That’s when he adds vaguely, “Assault and battery of a police officer.”
My lips purse. Yeah. That’d do it.
Rolling up a slice of prosciutto, I fiddle with it longer than I should. “And the tattoos?”
He shrugs. “I got my first one at juvenile hall when I was fourteen. Then it became an addiction.” He wiggles his brows at the word addiction. “We didn’t have the right tools to make em look any good though. We used pins and pen ink. More often than not, they got infected.” He laughs, “A lot of the basic tattoos I had covered with new ones, but I still have some that mean something to me. They’re important. I keep ‘em to make sure I don’t forget.”
Although my mind grips me by the shoulders and shakes me while screeching, “Forget what? Ask him! Please, ask him!” I don’t ask. It seems too much for tonight; so with a smile, I let the conversation drift into a comfortable silence while we eat.
Finishing up our meal, I sink further into my chair and Twitch laughs. I’m rapidly falling into a food coma. When I spot Joe coming towards us with yet another plate, I mock sob and tell him as he approaches, “No more. Please. No more. If I eat one more bite, I’ll burst. Then you’ll have to clean up all the bits of Lexi around the place, and I’m sure that would be a safety hazard, not to mention wasting a crap load of delicious food that I wish to keep in my belly.”
Lifting my drowsy eyes to both men looking at me through crinkled eyes, I mutter, “It’s true. That would be tragic.”
Joe places the plate in front of Twitch, along with the bill, and I watch Twitch eat the entire piece of Tiramisu on his own while watching me. He places a few hundred dollar bills under the plate, reaches out to me, and helps me stand.
Linking our fingers, he pulls me close to his side. People watching us would be able to see we’re together. And I like that thought.
Walking me over to his sleek, sporty black Mercedes, he helps me in before seating himself. Once inside, he reaches over me and delves into the glove compartment. Taking out a small tin, he opens it, and my eyes widen in shock. Leaning over to him, I whisper-hiss, “Are you seriously rolling a doobie?”
Twitch’s body shakes in silent laughter. “They haven’t been called doobies in about ten years, babe. But yeah, I am.”
Suddenly, I feel like a cheerleader being caught out with the town ruffian. Looking over at me, his lip twitches as he states, “I bet you’ve never even smoked before.”
My face bunches in annoyance at his baiting. “Yes, I have, thank you very much. I was a teen once upon a time.”
He grins, holding out the unlit joint to me. I stare at it a long while before shaking my head. “I can’t. We get random drug tests at work.”
Twitch grins harder, “It’ll spend a day in your system. Is it a saliva test kit?” I nod and he leans closer to me, “Get high with me. I’d love to see you loose. Be loose with me tonight.”
Dipping my chin, my face heats.
I must look like a complete nerd.
Not letting me dim his party, he lights the joint and breathes in deeply. The pungent smell fills the air in the car and my mouth waters.
Turning to him, he holds his breath, the smoke along with it, and watches me through hooded eyes. My brain sizzles, then stops working. Unable to help myself, I lean over to him. He meets me halfway. So close that our lips touch, I close my eyes and part my lips. He exhales slowly, and I inhale, taking in the sweet, strong-tasting smoke.
I hold it in for what seems like forever.
My head spins and my eyes blink in slow motion.
Finally exhaling, I turn to the gorgeous man, looking at his dimly-lit face and ask, “Where are we going now?”
Without turning to me, he starts the car and responds, “Tonight, we party.”
Driving up the long driveway to my house, I park and notice Lexi spying all the cars that line the sides of the drive. It’s been a while since we threw a social party at the house between friends. Happy said we were overdue, and Ling seconded the motion. So here we are. Party central at my place.
I feel like I’m arriving at a party without an invitation, considering I don’t know who will be here. I let them sort the guest list.
A party guest list by me would include maybe ten people. Not much of a party, I guess.
What can I say? I don’t trust people. At the best of times, I don’t even like people.
Parking the car, I move to exit the car when Lexi tugs on my sleeve. “Before we go in, can I please talk to you about something?”