“She must really be something, then, if you’ve decided to be so fucking callous about things.”
I close the bottle and place it on top of my duffel bag. “She is.” I face Jayce. “You know I wouldn’t have done any of this if she wasn’t.”
He glances at the rest of the crew as he sighs, then gets to his feet before sliding his hands into the pockets of his sweats. “Well, in that case, make sure to at least give us a damn heads up before you decide to infiltrate an elite’s security again – you know, so that we can be there to watch you get shot in the ass for getting your dick hard over a pixie-looking chick.”
I can’t help but chuckle at that.
“Fuck you, man,” I tell him.
He clicks his tongue. “Don’t think Cignette will approve of that, unfortunately.”
“And neither will I, you dumbass,” Alex says to Jayce.
Varsha snorts. “My God, you guys are fuckingridiculous.”
Alex already has a response for her, and he’s about to voice it, but stops when Jayce’s phone rings.
He pulls it out of his hoodie pocket and hands it to Jayce – who, after taking the phone from Alex, briefly touches his husband’s jaw with a knuckle as a silent apology for having used an undeserved tone at him earlier.
Alex stifles a smile and acts unaffected, but I can clearly see that his shoulders have gone a little slack, and his overall posture, too, has relaxed a bit.
Jayce looks at me after having checked the caller’s name, then answers the call before putting it on speaker.
“Solo,” he greets.
“Jay.” There’s Sinatra playing in the background, and I already know that Solo is in his condo – probably with a bunch of naked people in their early twenties vowing over him.
“You guys feelin’ ready for the party this Saturday?” he asks.
I walk over to Jayce and stand next to him, just as he answers Solo by saying, “You know we are.”
“And Dor?”
I scoff. “I’mfine, Solo.”
He chuckles. “Just making sure, kid.”
I shake my head, even though he clearly can’t see it, orme. “Go back to your orgy, boss; you don’t have to worry about the kills,” I tell him.
This time, he laughs, and the song in the background swells to a crackling crescendo – a little static through the line.
“This lot is quite…efficient, if I do say so myself,” he provides.
“I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that,” Alex says, then grimaces. “I know you’re old, but you can’t possibly bethatold. Efficient, really? They’repeople, Solo, not your fucking life insurance policy. Becausethatis something you describe as efficient, not guys and girls who know how to have mind-blowing sex. Learn your praises before you end up using the wrong one and pissing one of those groupies into slitting your throat.”
Varsha coughs, Jayce puts his tongue to his cheek, and I purse my lips in order to stop myself from losing my shit.
Solo bursts into a very unfiltered bout of laughter. “Oh, Alex…” He continues to laugh. “I hope you suck Jayce’s cock just as well as you run that blunt mouth of yours.”
Alex crosses his arms over his chest and shoots a quick wink at Jayce. “Much,muchbetter, I’ll have you know,” he tells Solo. “Too bad your shriveled shrimp didn’t get a chance to experience it before Jayce put a ring on my finger.”
Jayce looks too close to losing it, whereas Varsha is trying really hard not to.
“And isn’t that the biggest regret of my existence,” muses Solo.
“There’s always afterlife,” I quip. “You’ve got a shred of hope to hold onto.”
Jayce kicks me in the calf, which makes me grin.
