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“I took care of the contract. They should be delivering your carefully worded response declining his invitation to whatever he had in mind. I took care of it. You don’t have to see him again unless you want to tackle that house. If you do, I recommend taking a team of people with you. Get in. Get out. Get done. Charge double,” Jake rambled.
“Thank you for that,” she mumbled against the table.
She really hoped Max washed this table. She didn’t want to think about all the germs her face was lying on. On the other hand, she would be sick in bed if she caught something. Everyone would leave her alone. Hospitalization could be a viable option to escape the insanity that descended upon her life in the form of Army Ken.
“Why are you not happier about that?”
“Drink this,” Max commanded, setting a glass in front of her and filling it.
Angelina lifted her head off the table enough to see what he was doing. “Bless you.”
“Oh damn,” Jake frowned. “It’s top-shelf tequila bad?”
“Did you hear about it?” Angelina didn’t wait for Max to answer. She downed the shot, relishing the burn.
Max grunted and refilled her glass.
“Suppose all of town heard? People had to be busy today. I mean, people work. Not everyone has time to stop and gossip.”
“Oh Lord,” Jake snatched her glass before she could down the second one.
“That is mine,” Angelina complained.
Smacking the empty glass back on the table, Jake nodded. “Okay. What happened?”
“Your girl has another man,” Max told him.
“Who? Reginald? How do you know? As both of your boyfriends, why am I the last to know?”
Max refilled the glass. Angelina was quicker this time. She downed the shot, wondering how their plan had gone off the rails. It was only a matter of time before Jake’s dad heard all the rumors. Not only would Jake’s peace be obliterated, but she would be labeled as the town tramp. It wouldn’t surprise her if he got her a red A to pin on her shirt. She didn’t know if there was an updated version. Maybe she could get an S, or a W. T is also a possibility.
“Sweetness,” Jake pleaded, gently squeezing her hands in his. “You need to talk out loud if you want me to understand what is going on. I can’t help if you hold this conversation in your head.”
“I was just thinking about all the letters your father will buy to pin on my shirt. It could be the original A. There is a more creative path. S for slut. W for whore. T for tramp. The list could go on and on. He could always switch it up from day to day. I could be an attraction for the town. What letter is she wearing today? We could make it into a game. Social media would go nuts. I could go viral.”
“Angelina Davis,” Jake smacked her hand. “You do not say things like that about yourself. There is nothing wrong with having a healthy sex drive. I was late for work this morning. Want to guess why?”
Max grinned as he filled the glass again. “Worth it.”
“Blew my mind,” Jake grinned. “Thought about it all day. That thing you did with the-”
“How are you two so relaxed when our world is about to blow up?” She cried, shocking them both into silence.
Jake and Max shared an intimate look before Jake pushed the shot toward her.
“Drink up,” he urged. “Then tell me why the world is ending.”
Twenty minutes, four shots, and a few tears later, Angelina got it all out.
“Huh,” Jake sat back in his seat.
“Want me to go beat some sense into him?” Max offered.
“We might need to save that for later, my love. Let me see if I have this right. Your father left on another one of his see-the-world trips. Ben thinks he is in charge because your father asked him to watch over you. The yummy-looking soldier has decided to lay claim on sweet little you. The delivery failure is running his mouth after your new man almost made him pee on the floor. Everyone in town is talking. Now I understand why people are staring at us.”
“Oh God,” Angelina whined. “People are staring? Just hand me a letter.”
“Fuck ‘em,” Max shrugged.
