“Admit what?” he snapped.
“That either she’s a damn good guitarist, or you want her pussy bad enough to risk everything we’ve built. Same as me. Same as Rich.”
That vein in his forehead looked ready to burst as our staring contest intensified. He couldn’t choose, and I, honest to God, had no clue why. It was like someone held him by his heel when he was a child and dipped his complicated ass in a pool of angst, much like Thetis did Achilles in the River Styx.
I figured if anyone could crack that wall, it was Braxton. Maybe that’s why he was afraid of her.
“Pussy,” I muttered when I caught Braxton making her way over to us while carrying a tray topped with our drinks.
None of us said a word as she set our drinks on the table along with a basket of bread. “Can I start you off with something to sample, or would you like more time to look over the menu?”
Although most of the six menu choices looked foreign even to me, we each rambled off what we wanted. Somehow this world had gotten even more pretentious since I was kicked out of it years ago, and I didn’t think that was possible.
“Okay, I’ll be back—”
“Wait,” Rich interrupted before she could run off again. “Stay.”
Braxton shifted from one foot to the other before chewing on her plump lower lip. “I can’t. I’m working.”
“We obviously know that,” I reminded her. “That’s why we’re here.”
“So you purposely came to distract me from my job? You do realize I almost got fired.”
“In our defense, no one made you be a bitch,” Houston piped in, making me wince. He was definitely the pot in this scenario, but I said nothing since we were on the same side for once.
“Excuse me?” Braxton blinked as she took a step back from the table. It was hard to believe she was that appalled.
“You heard me.”
“You ambushed me. Again. What did you expect?”
“Hi?” Houston suggested with a smirk. He was in rare form today since his weapon of choice was indifference. “Maybe hello?”
Nostrils flaring, Braxton stormed off without another word.
“Could have gone better,” I mused out loud. “This next round, I’m going to try to get her in my lap. Think she’ll go for it?”
Houston and Rich both looked at me and spoke at the same time. “Shut up, Loren.”
Thirty minutes later, Braxton returned with our food, but she didn’t give us time to apologize or make things worse before she stormed off again. A starry-eyed waiter refilled our drinks minutes later, and we took turns signing his notepad at his request before he practically skipped away. Braxton still hadn’t shown her face by the time we were done eating.
“What I wouldn’t give for a cheeseburger right now,” I said after I topped off my fish that was smaller than my fist. The food cost so much they didn’t even bother to list the prices. Apparently, if you had to ask, you had no business dining here.
“Do you think she left?” Rich asked the moment he swallowed the last of his food. At that moment, Braxton appeared, her face flushed and coated with sweat like she’d just run a mile. I noticed her dress was wrinkled at the hem, making me frown. “Are you okay?” he asked when she couldn’t seem to catch her breath.
“Yes. My apologies. Would you like dessert?”
“Are you on the menu?” I flirted.
“You shouldn’t ask questions you already know the answer to. Shall I bring the checks?”
“Rich got it,” I answered. Since this was his idea, he could pay for the fucking food. Braxton looked at him for confirmation, to which he gave with a nod of his head. She scurried off, and like all the times before, I watched her go. I wondered if she knew that dress was tight enough to tell that she was no longer wearing panties.
Oh, hell yeah.I know your secret.
I stared at the text message from the unknown number. My heart pounding inside my chest seemed loud to my ears as I walked to the bus stop. My shift was over, and my feet were killing me. The concrete pavement seemed to turn my heels into daggers as I practically limped down the sidewalk. Needing a distraction, I decided to text back.
Who is this?
The response was immediate, like they were just waiting for me to ask.
The reason you’re not wearing panties.
I stopped walking as I became painfully aware of the fact that I wasn’t. How did they know? I texted back to get an answer.
Tell me who this is, or you’re blocked, creep.
A moment later, my phone rang, and my gut painfully twisted when I realized it was the same number. Even worse…it was a video call.
I debated for all of two seconds before quickly tapping the green button. What harm could a phone call do? If it turned out to be a stalker or a creep, I could just block the number.