“I bet.” She hopped up on my counter and pulled open a drawer. “What do you think you can keep down?” she asked, leafing through the take out menus I had stashed there.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” I told her. “Just order from wherever you want and if I can eat it I will.”
“And if you can’t?” she asked, her eyes lifting to mine.
“Then I’ll eat one of my three staples.” My lip lifted in disgust. I was pretty sure I wasn’t even going to be able to look at Ramen again after all this. But that, the corn dogs, and Mac ‘n’ Cheese were all I seemed to be able to keep down when my morning sickness was kicking my butt.
I polished off my donut while she called in our usual orders to a local Chinese food restaurant. Motioning for her to follow, I went out to the living room and we sat. She’d tucked the phone between her ear and shoulder and was carrying a bottle of wine and a glass. I may not be able to drink wine right now, but I was just grateful my stomach seemed to be handling the snacks. I wanted to eat that whole box of pastries. There was an eclair in there calling my name, but it was best to wait to see how the donut affected me first.
“How was work?” I asked when she got off the phone.
She made a face. “The usual. May didn’t finish up mid-year reporting and it was everyone else’s fault. Never her own.”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t know how you put up with her.”
“Me either, honestly.” She waved a hand dismissively, “Enough about me. How are things going for you?”
“Fine.” I shrugged.
“I’m going to need more than fine. How are things going with Bolo?”
I laughed. “We already talked about this.”
“Over text,” she said. “I need it straight from you so I can see your face while you tell me.” She was studying me like I was a bug under a microscope.
“Actually…”
She sat up a little straighter, sensing from that one word that something new had developed, though she didn’t push. She let me consider my next words, waiting eagerly to find out what I hadn’t told her yet.
“You have to swear not to tell anyone elseanyof this.”
She frowned. “No one?”
I shook my head.
“Not Mom and Dad?”
Another head shake.
“Or the others.” The others being our sisters. Telling them was the same as telling Mom and Dad.
I shook my head even more violently. “No one, Soph.”
“Okay,” she said, worry in her gaze. “I won’t say anything.”
We didn’t keep secrets from our family, so I understood her concern. I had the same worry. “This isn’t my secret to tell, exactly.”
“I’m intrigued.” She poured herself a glass of wine.
Taking a deep breath, I just let it all spill out. It was like ripping off a bandage. Better to do all at once. It tumbled out of my mouth without pause, everything Bolo had told me about himself and his club. And that he’d had his brothers ‘looking out’ for me yesterday.
“Wait,” Soph said when I finally started to slow down. “Does that mean you’re in danger?”
“That’s what I asked. He said no, but that he wanted to make sure so he had them sitting here, watching my apartment.”
“That doesn’t sound like you’re not in danger then,” she pointed out.
“He was just being cautious.”
