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Adele’s eyes light up. Carly clears her throat and Adele looks at her. They share a smile.
“Really?” Aiden asks.
My phone chimes, so I look down again.
Jada: Don’t tease me or I’ll have to wash the tub and floors now.
I ignore the twitching in my fingers with the urge to warn her against doing that but instead I put my phone away and fight getting hard as the images that ran through my brain when I read from her story play again.
“Auz?” Aiden asks.
“Hm?” I ask.
“You’re texting with Jada?” he asks. “Jada that you said you couldn’t stand? With a goofy grin on your face?”
I say nothing.
He waits.
No one else says anything; I’ve got a captive audience.
“She wanted to know how Dad was doing.”
“Looked like you two were sharing a joke,” Adele observes.
“We were,” I say casually.
“So, you’re getting along now?” Carly asks.
“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” I say casually.
“Good,” Dirk throws in. “It’d suck to share an apartment with someone you don’t like.”
Carly busts up laughing.
Aiden leans over and kisses her throat and then whispers something I don’t catch.
She giggles some more. “Yeah, yeah, Hot Sauce. You and your Siberia-sized ego. Whatever.”
“Listen here, Mrs. Hot Sauce,” he says and then he leans forward some more and whispers something else and then he leans back.
“Okay, everyone. Party’s over. Time to go home,” Carly says. “We’re suddenly very, very tired.” She fakes a yawn.
Adele laughs.
“Just kidding. Really, anyone want another drink?” Carly points at Aiden. “I’ll deal with you, later.”
“Ooh,” Aiden replies, staring at her ass as she heads to the counter with her empty glass as well as Adele’s.
There’s pounding against their door. Aiden heads over to answer it.
I fetch my phone and reply to Jada.
Me: Don’t you dare. Or there will be very serious penalties.”
“Penalties for what?” Adele is reading over my shoulder.
“Hey! Fuck off,” I say and laugh.
My phone chimes again and Jada has sent me an emoji of a tongue sticking out.
“What’s goin’ on, Auzzie?” Adele leans over some more as I pocket my phone. “Are you fighting with her or flirting with her? She’s stickin’ her tongue out at you.”
“With Jada, same difference,” I whisper.
Adele’s eyes go round and then she’s about to speak when I hush her.
“Not sure where it’s goin’,” I shrug. “But we’re havin’ some fun.”
“It should go straight to the church is where it should go. She’s perfect for you. And for me. I love her. So does Carly.”
“Fuck, you’re already tanked. You’ve had one drink,” I say.
Adele laughs and messes up my hair.
Ally Kingston is coming in. Her long dreadlocks are gone and now her hair is pink again. So are her eyes. She looks upset.
“Excuse us,” Carly says as she marches Ally down the hall toward the bedroom, pulling over the pocket doors.
“Can I come?” Adele shouts before the doors are completely closed.
Ally looks over her shoulder at us and nods. “Bring alcohol.”
Adele jumps up, grabs the wine bottle off the table and dashes to the kitchen cupboard for another glass. She runs down the hall and is back a second later for a second trip for hers and Carly’s glasses.
“Carly said to do the dishes. We’ll be out soon,” Adele adds.
Aiden’s face falls. “The dishes?”
“C’mon. We’ll clean up together,” I say and get to my feet.
“Shit,” Aiden grumbles.
Aiden reaches then, for his pocket and pulls out the phone and looks to the screen. “Oh. Got a call.”
“Likely story,” Dirk says sarcastically.
“Dude, look.”
It actually does say Jude Calling so Dirk waves his hand and Aiden heads toward the balcony door.
“Hey Jude,” he greets as he steps outside onto the balcony.
Dirk and I exchange glances.
“Perfect timing for Aiden,” Dirk says. “Guy goes out of his way to avoid any domestic chores whatsoever.”
I laugh. “I’ll wash, you dry.”
***
Evidently there’s an issue between Ally and Jude who are sharing an apartment in this building, a few floors down. The apartment she used to share with Meryl.
Funny how that thought doesn’t have me turning sour for a change. Maybe it’s because of what Adele told me about what happened after Meryl went home and had to take care of her sick father. It has me thinking maybe I should’ve read the rest of her email, saw what she had to say, and given her the facetime to talk to me in St. Kitts. All I read was,
I’m sorry. I have to go. My parents are expecting me to marry him and-
That’s when I deleted it. I didn’t read the rest.
And maybe it’s more than what Adele said that has the thought of Meryl not making me clench my jaw. Maybe it’s about the girl in New York who’s probably looking at her phone, biting her lip, and wondering if she should text me some more.
A girl like that… is she what I need?
She doesn’t even live in the same city as me. And she’s got baggage. Baggage doesn’t generally scare me and right now I’ve got a fuck of a lot more baggage than most people.
