“So what do I owe this pleasure?”
“Wanted to see if you were talking the dogs for a walk again.”Not because of Chris. Because it’ll get her away from the guy.“I was hoping to tag along.”
“Getting restless?” she asked. Her large blue eyes softened and she leaned against the doorway. “Any update on the whole job mess?”
“No.” A wave of self-disgust ran through me. Charles’ plan mocked me in the back of my mind. I shook my head, hoping the self-loathing would disappear. Just thinking about it made me want to punch something, and I changed topic as fast as I could. “How are the divas?”
“Them.” She grunted. “One decided to shit in the bathroom. So that was fun.” She ran a hand through her long hair and sighed. The gesture made her chest rise and strain against the tight dress, and she brought her hand to play with her necklace. She moved the silver charm back and forth and it took all my effort to look away when she started talking again.
“They aren’t due to walk for another two hours, but you are more than welcome to hang out if you want. No pressure. You can go back into your place and I can knock when we’re ready. It could be a code, like three knocks. Long ones. Or, you know, maybe another day, too.” She moved that damn charm again, and the motion combined with the slight reddening of her cheeks charmedme.
“I’ll hang out.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“Unless that was a pity invite,” I teased, regretting it when she frowned. “What are you up to?”
“Baking. Mr. Alexandre has a large double oven and I love it. If I could live in it, I would. Honestly, it’s bigger than my studio apartment.”
The thought made me laugh and I followed her into my neighbor’s place, enjoying the light lemon scent that trailed behind her. She seemed to bounce when she walked and her ankle bracelet and bright orange toenails popped out. It was cute. No other word for it.
“Hey, man, my name’s Ethan.” The guy without a shirt joined us in the kitchen and held out a hand. I shook it and introduced myself, but didn’t try to hide my annoyance. “How do you know Blue?”
“Met her when she was yelling at our doorman.” I caught her gaze and she smirked. It felt like our own inside joke and I liked it.
The guy laughed and looked at Sarah with nothing but fondness. “That’s my girl.”
“You’ve met him. He is way too uptight. I should make him cookies. That man needs some dessert in his life,” Sarah said.
“Or to get laid,” Ethan said, causing Sarah to chuckle. “He yelled at me for bringing in a cup without a lid.”
“You did spill it, Easy E.” Sarah nudged him with her hip. “Ethan here is messy. Not like a normal mess-maker. Like a shitshow, destroys things all the time messy. He’s gone through two couches infouryears.”
“Dude, one wasn’t my fault and you know it, punk.” He tried hitting her with a paper towel roll and it was clear they knew each other well. Really well.
“You two know each other long?” I sat on the barstool and didn’t hold back the comment that came to mind. “You remind me of my sister and me.”
“Might as well be related. We’ve known each other, what…twenty years?” Ethan said, counting on his fingers. “My twin sister is her best friend.”
“And you came with the deal even though I’ve tried returning you.”
“Shut up.”
I laughed then. They were just like me and my sister, and now that I knew he wasn’t with Sarah, my mood brightened. “It smells good in here. What are you making?”
“Slutty brownies.” She wiggled her eyebrows and went to a baking pan. “The best dessert ever.”
“Uh, forgive me.” I moved closer to her and looked over her shoulder at the dish. “What are in these slutty brownies?”
“Cookie dough. Oreos. Brownies. Here, you mix this while I start crumbling the Oreos.” She didn’t wait before shoving the brownie mix at me and, in the pass-off, she moved too fast and spilled the batter all over my shirt.
Not in a subtle, ‘just a towel will clean it up’ way.
A full-on brown goo covering my white T-shirt.
“Oh no no no.” She covered her mouth with her hands as she eyed me and burst into action, grabbing a towel and starting to wipe my stomach down. “I’ll get this off. I promise. Here I was, telling you all about Ethan, and damn, I spilled.”
“It’s okay,” I said, trying to still her rapid movements. Her limbs went everywhere and she dabbed the towel against me over and over. “Blue Bell, it’s okay.”
