“Sure. Prostitution is the sensible choice.”
In the back I grab my phone from the office, taking it out to the alley. John is there smoking a cigarette at the far end, deep in the shadows. He raises the burning red embers to me in silent salute before blowing a cloud to the sky. I park on my favorite pallet and check my messages.
My heart skips a beat when I find a text from Colt.
You want me to come down and handle crowd control?
He sent the message twenty minutes ago.
My fingers hover over the keys, my heart hammering in my throat.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
We’re good, thanks. And I mean that seriously – THANK YOU! From both of us.
He answers me immediately, sending my blood flying.
Anytime. Are you girls busy Saturday night?
That depends.
I figured. I’m throwing a party at my place. You should come by. Both of you.
What kind of a party?
It’s a bris. Domata’s getting his balls cut off.
That’s not how a bris works.
Tell it to his girlfriend. Will you be there?
We’ll try to make it.
I hope you do. Here’s the address. Later, Hendricks.
He sends me another message with the address in it, but I don’t reply. I sit there staring at it and I wonder if I’ll go. I wonder why I want to.
I wonder what I’ll wear.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
COLT
Palmetto Warehouse
Los Angeles, CA
“Who are you texting?” Lowry asks, leaning back into the couch to look at my screen.
I put my hand in his face as I send my address off to Lilly. “No one. Get out of my business.”
“It’s a girl?”
Tyus snorts. “Isn’t it always?”
“Not always,” I argue.
“Let’s break it down then.” Tyus ticks names off on his fingers. “I’m here. Lowry is here.” He thinks for a second before dropping his hands. “That’s it. That’s all the friends you’ve got. If it’s not us you’re talking to and it’s not your mom, it’s a girl.”
I don’t answer him. He doesn’t need me to. Son of a bitch has me dead to rights.
“It’s not Nikki again, is it?” Lowry asks, taking a sip of his beer.
I shake my head. “Nah, that’s done.”
“Since when?”
“Since she came over the other night and I told her we weren’t getting back together.”
Tyus laughs shortly. “Was that before or after she blew you?”
I shake my head. “Didn’t happen.”
“You’re lying.”
“Nope. I thought I was going to sleep with her one last time, but I couldn’t do it. I told her we were finished for good.”
“And you didn’t fuck her?”
“What’d I just say?”
“Nah, man, I’m proud of you if that’s true ‘cause she’ll claim your shit like Christopher Columbus. Violently and against your will. You just got clear of her, man. Don’t do it again.”
“I’m not.”
“Good.”
“So she’s single?” Lowry asks.
I chuckle. “If you think you’re man enough to ride that ride, go ahead. You’re welcome to her.”
He nods his head, looking back to the game on the TV. “I’ll think about it.”
“Better think fast,” Tyus warns him. “She never stays single for long.”
“Yeah, neither does Avery. That’s probably who he was texting. Nikki’s replacement.”
“Lilly,” I tell him, my voice taking on more steel than I intended. I shake out my arm, throwing it over the back of the couch casually. “Her name is Lilly.”
Tyus is looking at me with interest. “Is that the girl from the party? The one you didn’t fuck in the closet?”
“Pantry, and yeah. That’s her.”
Tyus doesn’t say anything else about it, but he’s thinking. He’s watching me, and I want to leave to get away from his stare. Dude sees too much.
Three hours later the Saints admit defeat to the Browns. It’s a garbage game between two garbage teams that we’ve already beaten this year, and I’m glad when it’s done. When the guys leave and my apartment is mine again. It was a late game. I started feeling tired toward the end when the clock crept toward ten, but the second I close the door behind them I feel anxious. I feel that energy in my blood that I get when I’m alone.
I hate that feeling. I hate it so much I actually consider playing Russian Roulette with my phone again.
Instead I do something even crazier.
I’m actually nervous as the phone rings. I can’t remember the last time that happened.
She answers on the third ring. “Hello?”
“Are you a dog person?”
Lilly pauses. “Colt?”
“Kat wants to know.”
“Your cat wants to know if I’m a dog person?”
“K-A-T. Kat is a dog. She’s named after Kit Kats.”
“That is so random.”
“It’s not. Kit Kats are my favorite.”
Kat’s ears twitch every time I say her name. She’s going to pounce on me soon if I keep this up.
“Then why wouldn’t you call her Kit?” Lilly asks.
“Because her name is Kat.”
“Right. Of course.”
“You didn’t answer the question.”
“Am I a dog person? Yeah,” she answers amiably. “I love dogs. Cats are okay too.”