Page 80 of Devil’s Disciples

“Were you and your aunt close?”

He grinned. “She raised me.”

“Is she still alive?”

“Alive and well in Montana. She lives an easy life. Last time I was there, she had no television, no internet, and no desire to embrace technology. I used to walk from her house to town. It was five miles. Run is more like it. I did it in Chucks.”

“You ran five miles in Chucks?”

He raked his fingers through his hair and grinned. “Pretty much every day.”

“What brought you here?”

“Me and a bunch of friends decided Southern California would be more receptive to our way of living life than Great Falls Montana. I was a pretty wild kid, and spent a lot of time in trouble. Doing dumb shit in Montana gets a kid arrested every time. Doing dumb shit in Southern California gets overlooked.”

“So, you and your friends moved here?”

He nodded, sending several strands of hair falling over his eyes. “Four of ‘em. Right after high school.”

“Are they still here?’

“Yep.”

“Do you get to see them?”

“They work for me.”

“Oh wow. That’s cool.”

“Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t. Friends can get annoying. They tend to hold your past over your head just to remind you of it.” He stretched his legs, stood, and extended his arm. “Coffee?”

I smiled and reached for his hand. “Sure.”

When I stood, I looked at the Grandfather clock that sat beside the turntable. It was almost one o’ clock in the morning, and I had to work the next day. I didn’t want the night to end, but I felt coffee might not be in my best interest.

“Does that clock tell accurate time?”

“It sure does.”

“It’s almost one.” I gave an apologetic look. “Maybe no coffee.”

He glanced at the clock, and then sighed. “Would you want to…” He brushed my hair behind my left ear. “Do you want to sleep over.”

Until that point, I was sure the night couldn’t have been any better. It wasn’t the first time in my life I’d been wrong.

“Stay all night?” I asked excitedly.

He did the same thing in the left side of my face. “Yeah.”

“I would. I have to work in the morning, though.”

“Well.” He gestured toward his bedroom. “We better get to bed.”

He must have been expecting to ask me, because he had a brand-new toothbrush for me to use. When we were both done with our end of the night rituals, he walked into his closet and quickly returned with a pair of sweat shorts and a tee shirt.

He handed them to me. “Might not fit great, but you can wear those to bed if you’d like.”

I was hoping to cuddle naked, but I accepted his offer. “Okay.”