Page 15 of The Tiger in the Sack

We both looked at it on the counter between us.

Unknown number.

I picked it up before Fox could see the screen.

Unknown Number

Say “knock knock”

I stared at it.

Please be her. No, god, please don’t be her. Please be her. Fuck.

Fox was watching my face. I could feel him watching. I turned slightly away and typed.

Knock knock

Who’s there (hint: the answer should rhyme with Scat Schmaddy)

A happy little tingle in my brain flickered its way through me. I was not going to name or examine that while Fox was sitting two feet away with his arms crossed and his scanning system running at full capacity.

Cat Daddy

I went into contacts. Typed the name fast, thumb moving before I’d consciously decided what to put.

Cheerleader in a Tree.

Not her name. Not anything Fox could run with if he saw the screen. Just a description. Plausible deniability.

Cheerleader in a Tree

Cat Daddy who? (this is the part where you tell me your actual name)

Good try. My lips are sealed.

Your lips don’t have to do a thing. Let your fingers do the work.

I put the phone face down on the counter.

Picked it back up.

Put it down again.

Was she flirting with me? That was flirting. That was absolutely flirting. The knock knock setup was cute and the Scat Schmaddy was funny and then she said let your fingers do the work and I was — I needed a second.

“You good?” Fox said.

“Fine.”

“You put your phone down twice.”

“I’m allowed to put my phone down.”

“It’s her, isn’t it? Lemme see.”

I snagged the phone up before he could.

That was either very innocent or very not and I genuinely cannot tell which