“It’s not on my property. It’s next door,” I tell him and the guy on the phone.
“Do you want me to send someone to check it out?” Brad asks.
I could text Martha and make sure she isn’t expecting anyone, but my gut tells me if she were, that person wouldn’t be going in through the window.
“Yeah, that’s probably best. The owner is out of town,” I say, continuing to watch the camera feed even though there’s nothing to see anymore.
“Shit,” Shep whispers next to me.
I nod my agreement. I don’t want this kid to get in trouble. If I were home, I’d walk over and check it out myself. Maybe that isn’t the smartest idea either, but at least I’d feel better about getting the police involved if I had a better sense of the situation. My cameras aren’t pointed in a way that I can see a lot of Martha’s house beyond the two windows that my property butts up next to.
“All right. We’ll get someone out right away,” Brad tells me in that professional monotone that indicates he’s reading from a script. “Have a good night. Thanks for using Southcentral Alarm.”
“Thanks.” I end the call with a pit in my stomach. That kid is about to have a very bad night. I shouldn’t feel guilty. He trespassed into someone’s house, but I do anyway.
“That’s wild,” Shep says. “Do you have a lot of kids causing trouble in the neighborhood?”
“No.” I shake my head. “It’s a gated community.”
Which now that I think about it has me even more perplexed. What kind of kid is dumb enough to break into a house in one of the best neighborhoods in Moonshot? He has to know there are cameras all over.
I let the unease roll off me as Penn and D-Low come over to join us.
“Did you guys already start?” D-Low asks.
“One throw,” Shep tells him. “You can still jump in.”
Despite my earlier excitement for the night, I spend most of the next few hours feeling off. I don’t know if it’s the worry about Martha’s house and hoping the kid didn’t cause too much damage and consequentially doesn’t get into too much trouble or if it’s just an overarching sense of change that has me off-kilter.
Galaxy has never been big on staying out, so it isn’t all that surprising when he takes off early but seeing him leave with Ruby has that odd sense of wanting settling in again.
Penn goes home early too. Then it’s just me, Shep, and D-Low. Danny’s been hooking up with this one chick the past couple months so when she shows up, they’re in their own little bubble. Shep and I are back at the bar, talking to a group of women out celebrating one of their birthdays. They told us their names, but it was loud and I’ve already forgotten—another signI’m off my game. I’m good with names. I’m good with people. And I’m especially good with women.
Shep is only here in body. He’s said less than five words. The guy is quiet in general, but around the opposite sex he freezes up completely. There’s a pretty blond with big blue eyes in the group of five that can’t stop staring at him. She’s tried to pull him into conversation three times now and he’s either not interested or too oblivious to see that she’s clearly into him. When the whole group of them excuses themselves to go take a shot with more of their friends, I turn to him.
“What’s wrong with you? She’s cute.”
“Who?”
“The blond one.” I wave a hand in their direction.
“Bella?”
“You know her name, but you can’t answer any of her questions in a complete sentence?”
His cheeks flush a deep ruddy color. “I answered her.”
“Yeah, but you used the smallest number of words possible like you were trying to blow her off.”
His lips curve down. “Fuck. I did, didn’t I? I get so fucking nervous.”
“Why?” The question comes out with a chuckle. Shep is ridiculously hot. I feel qualified in my analysis, given I’ve spent enough time around him, that I’ve seen plenty of women throw themselves at him. Unsuccessfully, I might add.
“I don’t know. Every time I’m the least bit attracted to someone, I get flustered. I’m instantly transported back to middle school.”
“What happened in middle school?” If he tells me he was ugly and teased, I wouldn’t believe him. There’s literally no way he wasn’t always hot.
“Forget it. It’s stupid. I’m gonna go.”
