Bev gave a tight smile. “So, Day. Ruby tells me you’re one of Jackson’s clients?”
“Yes.”
When he didn’t offer any more information, Bev prompted. “Are you an actor or a musician? One of those dot com billionaires Jackson babysits all the time.”
“Nope, I’m just a camboy,” Day said before stuffing a bite of macaroni into his mouth and chewing it while he watched his answer hit his targets.
Della and Ruby gaped at him, but Bev just took a sip of her white wine. “That’s one of those boys who gets naked over the computer, right?”
“Mama,” Della said before giving a shocked laugh.
“What? I think it’s clever. Back in my day, if we were gonna try to bring in some extra cash with our bodies, we had the street corner or the pole. Day’s way seems much safer.”
Day scoffed. “Tell that to the guy who got his throat slit in front of me.”
“No way,” Della gasped. “You saw it happen? Like, were you there?”
“Day,” Jackson said quietly, his warning clear.
Day ignored him again, leaning in, like he was dishing the hottest of fresh gossip to his new friends. “I saw it happen on camera. I didn’t know he was some fancy assistant district attorney until I called the cops.”
“No shit?” Ruby said. “You were cyber-banging that ADA who got taken out? They said it was, like, gang related or something. His wife is in my yoga class. No wonder she always looks so miserable. Probably wasn’t getting any from her hubby if he was getting it with you.”
“Ruby Jean,” Bev snapped, exasperated. “Watch your mouth.”
“Sorry, Mama,” she said, not sounding sorry at all.
When Day looked her way, she winked at him, and he dropped his gaze to his plate. What the fuck did it take to freak these people out? An idea came to him in that moment, and Day opened his mouth before he chickened out and changed his mind. They couldn’t ignore this.
“They thought it had something to do with one of his cases, but after I put up a video of me and Jackson, one of my regulars went completely nuclear and took credit for the murder. That’s why Jackson’s stuck with me. Detective Jimmy thinks this guy is going to try to kill me or kidnap me.”
They all gaped at him.
“Jackson made a sex tape?” Ruby said at the same time Della said, “Dad’s Detective Jimmy?”
Jackson was glaring daggers at Day now, but he continued to eat his dinner like he’d done nothing wrong, even though embarrassment was eating a hole in his belly. Jackson hadn’t deserved this. Nobody’s family should know about their sex life. Hopefully, Jackson understood now. Day wasn’t good enough for him.
“No, I didn’t make a sex tape. It was just a decoy to make Day’s potential stalker make a mistake,” Jackson said.
Bev looked relieved, but Della narrowed her gaze in confusion. “How did you even know Day had a potential stalker if he didn’t flip out untilafteryou loaded the sex tape?”
“Drop it, Della. I’m serious,” Jackson said.
“Fine. You’re the one who said to make Day feel welcome,” she muttered, taking a bite of her cornbread and chewing angrily.
“Excuse me. I’m not feeling very well,” Day said, bolting from his chair back into the living room. He didn’t know where to go, so he just headed out the front door. He stopped short on the welcome mat, realizing he had no idea where he was and that his phone was locked in Jackson’s car. He couldn’t even call an Uber. Without any other options, he took a seat on the front porch swing and buried his face in his hands, praying he didn’t do something even more embarrassing like start crying again.
When the front door opened, Day didn’t look up. “Look, Jackson. I’m sorry—”
“It’s me you should be apologizing to, young man.”
Day’s head snapped up at the sound of Bev’s voice. She walked towards him, her cane clicking on the wooden planks below as she moved. She took a seat beside him on the swing, using her good leg to set it swaying gently.
“I’m sorry,” Day muttered. “That in there…that wasn’t about you. Any of you. I was just… I was just trying to prove a point to Jackson.”
Bev made a noncommittal sound. “I believe you. To tell you the truth, I’m surprised you managed to get the words out at all. The whole time you were talking, you looked like you were gonna be sick all over my great grandmother’s lace tablecloth.”
“That’s why I came out here. Thought it might be better to throw up on your azaleas instead,” Day said, face hot with embarrassment.
