Chapter Thirteen
Rae
He kept me waiting ten minutes, probably trying to figure out if I was taking the piss, and I spent the same about of time staring at his message, wondering the same thing.
Cash:my bed is ur bed
Even now, a whole day later, it still made my head spin.
I opened the message and read it again, but my Cash-clouded brain didn’t clear. I had a million and one things to do at home, but my five o’clock train was all I could think about.
Sprig poked me in the side. “Are you helping me with this fence or what?”
“Hmm?”
He rolled his eyes and pried the hammer from my hand. “Never mind. I’ll do it my bloody self.”
Sprig wandered off to finish up adding reinforcements to our perimeter fence. It wouldn’t stop the police if they wanted to roll onto our camp again, but it hopefully would make the Goon squad think twice before they brought their quad bikes down from the house.
Meg appeared at my shoulder. “How long will you be gone?”
“A couple of days?” I shrugged. “I don’t really know, but I’ll be back by the weekend, and I can come home anytime you need me.”
“That’s not why I was asking. I just like to know when to expect you in case something goes wrong.”
“You worry too much.”
Meg sighed. “Maybe, but in any case, while you’re there, be sure to thank Cash for us. The stingers did the job without anyone getting hurt, and that’s the best outcome we’ve had for a while.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell her about Cash getting clobbered in the face, and I didn’t want to think about the photo he’d sent me of his swollen, bloodied cheek. The only images I wanted rolling around my brain were of his bed, preferably with him in it, naked.
Meg laughed. “You’re away with the fairies, boy. Why don’t you leave this to us and get an earlier train? There’s a bus in ten minutes.”
Responsibility weighed heavily on me, but Meg was persuasive, and five minutes later found me running down the lane to catch the bus to the station. Safely in my seat, I texted Cash.
Rae:Might be early
Cash:for real?
Rae:Yeah. But don’t worry if you’re working. I can hole up in the pub with my laptop.
Cash:try the house first, there might be someone home
Fair enough, though I wasn’t too keen on facing Cash’s housemates again after stumbling my way past them last time, limping and sweating. It hadn’t been my best look.
But even that wasn’t enough to dampen the slow excitement building in my gut. I’d spent a solid twelve hours in Cash’s company mere days ago, but this was different. I was going to his house because he wanted me to, and I wanted to be there. No drama, no complications. No life and death. Just him, me, and his glorious bed.
I rolled into London at three o’clock, and by the time I’d hoofed it from Euston to Tottenham, I was still two hours early. The pub was tempting, but despite selling a couple of articles to Yahoo this month, I didn’t have the money to waste on drinking alone.
That left showing my face at Cash’s house without him, so off I trotted, dodging the grimy puddles a winter shower had left on the pavement, head down, earbuds jammed in my ears. It seemed like no time had passed when I found myself knocking on his art deco front door.
I took my earbuds out and wrapped the wire into a neat coil while I waited. It was bizarrely occupying. The front door opened with a whine of old hinges, and I jumped a fucking mile.
A long-haired dude wearing the same jeans as me was on the other side. His gaze swept over me before his expression settled into a friendly smile. “Rae?”
“Uh, yeah. Is Cash home yet?”
“No, but come in. He won’t be long. I’m Lucky.”
