“That’s not fair. I didn’t ignore it, I overapplied it.”
“Fine, I’ll allow that interpretation of what you did. But you look ridiculous and need to put the sweats on right away, because you’re not straight enough to make me hang around you in those shorts.”
I stamp off to her bedroom. “Which drawer?”
“Middle. And if you know what’s good for you, you willnot strayfrom the middle drawer.”
I roll my eyes and find my sweats right where she said they’d be. I take off the ridiculous booty shorts, which I plan on either burning or, if things ever work out with Everett, only wearing them in the bedroom. Pulling up the sweatpants, I yell out, “So do you really think he’s attracted to me?”
She sticks her head down the hallway as I exit the room, raising her eyebrow. “That is the world’s most ridiculous question. By the way, if you’d gone into his shop with this cute, little crop top hoodie thing, your sweatpants, and those adorable tennis shoes, you’d already have a date.”
I bet she’s right. “God, he must think I am the most ridiculous person now.”
She hugs me, petting my back in a pseudo-caring way. “Honey, if he doesn’t know that about you after six months of being your friend, then he has not been paying attention and is therefore not the man for you.”
I answer into her shoulder. “That’s not necessarily true. He’s only ever had Grief Rafi. I swear, I’ve got Fun Rafi, Sexy Rafi, and Hilarious Rafi in there, too, but he hasn’t seen any of them.”
She pulls back, and her face reads something like pity. “Everett doesn’t strike me as an idiot. I see those things in you, even if I’ve only ever interacted with Grief Rafi. I have no doubt he’s seen them, too. Now, let’s talk for a moment about the small mane you’ve got going on right here.”
“It’s my Harry Styles hair. It’s nice.”
She wrinkles her nose. “It’s…feral. I mean, yes, there is a certain quality to it, but it’s lending to your whole jailbait vibe, and we need to sharpen you up.”
“Is sharp really a look I can pull off? Also, why do you have scissors in your hand?”
Parker smiles at me, and I have a feeling I’m not going to like whatever she has to say next. “You know I cut my own hair, right?”
I give her a once-over, and she does have really cool, beautifully layered hair. “Yeah, but your hair is straight, and it’s smoother than mine. I’ve got all these wacky cowlicks everywhere—there’s no way you’re going to know what to do with it.”
“Actually, your waves make it easier for me to do a good job, because they hide a multitude of sins. You know what’s really hard? Precision cutting stick-straight Filipina hair.”
“I’m going to regret coming over here, aren’t I?”
“All signs point to yes. Are you hungry? My mom made an entire mountain of lumpia and made my sisters and me take some with us. I’ll never get through all of this, so you’re helping me.”
Parker is a great cook, but her mom…brilliant. On more than one occasion, she’s brought in one of her mom’s delicious dishes and shared it with me. I eyeball Parker standing there with the shears in her hands next to a metric ton of fried veggie goodness.
“Fine, let’s get this over with.”
14
Everett
Thane nudges Jake. “Any communication between our potential recruit and the authorities?”
Jake shakes his head and places his bet on the table. “I see your five and raise you five more. Nope.”
Odd folds and Anders calls, which he shouldn’t do.
DB, who’s joined us for the evening, folds as well, asking, “Jake, were you able to run down the information on Omar?”
I look curiously at my friend. “What kind of information are you trying to run down?”
DB gestures over to Jake, who answers, “A full background, his relation to Rafi, his relation to Asadi, his relation to the ambushes we were working. Parker Aquino as well.”
“And?”
“Omar was mentored by his father’s general from a very young age, and is skilled with weapons and warcraft, but left Iraq as soon as he turned eighteen and came to the United States, where he put himself through school and got a green card, and has spent the last ten years working to become a US citizen. And he’s clean as a whistle here. He doesn’t even have so much as a parking ticket, and all of his jobs are on the up-and-up. He was living in a real dump of a place until Asadi died. From what I can tell, Rafi gave him a portion of Asadi’s holdings.”
