Jag started laughing.
Fabe showed, his lips wrapped around a straw stuck into asmoothie.
He handed another one to Joany, stopped sucking, and askedJag, “Are they having the perving-on-you discussion again?”
“Again?”Jag asked.
Fabe nodded.
“They used to fight regularly about if Prince should havegone back to Prince after he assumed the symbol, since the symbol, everyone hasto agree, was kick-freaking-ass,” Fabe declared.“Now they fight about pervingon you.And by the way, I’m on Joany’s side of that argument.You’re seriouslyperv-worthy and it’s just selfish not to let that happen.”
Jag looked down at his girl.“Where do you stand on Princeand his symbol?”
“Symbol, dude,” Archie replied.
He gave her a squeeze and murmured, “Good girl.”
“Are youhigh?”Joany demanded to know.“Prince isthe single coolest name in the history of rock.And onward from that, it’s thesingle coolestsinglename in the history of celebrity.”
“Does anyone know who I’m named after?”Jag asked the threeof them.
Archie petted his chest and murmured placatingly, “Baby,ol’ Mick is cool…” long pause, “ish.”
Jesus.
“Is Mal straightened out?”Fabe asked, thankfully takingthem out of this discussion.
Jag looked to him.“He’ll probably apologize when he seesyou again.”
“Not big on the ‘probably’ part but…okay,” Fabe mumbled.
Joany slurped, did it huge, then moaned, “Oh shit, ice creamheadache.”
She had both eyes looking down at her nose.
Jag was back to chuckling.
Man, Archie’s people were seriously the shit.
After he was done doing that, he said to Archie, “Igottago.Walk me to my bike?”
She gave him a look he wasn’t surprised to receive seeing ashe’d never asked her to walk him to his bike when he hit her store.
“’Kay,” she replied, and on this short answer, his phonechimed.
He pulled it out, saw another text from his mom, and put thephone back into his pocket without viewing it.
Archie again ignored this, and Jag didn’t feel good aboutit.
He could not miss a point punctuated by her letting him fuckher for the first time on his pool table that she was going to allow Jag to beJag however that came about.
She wasn’t going to push, nag or wheedle.
But this meant he was avoiding giving her the deep.
And he didn’t feel right about that.
They knew financialdeetsabouteach other.She sat down with his brothers and broke bread.He knew the musicalpreferences of her shop assistants, people who were also her friends.
