Her expression was amused, but also nostalgic, and not thegood kind.
“I like that I’m what he wanted, but also I’m her givingthat to him.I remember that happening a lot, both ways, when she was with us.”
“Yeah,” he said softly.
She tipped her head to the side in that curious, flirty wayhe liked afuckuvalot.
“Jagger?And I’ll just add for sake of time, Dutch?”
“My dad was a biker.My mom was and still is a biker babe.”
When he stopped speaking, she laughed, low and sultry, “Iguess that’s enough said.”Her focus on him changed when she went on, “Though,I knew he was a biker.And not just because you’re walking in his footsteps.Igo to his tombstone almost every time I visit Mom.And the epitaph there madeit pretty clear.”
And again, he got that feeling in his throat and it was sucha bitch, he couldn’t hold her gaze and fight it, so he turned his face away.
She put her hand on his chest and called, “Jagger?”
He cleared his throat, swallowed, and looked back to her.
“I bet he likes that.”
This head tip was not flirty.
It was concerned.
“You okay?”
He nodded and said, “We should go.”
“All right, boyfriend,” she murmured.
He didn’t know what this “boyfriend” business was about whenthey’d had two kisses and zero dates.
He just knew he liked it.
He took her hand, they paused outside her door so she couldmake sure it locked, and he noticed what he didn’t notice on the way up, suchwas his intent to get to her.The color-block flooring was up here too, but thetiles were smaller, and instead of the contrast color of yellow, it was orange.
There was also a lot of light from kickass sconces in thewalls and twosunlightsthat were throwing latesummer sun.
“Seems you’re a good landlord,” he noted, still holding herhand as he led her to the stairs.
“Place was ajust-a-hintshy of a slum.Notpurposefully.My grandparents just got old and lost track of it.When we gotit, we took it in hand.Dad owns a security company.Because of that, he knowsa lot of contractors.We got some castoffs, overages, stuff that was dinged anddented.He called in some favors, owed some more.Got the common places cleanedup and secured, new kitchens and baths in the units.”
They were shoving through the inner front door when henoted, “Better to charge more rent, I suppose.”
“Didn’t raise the rent.”
That caught his attention and he stopped and looked down ather before he pushed through the outer door.
“It wasn’t about regentrification,” she told him.“It wasabout safety and pride.This is a cool, old building.There’s history here.Thetenants who lived here then, live here now, save one, in the unit I have.Acouple of musicians.An older lady who’s been a schoolteacher for decades,she’s also an artist.This is their home.I didn’t want to take away theirhome.I just wanted to take care of them.”
“That’s cool, Archie.”
She grinned.“I know, Jagger.”
He squeezed her hand.
Then he pushed out and led her to his truck.
