“No, he’s double-barreled.”
“You’ve created a monster.”
Lane snickers. “With parents like that, this dog was doomed to fail, anyway.”
As Lane and Carter start bitch-fighting, I glance down at my phone. One new message from Amy.
FIREBIRD:Did you survive?
LEWIS:Hey, don’t you believe in me? I’m a machine, baby!
FIREBIRD:Hmm…
LEWIS:Hmm… back atcha.
FIREBIRD:Sleep tight, Machine Man.
LEWIS:Sweet dreams, Hitwoman.
FIREBIRD:Hey, I didn’t take Amir out, did I? Just a little light blackmail. He would’ve been a bad choice, anyway.
I can’t help but smile when I picture the scene.
FIREBIRD:You didn’t even lecture me, you know…
LEWIS:Good point. Now that I think about it, I’m mad at you. Send nudes and I might forgive you.
FIREBIRD:I think you have enough imagination to go without.
She’s right. I close my eyes, and I can see her boobs with perfect precision. I suddenly want to jump in my car and head over to her place, but I bite down on the impulse.
FIREBIRD:Gotta go deal with C and R’s new pregnancy obsession.
LEWIS:Which is?
FIREBIRD:Singing.
LEWIS:That sounds magical.
FIREBIRD:Singing to my sister’s vagina.
LEWIS:Wow.
FIREBIRD:I know.
LEWIS:I could sing to yours…?
FIREBIRD:How much of a risk are you prepared to take?
For you? All the risk.
And that’s what makes me nervous.
LEWIS:I’m feeling inspired. Gonna go practice my scales.
FIREBIRD:Gonna go strangle my sister.
I stuff my phone back in my pocket, and when I look up, Adam is eyeballing me. He doesn’t say a word—he doesn’t have to. He knows exactly who I’m chatting to, I can tell. Since we were kids, we’ve always had this way of just getting each other without having to say a thing, but tonight, I can’t get a read on him.
