Page 30 of Joey

“And then I said—”

“You said, ‘Hey,’” Joey says. “‘This is making me hungry. Let’s go grab some lunch.’”

“No,” I say, laughing. “That’s not how it went.” And now I’m looking at Huck. “I said, ‘Let’s call this one BoBo. Because he looks like a dog I used to play Frisbee with in City Park.’ And Joey said, ‘I had a dog named BoBo once.’ And I said, ‘Me too! Holy shit! We’re like… total soul mates or something!’”

“And then I said,” Huck says, “‘Can we have a foursome? Because this girl’s a keeper.’”

Everyone laughs. Even Wald.

“And then I said,” Joey says, “‘Fuck you, Huck. Get your own goldfish girl.’”

“And that’s how I got my nickname. Goldfish girl.” I pan my arms wide and smile. “So… that, my new scam team, is what you call an origin story. It could use some polishing. But not bad, right?”

All three of them look at each other. Finally, Wald smiles and nods and says, “I think she’ll do.”

CHAPTER NINE - JOEY

Brooke Alder.

I like her. Huck and Wald like her too. In fact, I think Huck might like her a lot. We’re up in Wald’s penthouse and Brooke and Huck are out on the patio laughing as they come up with more lies. Huck has decided that their shared memories are just as important as ours.

I can’t say I disagree.

Huck, Wald and I have been inseparable for over a decade. So it stands to reason that if Brooke has been around for a few years we’re all pretty tight.

But I’m taking her house-hunting this afternoon. We need to get that settled. I have my bank on alert because if we find something we’re buying it cash.

It’s already Tuesday and I only have four days left before I finally get to meet Maisy. I need to be ready. I want this to go perfect.

“Hey,” Wald says. He’s standing in the kitchen fucking around on his laptop.

“What’s up?”

“There’s this guy I know. He makes fake memories.”

“What do you mean? Like we’re doing right now?”

“No… like pictures. Proof, you know. I mean it’s mostly not on the up and up. People looking for alibis, I would imagine. But what if we hired him to, you know, make us some memories? A record of it. Trips to Paris and shit like that?”

“Can’t hurt, right?”

“I think it’s a good idea,” Wald says.

“I do too,” Huck says.

Wald and I both turn our heads to find Huck standing in the open terrace doorway. “I was coming in here to tell you guys that I think we need socials.”

“Aw, fuck that,” Wald says. “You know how much I hate socials. It’s just not a good idea to announce your fucking private shit everywhere.”

“I know, I know,” Huck says. “But everyone does it.”

“Everyone but us.” I laugh.

“We should get socials and backdate that shit for the past three years. Maybe don’t get all fucking crazy. But we should put something up there. Believe me, they’re gonna be looking at that shit.”

“Do you even know how to do that?” Wald asks.

“I don’t,” Huck says. “But remember that chick we met in Okinawa? She does this kinda of shit.”