“I’ll get you some sheets and a pillow.”
He smirked. “Don’t want me to ‘just sleep’ next to you again?”
My teeth sank into my lower lip. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I’ll be right back.”
After taking the sheets to Punc, I peeked in on Catalina.
She leaned up. “Did Ted leave?”
“No, he’s spending the night on the couch. I didn’t want you to be alarmed in the morning, but try not to wake him up when you leave for band camp.”
In the dim light, I saw her tip her head toward Nome, who lay curled up in a perfect canine oval shape at the side of her bed. “I can be quiet, but Nome is raring to go first thing.”
I nodded. “Do what you can. I’m showering, then going to bed. Goodnight.”
With a dejected sigh, I realized I had left my water bottle in the kitchen. In the hallway outside my bedroom, light shone from the kitchen, which seemed odd because Punc didn’t strike me as someone who slept with the lights on.
I crept back through the living room wearing my pajamas. It hit me belatedly that I probably should have put on my robe.Then again, Punc had seen me bare almost everything, so my pajamas weren’t nearly as revealing as watching me dance.
When he stayed here last month, I hadn’t seen him while he slept. Not even the night he shared my bed with me… I’d conked out before he even came to the bedroom.
Reflexively, I swallowed at the sight of Punc stretched out on the couch. He wore a gray tank top, and I saw the waistband of his boxer briefs peeking out from under the sheet draped over his legs and waist. His eyes were closed, and I wasn’t sure if he’d fallen asleep. Maybe the lights were on for security.
He smiled half a second before he opened his eyes. “I never thought you were a lurker.”
I gave him a grin. “I’m not. Cat’s gonna be quiet in the morning, but Nome is a wild card.”
He nodded. “I can handle that, but if you want to protect me from Nome, feel free.”
I held a hand up. “I haven’t decided anything, Punc. This is bizarre - you flirting with me again when you went to such pains to make it clear we were co-workers.”
He pressed his lips together. “Fair. But about you calling this bizarre… if I’ve learned anything, it’s that life is bizarre. And that’s where the beauty is.”
I liked that, but kept it to myself.
“Are you sleeping with the lights on for some reason? Or do you want me to turn them off after I get my water?”
“You can turn ‘em off when you’re done, thanks.”
Punc
Catalina did her best to be quiet in the morning, but Punc couldn’t fall back to sleep until after she left the house at six-forty-five. Savannah hadn’t come out of her room; rather Catalina knocked on Savannah’s door to say goodbye. He knew he was cramping their style, but he didn’t care.
Every instinct told Punc he wouldn’t fall back to sleep, but he woke with a jolt when his phone rang.
He saw Volt’s name and the time was eight-thirty.
“Hey, Volt,” he muttered.
“Got your text about Ava’s problems. You have a moment to talk?”
“Yeah, Prez.”
“What are you after here?”
Punc dragged a hand down his face. “First, shit changed last night. I’m making Ava my old lady. As for the debt, ideally, I want to kick Frank Darren’s ass and make it crystal clear Ava doesn’t owe him shit.”
“None of this is ideal, though, so what’s an alternative?”
