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“I’ve been busy,” I tell him, trying to convey in my expression that I’d prefer not to talk about it.
Not that I wouldn’t mind bragging about the gorgeous woman whose bed I’ve been sleeping in for past three nights. Strictly sleeping. Nothing else. Well, light cuddling, but that hardly counts for anything. She was so shaken up after receiving that voodoo doll. Then there was the shady-looking delivery guy insisting that he had a delivery for her apartment.
He was a greasy man, someone who looked like he ate all of the pizzas he delivered. There was a glint in his eye I didn’t like, and I was glad I was there, that I’d answered the door. Whatever is happening between Melissa and me, I’m not okay with her being harassed. It’s become a pattern in her life since we’ve met, and I know that no one is going to mess with her when I’m around.
It’s hard to believe that a few minutes before she got that voodoo doll, I was planning on ghosting her. Now I’m basically living with her.No, Bones, don’t go there.Because that would be too much like being in a relationship with her. I take a long sip of my whiskey sour and let the alcohol warm me. Melissa isn’t my problem and I’m not her bodyguard. But I’m allowed to be a concerned friend, and that’s all this is. I’m just a concerned friend.
“You’ve been getting busy?” Gator asks, overhearing our conversation. “Because I’ve heard—”
Istand up and get in his face, towering over him. “What is it you’ve heard?” I growl in his face.
“Don’t get your panties in a wad.” He chuckles, poking me in the chest. “We all knew you’d cave eventually.”
“I haven’t caved,” I protest, stepping away from him and sitting back down on the barstool. “Don’t be an idiot, Gator.”
“Are you sure?” asks Hemlock, smirking at me. “Because the way I see it, you’ve been spending an awful lot of time at the youth center lately. Seer’s been calling me nonstop to pick up extra shifts.”
“You’re welcome for the work,” I say, flipping him off. “There’s nothing weird about a little volunteering. You’d know that if you got your head out my ass.”
“I’m more curious about whose ass you have your head in,” he quips back, and it takes all of my willpower not to punch him in the face.
“Watch it,” Buffy tells him seriously. “Or I’m cutting you off.”
“That’s cool.” Hemlock laughs. “I’m sloshed anyway.”
“I’m cutting you off for the month,” Buffy says with a stern expression. “Leave Bones alone. He’s entitled to his secrets.”
“We’re well aware, mon frere.” Gator smirks. “Bones is the most secretive person I’ve ever met. I don’t know what the hell he does when he’s not here, and it keeps me up at night.”
“The thought of you marrying an alligator keeps me up at night,” I push. “Personally, I don’t want to be invited to that wedding.”
“Damn, if I’d known that, I could’ve saved on postage.” He smiles, taking in my ribs good-naturedly.
Normally, I can shrug them off just as easily. This is the nature of a brotherhood like ours. We mess with each other on a regular basis because that’s what brothers do. There are pranks and jabs and a shit-ton of teasing. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I’m instigating it. When it comes to Melissa, though, I’m so damn sensitive. I can’t put a finger on what it is, but I know I don’t want to share her with anyone else. Not even in jest.
“What’s your flower girl going to be?” Hemlock asks, picking up on the new thread of conversation. “A bullfrog?”
“No,” Gator says in a very serious tone. “The bullfrog is going to be my ring bearer. This is a classy affair.”
They break out into hoots of laughter, but I’m not in the mood to join them. I’m not in the mood for much, to be honest. Maybe it was a mistake coming home. Maybe I should have gone to some random bar where I could’ve been anonymous and not get asked questions about my sex life. My currently nonexistent sex life—not that they’re ever going to know that.
Frankly, my mind is too preoccupied with thoughts of Melissa to care what topic the conversation shifts to next. While I could be thinking about how well her body fits against mine when we’re sleeping, I’m more concerned with how safe she is right now. I came home because I know she’s working, and the youth center is fairly safe. Besides the fact that she’s now been harassed there twice.
Shit, what was I thinking? Even with all the security measures that were instituted after the vandalism last year, she’s not safe. What if it is a parent harassing her? Despite what she said the other night, I’m not totally convinced that there isn’t some deranged stalker parent. We watched a few episodes of a dance studio reality show, and it was truly eye-opening about what some parents can be like.
Then there’s the fact that she’s gorgeous. Any dad at the center, married or not, could easily become obsessed with her. They all have their own access codes, they can get in during business hours. I set my drink down and get up, ignoring Gator and Hemlock as they continue to prattle on about some seriously stupid shit. Now they’re talking about what they would be reincarnated as if they could come back as drugs. I need smarter friends.
I’m just about to leave when I see Seer walk through the front door. He looks at me in surprise, the same way Juliana looked at me when she saw me in Melissa’s class. But he shouldn’t be surprised to see me, I live here.
“Who are you again?” he asks sarcastically, motioning for me to follow him.
“Ha ha,” I say dryly. “A man can’t take a few days off.”
“Of course a man can.” He smirks. “But you haven’t taken a vacation in ten years. I’m not used to you being gone.”
“I’m sorry, Seer,” I tell him honestly. “I don’t mean to shirk my responsibilities here, there’s just some things going on.”
“Oh, I know,” he says as we enter his office. When he turns to face me, his smile could light up Times Square. I want to sink into the carpet because I know he knows. He’s looking way too pleased with himself.
