Buster is too busy with his apple to realize what he’s done. TJ cringes.
“Eww. I’m going to smell like I’m drunk.” I wrinkle my nose.
“Ah, geez. Okay, I got something you can borrow.” TJ gestures at me to follow him. We go to his bedroom, and he rummages in the closet. “None of my shit’s going to fit, but…”
“That’s fine. Who am I impressing here?”
“Buster?”
I laugh.
He emerges with a black T-shirt. “Smallest one I have. I only wore it last night to work out.”
“Uh-huh. That explains why it smells like Satan’s ass-crack.”
TJ snorts. I make a show of spraying the clothes with the eau de toilette Josie gave him last Christmas, then sniff. “Much better.”
“Har har. I’ll let you change.”
“Thanks.” He leaves, closing the door behind him, and I switch tops. TJ’s XXL shirt fits like a tent, of course. It says:
Hatorade
Why You Drinkin’ It?
This is his favorite. I grin as I come out.
“He loves you,” Josie says, noticing the shirt.
“I love everyone,” TJ says.
“Except the people who cross you.”
“Obviously. They’re assholes.”
Cassie laughs. “I love how consistently bad-ass you are.”
“It’s called being protective. Now you can add that to the list of my amazing qualities.”
“Protective and honest are important qualities,” I agree. Protectiveness is what made me like Noah more than I should have. He jumped into the fray when three lowlifes tried to mug me in Mexico. Most guys would’ve just pulled out their phones to record the fight.
“Unlike that Noah guy,” TJ says.
I give him a baleful look. “Really? You have to bring him up?”
“Noah?” Cassie’s eyes grow wide as she leans toward me eagerly. “Is this someone significant?”
“Tell me this is some other Noah,” Josie says. She knows all about my history with Noah. I had drinks with her a few weeks after the bakery opened and shared more than I should have. But when she hangs on your every word and nods and makes sympathetic noises, you can’t stop talking. The woman is a genius shrink.
“It’s the same Noah,” TJ clarifies.
“Wait, everyone knows about him but me?” Cassie says with a mock pout. “I feel left out.”
I put a hand over my face. “Oh my God, this is embarrassing.”
“What areyouembarrassed about? He’s the fucking disgrace!” TJ’s always on my side, which makes me feel better. He thinks anybody who wrongs me is a disgrace. He can’t stand Reggie for the same reason. Of course, she’s just a bitch to begin with.
Josie starts in with an overview of my rather messed up relationship with Noah. Cassie gasps and nods in all the right places. She’s almost as good as Josie. Must be from dealing with little kids all the time.
