Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 71610 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71610 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 358(@200wpm)___ 286(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
“Thanks, Tom. You can still move out with me you know!”
“Pledgin’ the club, Monkey,” he reminds me, using the nickname he gave me over fifteen years ago when I’d climb up in his lap and hang upside down over his legs, watching cartoons.
“Whatever. I’m going to miss you,” I tell him, honestly.
He pulls me into his arms and hugs me tight. I wrap my arms around him, close my eyes and breathe his scent in deep as we embrace.
“Love you,” he whispers.
“Love you too, Tom,” I respond just as quietly.
“Hey, where’s mine,” Dom growls in his deep voice. I pull out of Tom’s arms to look up at him and laugh. I take the shirt he has slung over his shoulder and throw it back at him.
“Put your shirt on before Keanna trips over her own tongue.”
“Hey, I’m just admiring the goods. Don’t you listen to her Dom, baby. It’d be a crime to wrap that chocolate bar back up,” she flirts.
Dom just shakes his head at Keanna, but he puts his shirt on—and I’m grateful.
“I’m going to miss you too, Dom,” I tell him and give him a hug.
“Is Dad going to hand me my ass when he discovers you moved out while him and Mom are gone for Aunt Dani’s birthday party?”
“Oh stop. You know yourself Dad and Mom checked out my apartment last week and gave me the okay before they left.”
“Yeah, but I don’t think Dad realized you were planning on moving this quick,” Tom grumbles.
“It’s not my fault the previous tenant moved out a month earlier than expected. It’d be silly to let the place stay empty when I’m dying to move into it!”
“I still don’t think Dad is going to be happy,” Dom warns.
He’s right of course. Dad may have agreed to me moving out, but I’m sure he thought he would work on talking me out of it, while I lived at home for another month. I don’t tell Dom that however.
“You two going to come have dinner with me in my new digs Saturday?”
“Are you cooking?” Dom laughs.
I roll my eyes. I can’t boil water and we all know it—they just never let me forget it.
“I thought we could order pizza,” I laugh.
“In that case, sure.”
“Do it Friday,” Keanna whines. “I have to work Saturday.”
“Saturday it is,” Dom responds.
I shake my head at him as Keanna huffs.
“That’s not nice,” I scold him.
“Your girl is a freak, Monkey,” Dom replies back.
“A freak in the sheets,” Keanna says, sticking her tongue out. “You’d be so lucky, chocolate drop,” she adds as she walks around to the driver’s side door.
“I’m a one-woman man, Kee-Kee and she’s already in place,” Dom laughs.
“I don’t see a ring on your hand,” Keanna grumbles.
“It’s complicated,” Dom responds, with a shrug.
“Because you’re afraid of her Dad?” I whisper where only Dom can hear me.
“Let it go, Sis.”
“You wait much longer and you’ll have competition,” I warn him, louder this time.
“From… From … who?” Tom asks, surprisingly he stutters, something he rarely does these days unless he’s upset.
I look at him surprised to see the alarm on his face. Is the reason Dom hasn’t made a move on Gabby because Thomas likes her?
Yikes. That’s a whole other can of worms.
“Brandon Lavers,” I answer.
“Where’d you hear this?” Dom says, his voice as menacing as any I’ve heard my father use.
“Saw him putting the moves on her today at Weavers, while her and Jazz were eating.”
“We’ll see about that,” he growls and starts to walk away.
“Dom don’t get into trouble…”
“We’ll see you at dinner Saturday, Monkey,” he responds, not bothering to look at me. I slide into Keanna’s car, frowning.
“I think you just bought Brandon an old-fashioned ass whoopin’, girl.”
I look at Keanna and sigh.
“You might be right. I should probably call and warn Gabby.”
“Warn her that she’s about to have three men fighting over her? That lucky bitch don’t need a warning. She needs us to bring her a bottle of wine that we all can drink while enjoying the show,” Keanna says with her usual snark.
“Let’s just go get the last of my shit in the apartment, can we?”
“I guess, but my idea is better,” she mutters, starting up her vehicle.
“Whatever,” I respond, thinking I really better check in with Gabby later. I don’t get a good feeling about the tension I saw on Thomas’s face. If her and Dom aren’t careful, they could really hurt him.
2
Chains
I pull into the parking lot of a small dive bar called The Den. It doesn’t stand out. It’s got brown wood siding, a neon sign standing high in a graveled parking lot, and a bouncer sitting at the front door. You could find the same exact place in any town, U.S.A. Hell, I’ve probably been in most of them. The only thing different about this one is that I’ll be crashing in the back room for a couple of weeks.