“I don’t have one.”
“Yeah, but you’re rich.”
“So?” I laughed. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“You’re used to fancy things that make no sense. I mean, what’s with the curtains that open and shut at the push of a button? You know how I do it? I walk over and manually pull them open. Voilà!”
“Sure, you could do it that way, but technology’s the shit. Why wouldn’t you want to use it?”
“It’s not that I don’t appreciate electronics. I’m just saying what’s the point of push button curtains when it’s quicker and easier to do it yourself?”
“They’re remote controlled.”
“What are?”
“The curtains, they’re remote controlled and set on timers so no button pushing. Some are even dusk to dawn regulated.”
Breeze stood there with her hands on her hips as I went on and on about curtains. Once I came up for a breath, she asked, “Are you finished now?”
“I… yeah, sure.”
“Good.” Breeze tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Was it pink? I couldn’t tell under all the fire debris. Then giving one last glance in the direction of the main house, she lowered her voice and said, “I’m going to have you carry Brangelina and I’ll tackle Sweetpea.”
What was she talking about? I wracked my brain trying to recall any previous mention of the former Hollywood power couple. I had nothing. Taking pity on me, Breeze filled in the blanks, as if it were a conversation we’d already had many times over.
“The rats? Brad and Angelina?”
No, that definitely wasn’t communicated to me at any time during our miraculous escape or even during this special black ops mission. I considered arguing the point but decided it wasn’t worth a comment or complaint since I’d be carrying the rats regardless. As I hoisted the cage into my arms, the celebrity rats scattered, sending dust and wood chips flying.
“Hey, Breeze?” I whispered.
“Yes?”
“This might be a good time to tell you I’m not a fan of rodents.”
“That’s not what I saw on TMZ. You seemed quite chummy with a squirrel last week.” She blitzed me with a sly sideways glance.
“You saw that?”
“I did.”
“And what about the full moon at the convenience store?”
She nodded. “That too.”
“GI Joe?”
“Yep.”
“Well, shit.” I shook my head, smiling. “Stalker.”
“No, I’m under thirty… and human. I think I can confidently say I’ve seen pretty much all of you now, Bodhi.”
“Not everything,” I answered with an arched brow. If she was going there, so was I.
Breeze laughed. “The night’s not over yet.”
And even though she was clearly kidding, my ears perked up anyway. Now, I was feeling way better about my decision to crash land at Breeze’s place. Even if it meant tiptoeing my way through the backyard of the gun-toting enemy of the vegetable world.
