Larry grunted at this comment then gave Bailey another fake smile. “It was nice meeting you.”
“Sure, old timer. I’m out of here. I’ll be back to pick up Lark on Friday evening. Don’t make me scream at you again or I’m pulling my gun next time.”
Done with her threats, Bailey strutted to the front door while wearing her duckface. I followed her outside then hugged her.
“Thank you.”
“You give great hugs,” Bailey said, softening in my embrace. “My mom gives great hugs too.”
“You’re awesomesauce and I’ll make this up to you one day.”
“No worries,” Bailey said, smiling softly after the hug ended. “I like helping people. It’s fun. I also like screaming. With that fuckwad, I got to do both. It’s been a good day.”
Hugging her again, I didn’t care if Larry was rude the rest of the night or if Margo gave me a lecture. All I knew was I had a weekend to see Aaron. I just hoped he really meant he would wait.
Chapter Eighteen - Aaron
Cooper had decked out the basement of his suburban house as a teenage boy’s dream. Home theater at one end and videogames at the other with a pool table in the middle. Farah was the one who seemed to enjoy the table the most and she hit a ball into the corner pocket.
Cooper slid up behind her and rubbed his groin against her butt.
“When we have kids, you’re teaching them to play pool,” he said in her ear. “I want them sending assholes into tears by beating them so badly.”
“You made less sense when you’re horny.”
“I’d feel sorry for you, if you weren’t the one wearing these shorts. Damn.”
For a minute, I thought they might fuck on the table with me standing awkwardly nearby. Fortunately, they remembered I existed and smiled at me in unison. Great, they really were sharing a brain now.
“Domestication isn’t always pretty,” I muttered, sitting in a chair and watching Farah take another shot.
“Dude, forgot to mention…” Cooper said, losing his train of thought as Farah bent over.
Farah finished for him, again proving they shared a brain. “Lark told her jerk stepdad that she’s spending the weekend with Bailey. She’d like to sneak over and spend it with you instead.”
Bolting to my feet, I nearly came out of my skin. “I’ve been here for a fucking hour and you never mentioned this?”
Farah frowned at me. “Coop wanted to be the one to tell you. Don’t blame me for his short attention span. And don’t yell at me either.”
“Want me to smack him, baby?” Cooper asked, nuzzling his groin against her waist. “I’ll do it for a small fee.”
“He yelled at your woman. Kick his ass for free, Coop.”
Awaking from his horniness, Cooper glared at me. “Apologize or I crush your face.”
“Fuck off. You should have told me about Lark as soon as I got here.”
“I’m not one to gossip,” Cooper said, eyeing Farah’s ass as she bent over.
“Twenty minutes ago, you told me about Bailey’s date with a stoner. Before that, you told me about the rumor that some chick I don’t even know is doing a professor.”
“Instructor,” Cooper clarified. “You know we don’t let them call themselves professors. Can’t let those fuckers get too uppity.”
“Whatever, man. You fucking gossip, but you didn’t tell me about Lark.”
“I was going to make a big deal out of it, but forgot. I’ve been trying to make a baby and it takes a lot out of me.”
When Farah glanced at me and rolled her eyes, I couldn’t help laughing.
“You’re an idiot,” I told Cooper who shrugged again.
“Hey, didn’t I tell you that Lark was your girl and she would find a way back to you? I’m too fucking perfect sometimes. Wise like Aristotle or Yoda.”
Farah turned and wrapped her arms around him. “I feel fertile.”
“Wisdom turns you on, doesn’t it, baby?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Go,” I waved at them before taking the shot Farah had long forgotten. “I’ll wait for you to finish your fertility rituals then you can return and tell me the plan for the weekend. Oh, and feed me too. I was promised barbecue.”
Cooper picked up Farah under the butt and started for the stairs. “Soon, you’ll be walking around with a horny woman in your arms,” Cooper yelled to me as he disappeared.
Smiling, I thought of Lark sneaking over to my place. Not for a few hours, but the whole weekend. That wasn’t the move of a girl testing the waters. That was the move of a girl staking her claim. Little Lark had taken her punch.
Chapter Nineteen - Lark
Bailey parked her SUV in the alley behind Aaron’s house. I noticed a small building just past the tall wooden fence with a house farther into the property. I’d seen this part of Ellsberg before and the homes were old craftsmen style bungalows. Some were rundown while others were fixed up and modernized.