Page 57 of Rigid

He looked the other direction.

I nodded. “You’re good.”

“Give him a chance,” he said. “Since he asked you to move in, has he done anything stupid?”

“No.”

He wadded up the napkin and placed it in the center of the table. “He’s probably committed himself to this.”

“You think?”

“I hope so.”

“But you don’t know?”

He let out a sigh. “Assume he has until he does or says something to convince you otherwise. If he is committed, I’m sure you’ll see subtle differences in how he acts. Little signs. He may become possessive of you. If he does, it’s a good sign.”

I nodded slowly as I thought about what he said. “Are you ready?”

“You’re not going to eat your cone?” he asked.

I scrunched my nose. “It’s gross.”

He scooped the trash from the table, stood, and then reached for my cone. “Commit yourself, and assume he’s done the same. You’ll know pretty soon if he’s committed.”

“Why do you say that?”

“He’s an alpha. Guys like him are possessive. He’ll show you in no time if he’s committed.”

I’d never had a guy be possessive of me, and wondered just how I’d react if Smokey ended up being so. As Craig threw away the cone, I decided I’d just have to wait and see what the future held.

“I hope when he does that I can see it,” I said.

“He’s a tattooed biker that rides with who? The Filthy Fuckers?” He chuckled. “You’ll see it.”

EIGHTEEN

Smokey

The last few days had been a whirlwind of happenings. With my mind elsewhere, Eddie’s birthday crept up on me like a sickness. We had our typical small gathering to celebrate the event, and my stomach was in knots the entire time. As she opened her gifts, my mind filled with visions of installing a revolving door for the boys who were going to come ask permission to take her on out on dates.

Wearing a silver and pink cardboard cone birthday hat he brought himself, P-Nut pushed a neatly-wrapped present across the table. “Do this one first.”

She looked at his hat, rolled her eyes, and accepted the gift. After a good shake, she looked at him again. “Why this one?”

“Don’t shake the motherfucker, Eddie!” His eyes widened comically as he adjusted his hat. “You’ll kill it.”

She looked at Nut and cocked her eyebrow. “Do we cuss in the house, P-Nut?”

He lowered his head, feigning shame. “Sorry, Ed. I got excited.”

She shook the box lightly. “It’s alive?”

His eyebrows slowly raised. “It was when I brought it through the door. Doubt it still is, though. Not after all that. Their little bones are brittle.”

She lifted the small box repeatedly, as if trying to guess the weight. “What is it?”

“Reptile,” he said flatly.