Daniel stood and left, but before going home, he made a decision he hoped wouldn’t have negative consequences.
* * *
Evan counted to ten in his head. Then out loud. Smith truly had a superpower because it took a lot to get on Evan’s last nerve.
“You like numbers, eh?” Smith pulled the truck into the warehouse garage, where they’d keep it overnight before offloading the next morning into the Hillfords’firststorage facility. The customer had three different storage lots to contain the possessions filling the nine-thousand-square-foot home they’d recently put up for sale.
“I love numbers,” Evan muttered. “I can’t stand know-it-alls who don’t know when to shut up. I thought you didn’t talk.”
“I don’t. Normally.” Smith gave him a wicked smile. “But then, I had no idea you had an alter ego… Nice ass.” He snickered for the millionth time that day.
Not only had that Daniel kid given Evan a new ringtone, he’d also made it so that anytime Evan’s number appeared on anyone’s contact list, it now readSexy Movin’ Man with a Nice Ass. And Smith had been all over that all day long.
In fact, everyone had something to say about it. They’d been brutal. And his mother… He flushed. She’d laughed and laughed, so hard he thought she’d choke. He had to get his phone fixed, stat.
He slammed out of the truck and checked the back to make sure it remained locked. And then he heard that voice. The bane of his existence.
“Um, is Evan Griffith here? I need to talk to him.”
Smith said, “Who wants to know?”
“Look, no-neck. Is he here or not?” Daniel Sykes didn’t have a lick of sense.
Silence.
Evan moved around the truck and saw Daniel Sykes nervously studying Smith, who stood propped against the front of the truck, his huge arms crossed over his chest.
“Yo, Evan, somebody here looking for you.” Smith didn’t move. “And he’s got a big mouth.”
Daniel blinked at Smith, in awe. “Are you Cash Griffith?”
Smith straightened, and Evan saw the fury in his face. Even Daniel took a step back.
“Fuck no. That asshole’s not here today. InsteadI’mstuck with him.” He nodded to Evan then left, fiddling with something in the back of the truck.
Daniel seemed to sag in relief then stiffened when he realized Evan was watching him.
Evan adopted Smith’s pose, waiting for the boy to speak. He wanted to ring the kid’s neck…then slap him on the back and congratulate him for a prank well done. Hey, Evan might be annoyed, but he had a sense of humor. ABBA had been bad enough, but the new moniker was inspired…as long as someone else became the butt of the joke. Evan actually couldn’t wait to try it on his fellow vets.
“I, uh, I’m sorry.” Daniel let out in a rush, “About before. I can fix your phone if you want.”
Evan just watched him.
The kid fidgeted. “It was just a prank, okay? And you started it.”
“How did I start it?”
“You were eye-fucking my sister.”
“You mean your mother?”
“Don’t be a dick. You know what I mean.”
Evan blinked. “First of all, nice mouth. Second, I was more interested in your sister wielding a knife and getting my phone back than anything else.” A total lie, but he couldn’t admit he found her attractive after the kid had caught him checking her out. “Besides,someonetold me she was crazy.”
“I was protecting her from a perv.”
Evan sighed. “Is this an apology you worked on, or are you winging it?”
