“I’ll have that thing replaced within the hour if it so much as clicks when I tap out a text. You’re a damn lie.” I couldn’t stop the rumble of throaty morning laughter that chased my accusation.
She tipped her nose up, elongated her right leg and used her toes to point at me, “You had nineteen missed calls and thirty texts, but don’t worry, KoT… I cleared your visual voicemail for you.”
I stared at her, unsure if it really mattered. There were two yesterday, and both of those were probably from Aunt Daisy. Anything beyond that was Mark, no doubt. Or Vick.
I waited to hear some clue as to which it had been but was only met with a squint.
“Are you imagining me under a microscope?” I teased.
“I’m imagining why you would bring me to a hotel room, when you have someone named Easy saved in your fucking phone.”
I’d been woken up to raids that didn’t haul my ass out of bed as fast as that misunderstanding did. Both hands came out in front of me like I was suddenly thrust into the big ten tournament.
“Call that number,” I encouraged.
“Fuck. You.” She did an underhand toss, and I scrambled to catch the phone before it hit me. The damn thing bounced off me and landed in the pile of linen I’d just abandoned.
Her legs flipped off the arm and she sat up, taking my soul with her. I shot to the floor between her knees, laying a heavy hand on her bare thigh to pin her while I fumbled around for the phone.
“Easy is…”
She snorted like she was dying to hear it, and I whipped back around, giving up my search for the phone since I suddenly couldn’t walk and chew gum under such duress.
“He’s my little fucking brother!” I spat, just as the phone lit up under a thin patch of sheet.
I wildly snatched it free and was never more grateful to see his name on the screen.
“He’s in the military,” I yapped wildly while swiping at the green.
It took me three tries to get the damn thing to catch.
“Easy!” I exclaimed, much louder than I intended.
“Ant– Are you okay?” he spat back at me.
“Y–yeah.” I tried to laugh off my odd behavior, as Crystal flopped back in the seat.
I wormed my way between her thighs and used her lap like it was my new desk, stretching my elbow over her thigh to lodge besideher hip. The positioning left me holding the phone like some kind of offering plate between us.
The way her lips twitched as she tried not to laugh and eventually planked a finger over her mouth and looked away left me a little hopeful.
“Are you fucked up or something? Why do you sound like that? Where are you at, I’m coming over,” Easy spouted off, instantly alerting me that he wasn’t alone.
My brother wasn’t that invested in my whereabouts. He had his own friends within the club. He and Oakland O’Brian were thick as thieves. Oak was as much a golden boy, as Mak was a junkyard dog.
“Yeah, I’ll be home in a few hours. When did you get back?”
There was a brief pause, the gentle clink of a screen door.
For a minute I thought he wasn’t going to answer me.
“Last night. Jesus Christ. You got a shit storm…” Easy began under his breath, making me a little twitchy since he didn’t know Crystal was listening, too.
“Yeah. Yeah, I know. I’m kind of in something right now– ah! Damn it.” I cut off when Crystal popped my upper chest, catching me just right with the corner of her thumb nail.
“‘In something.’ Is that what you were–?” Crystal asked, her eyes widening.
I jerked the phone away, clutched the back of her head and shut her up with a kiss, my rumble of laughter teasing even my own lips as I did so.
