“Congratulations to the both of you.” The silver-haired woman grins for a brief moment without taking her gaze from the screen. The blue light from the monitor reflects in her glasses, and all I see is the baby blipping in and out of existence in this shadowed game of hide-n-seek. “You’re having a boy.”
“A boy.” My voice cracks. A boy, just like Ben and me. I take a deep breath. I can do this. Olivia and I can do this. She can parent from the sidelines for all I care, but every kid should at least meet their mother.
The ultrasound tech wipes the goo from Olivia’s belly before leaving the room.
“It’s a boy.” I pull Olivia into a tight embrace whether she wants in on it or not. Her arms wrap around my back and linger. That’s familiar territory for Olivia. She’s a man-eater, and I’m not too sure how many men she’s been devouring since she’s been with child, but by the way her limbs are still wrapped around mine, she’s been missing the human touch. Then the unthinkable happens. Olivia breaks down in sobs, deep wells of stored emotion. All of the pent up grief she’s harbored for the past few months lets loose like a flood, and she drenches my shoulder with her pain. The glacier that is Olivia Cameron is starting to crack, and the boiling pot of water that’s causing the thaw just happens to be stowed away in her belly.
“We can do this.” I pull back and gently wipe her tears away.
Her eyes are twin pools of crimson. Her lips are bloated, her cheeks fuller than ever before. I loved her once. Then everything got fucked up, and here we are. But that doesn’t mean we can’t meet in the middle and shepherd this sweet baby boy through the thorny trails of life.
She nods pulling herself up to a sitting position. “Youcan do this.”
I touch my hand to her hard belly. “And I will.”
Halloween nightat the Black Bear is a funfest and a mind fuck all at once. Hanging bats, floating ghosts, girls dressed like strippers under the loose guise of a Disney princess. My head throbs just trying to make my way through the crowd in the dimly lit room. I’m a thousand percent certain that the fire code has been exceeded twice over because in all the months we’ve performed here, I’ve never seen it so thick with bodies.
Annie sits on the table with her back straight against the wall, a butterfly with her wings pinned to the wax board. She’s beautiful—ethereal with her hair loose and wild. Her camera pointed at every direction at once. She reminds me of Benji that way, always observing the world through the lens. The eternal observer. The overseer of all things chaos.
I’ve been meaning to retrieve Benji’s camera from my father’s hovel. That is if it’s still there, if it hasn’t been lifted by Jeff the boarder and pawned for cash—rolled into a blunt, gone up in smoke like my brother. Ben mentioned he left it at Pop’s somewhere in the middle closet while hanging out there for a few nights. He also mentioned it might be at Olivia’s, and, if that’s the case, it’s a lost cause. Olivia will probably want cash for it, but that’s just because she’s Olivia. She’s a taker in every capacity. It doesn’t surprise me anymore. Or at least it shouldn’t.
The lyrics stream out of my mouth on autopilot, but I can’t take my eyes off Annie. She’s beautiful on a daily basis but tonight she’s a vixen, and my entire body is begging for one more hit of what we shared earlier this week. She’s wearing tiny black cat ears, a tight black top, and matching jeans, a long furry tail and kitten heels to complete the look. I can see the whiskers painted on her cheeks from here, and that delicious pink mouth I want to cover with mine. Annie is no girl, she’s all woman, and I’m dying to make her mine, pin her to my wax board with my body. I can’t help it. I don’t give a shit if her brothers are in the room. If they’re loading their sawed off shotguns while I sing every song of the night directly to her.
The last set begins as it nears midnight.
The crowd pushes against the stage. Girls wearing not much more than lingerie hop up next to me, gyrating what their mama’s gave them, grinding their hips into my legs. Where the hell is security? At the very least, the Edwards brothers should pluck them off with an oversized net. The slutty cop, the sexed-up schoolgirl, and an entire slew of half-dressed princesses dangle from my limbs.
It’s hotter than an inferno up here, and, when the guitar solo hits, I rip off my T-shirt just to keep from passing out. The room explodes with riotous approval. I swear I can see Annie blush from here. I’ve been working on a song all for her. It’s not ready yet, and I want to get it just right before I belt it out at the Black Bear.
Johanna, the traffic-stopping anaconda climbs the stage and glues herself to the left side of my body. Try as I might to evict her, she’s riding my thigh like a mechanical horse. I look to Holt and flick a finger in the air for him to get this shit under control before I have to stop the set and do it myself.
I shoot a glance to Annie, and the joy from her face is drained at the sight. Annie isn’t the jealous type, but I got it out of that French interpreter of hers that it was this girl right here that sent Annie flying that day she hurt her shoulder. Thank God Annie is fine, but I don’t take lightly to someone hurting my girl. I hop off the stage leaving the blonde baffled by my move. I make my way through the crowd still wailing into the mike without missing a beat. I flick my fingers at Annie, and she shakes her head, petrified. I can’t help but laugh a little right through the lyrics.
“Come here, Annie. I want to dance with you.” I pull her down from her perch, and she hands her camera to Baya. The song has about a minute left, and I let it wrap up as an instrumental with Annie swaying softly in my arms. Her eyes lock with mine as I put the mike to my lips. “I love you, babe.” I hold up my hand the way she taught me, shorthand forI love youand smile at, Annie, the most beautiful woman in the room.
The room dissolves in a round of celebratory praise, but fireworks detonate in my heart because I do believe that was my first public proclamation for the girl who already holds the title as love of my life.
And then I kiss her. It’s an inadvertent F.U. to her brothers on their home turf, but, in all fairness, this is her home turf, too. I want the entire world to know that I choose Annie—that I love her.
Annie buries her face in my neck a moment before coming up for air.
“I love you, too,” she mouths.
The DJ takes over as the band packs up. This is usually the part where I pitch in, but I think they’ll understand if I opt out just this once.
“You want to get out of here?” I ask Annie, mouthing the words slowly, as she digs her fingers into my ribs.
Hers eyes widen just past my shoulder, and I turn to find the angry brother brigade marching my way.
“What’s going on?” Holt expands his chest like he’s looking for a fight. He is. I’m sure my face looks like a pretty good target. I have no doubt the disagreements we have about me seeing Annie will be settled with our fists. It’s just a matter of where and when.
Annie signs something over to them. I’ve spent hours glued to the Internet trying to figure out how to sign, but, she’s quick, and I’m betting I can guess the point she’s trying to get across simply from the angry glint in her eye.
“Is that so?” He laughs as he looks to me. “Annie says you two are leaving. Just where do you think you’re taking my sister?”
I glance around the bar for Wyatt. He mentioned he might show tonight, and I have a feeling I’ll need backup in just a few seconds.
“Wherever she wants.” My hand glides around her waist as I pull her in close. It’s not lost on me that I’m a pussy using Annie as a human shield. But, in my defense, that wasn’t my first intention—just a happy coincidence.
