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“Kane Maddox!” I stand up to my full height and pin him with an annoyed look. “When I win, I want to know it’s because I kicked your ass myself. Not because you didn’t try.”
“I’m trying, Sai,” he says in a low voice. “Just not at this game.”
He communicates so much with those few words, and suddenly I’m ready to go. We don’t say anything, we don’t need to. We put our bowling balls back, turn our shoes in and head out to my car. I start it up and turn toward Kane’s condo.
Tonight, I’m celebrating my birthday in Kane’s bed. He just doesn’t know it yet.
Chapter Twelve: Maddox
“So how about that cocktail?” I shut the door and move toward the kitchen.
“Sure,” Sailor says and follows me. It’s just one word, but do I sense a bit of flirtation in her tone? Damn, I hope so. I feel like my old self again, and definitely wouldn’t mind putting some of this pent-up energy to good use.
Sailor sidles up alongside me as I whip a couple of glasses out of the cupboard.
“What’re you making?” she asks, pressing her shoulder against my arm.
“I’ve got some whiskey, and I can add some sour mix to yours.”
“Why just mine? You aren’t going to have a Whiskey Sour?” she asks.
“No.”
“Then I’ll take mine straight, too.”
Of course she will.I smirk and pour a couple fingers worth of Jameson into each tumbler, handing one to her. As we turn to face each other, I raise my glass for a toast, and announce with a small flourish, “Happy Birthday, Sailor Moon,” then clink my glass against hers. Looking over the rim, I watch her take a sip before I do the same. The alcohol leaves a warm, fiery trail down my throat and I’m itching to pair it with one of my Tatiana cherry cigars.
“What’s your middle name?” she asks abruptly.
“Vicker,” I respond.
“Kane Vicker Maddox. Your middle name is about as strange as mine,” she says with a chuckle.
“It’s a family name. I’m guessing your mom is a free spirit?”
Sailor smiles when I mention her mom. “She is. And I love that about her. I remember asking her why she named me after some character from a Japanese graphic novel and she didn’t even know she had. She said because the moon represents feminine energy and…”
Her voice trails off and that piques my interest. “And what?” I prompt, leaning closer.
“She said the moon is a symbol of love.”
“Love? I didn’t know that.”
“Along with the sun, the moon is one half of an inseparable pair. Although they’re opposites and occupy different spaces, they’re also part of each other. They require the presence of the other to be complete. Like a pair of lovers.”
When I don’t say anything, she continues. “And even when the lovers are apart, they can both look up into the sky at the same time and know that the Moon is looking down on them, connecting them.”
I’m not much for poetry or myths, but what she’s saying is really fucking pretty. “I like that. And the name really fits you.”
Her mouth lifts in a small smile and she takes a sip of her drink.“You said your mom is still in Boston, right?”
I nod, swirling the whiskey in my glass. “She’s a teacher.”
“Sometimes you slip back into your accent, you know,” she tells me with a smirk.
“No suh,” I deny, laying the Beantown accent on thick.
Sailor bursts out laughing. “You always hide it pretty well, but it sneaks out. And it’s so cute!”
