With a sigh of contempt, I shook my head. “I’ve got to get some sleep.”
“Big day tomorrow?” he asked.
“A regular human day filled with honest work.”
“I would believe you, but you are no regular woman, Masie Kicklighter.”
I wasn’t in the mood for his commentary or manipulative tactics. I loved him, yes. But it was something I intended to rectify. “Leave, Monty, or I’ll—”
“You’ll what?” He grinned.
“I get it. You’re a big, strong, ancient man. You could kill me with a flick of your pinky. I’m just not so impressed anymore.”
I removed a bowl from the dishrack, grabbed the Oaty Oats cereal box from the cupboard, and took a beer from the fridge.
“Out of milk again?” he said condescendingly.
“Yep. And this is what us Kicklighters do. We don’t complain. We don’t wish the fridge were full of milk when it’s not. We accept things as they areand march on, which is exactly what you should do. March on out.”
He shrugged casually. “Or you could simply go to the store.”
True.“Dammit, Stark, just skedaddle.”
“When I am good and ready,” he said pompously, like he was the king of my castle.
“You know what? You remind me of that gum permanently stuck to the inside of my purse. Once upon a time, it was something tasty. I’d even put it in my mouth. Now, it’s just a nasty, sticky mess with a few stray Tic Tacs mixed in.” I’d tried a thousand times to scrape it off the leather, but it just wouldn’t budge.
“Have you tried applying ice and chipping it away? I read it in a magazine. Or perhaps that was a tip for hair.” He scratched his chin. “I do not recall. However, if your analogy means I am something grotesque you wish to be rid of, then it is flawed.” He chuckled smugly.
“Excuse me?”
“Well, you could simply throw the purse away in order to dispose of the gum. Easily done. I think a more appropriate metaphor would be a large hairy mole or a perhaps an exotic venereal disease. Now those are difficult to get rid of—a much better choice if you wish to insult a person.”
Was he really schooling me on insults right now?
I began mixing my cerealwith the beer, and it immediately overflowed with fizzy bubbles, so I set it in the sink with a grumble. “I’m tired, hungry, and in no mood for you right now, so I am going to ask you one last time to leave.” I stepped forward and poked his extremely firm chest. “Because you and me? We aren’t on the same team no more.” I doubted we ever were.
“I suppose you are on Team Charlie Cross now?” He sounded amused, as if the idea were beneath him.
“Yes,” I replied.
“And you also wish to fuck him?” He laughed.
So Stark had been there tonight, listening to every word outside the Rooster. But why hadn’t he fallen for the trap?
“What’s so dang funny?” I snapped.
“You knew I would be keeping an eye on you.”
“And?” I said.
“You put on that display in an attempt to make me jealous. Honestly, I found it amusing.”
So that was why Charlie’s little exhibition failed. Stark hadn’t believed the show. It also explained why Stark was here, in such a good mood after our last altercation. Stark’s manipulative, calculating mind told him I was playing a game in order to win him back.
Interesting.Had I finally found his true Achilles’ heel? Stark believed that everyone acted with ulterior motives instead of just saying what was on their minds. In this case, however, he was partially right. Ihad been up to something, and the good news? He had no clue what it was.
Stark added, “But, Masie, if you wish to make me jealous, at least choose someone worthy. That fool Charlie is no match for me.”
