Pretty Thing (Naughty Things 1)

“Good,” she says, climbing out of bed.

I open both eyes to look at her as she walks across the room, naked, and then disappears into the hallway.

“You know what we should do though?” she calls from the bathroom after she turns on the shower.

“What?”

“Listen to Kyle’s messages.” She pops her head back in through the bedroom door. “Don’t you think?”

I nod my head, thinking back on my dream last night. “Yeah,” I say, feeling better about that whole thing. “Yeah, we should.”

She smiles at me, then disappears again. A few moments later she’s in the shower and I’m forcing myself to sit up in bed. I lean over, grab my jeans and my phone falls out of my pocket.

I set it aside, pulling on my pants, and then grab it again and walk out to the kitchen to make us some coffee.

Just as I’m adding milk and sugar to our cups, Kali appears in her robe, towel-drying her hair. She takes the cup I hand her, sips, smiles with her eyes closed, and then opens them and says, “I’m ready. Play yours first.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO – KALI

I’ve watched Aiden struggle with Kyle’s judgment all my life. I knew—maybe not as well as Aiden—but I got the message Kyle was sending loud and clear even though he never said it directly to me.

And it was just this one case where Kyle’s opinion ruled. Just me, that’s it. Any other time Aiden was free to do whatever he wanted. Even if he and Kyle disagreed, Kyle stood by him. If Aiden needed something, Kyle was there. And if Kyle needed Aiden, he didn’t even have to ask for help.

They both bestowed the same loyalty on me. I realize now that I didn’t just have one brother growing up, I had two.

“Are you ready?” I ask Aiden. Because he’s been staring at the phone number on his screen for a few moments too long.

He nods his head, smiles weakly at me, then nods again. He presses the call button and it rings, but then, just as quick, Aiden ends the call.

“What are you doing? I thought you wanted to listen.”

“I do,” he says, running his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know. Hearing him last night—” He looks at me. “That was fucking hard, ya know?”

“I know,” I say. “The idea of leaving a message seems kinda cool when you first hear about it. In theory, you think, ‘Yeah, that would be great to get one final message from my loved one after they die.’ But in practice…” I shake my head. “I think… I think the first time through it’s scary and hard. And I have a feeling my parents were bawling their eyes out the first time they listened. But then, after that initial sadness and shock fades a little, you realize it truly is a gift. We have this one last chance for him to say something just for us.”

Aiden nods, then presses the button again. This time he gets as far as Kyle’s first greeting before he ends the call again.

“We can do it later,” I say. “After I get home from work.”

Aiden just stares at his phone. Then shakes his head. “No, let’s do it now. Together, too.” He smiles at me. “I promise I won’t be a pussy and hang up this time.”

“Third time’s a charm,” I say, trying to smile.

“Third?” He laughs. “Shit, I think I’ve dialed this number about three dozen times already. But yeah. Definitely now. With you.”

“Together,” I say. Then I wrap my hands around his arm and lean into his shoulder as he presses the call button one last time and this time, he hands the phone to me when it rings.

“Don’t give it back until he’s done,” Aiden says. “No matter what.”

“I got you,” I say, making a promise as I take the phone from him.

Then Kyle’s voice fills the room. “Dude.” He laughs. “Dude! What the fuck happened? I hope to God I went out fucking a girl, or in a fight, or at fucking rock concert. Or on the trail, ya know, crushed by the Jeep because that’s the only way to go.”

“Oh shit,” I say, ending the call.

“See,” Aiden says. Then he grabs his phone back and says, “Jesus Christ. We’re both a bunch of pussies,” as he presses the call button one more time. “This time we’re putting it over here and neither of us is allowed to touch it. Clear?”

I nod, unable to stop my smile, and say, “Clear.”

“OK,” Aiden says, sighing with frustration as he walks back over to me and takes a seat on the couch.

“Dude,” Kyle says. “Dude! What the fuck happened? I hope to God I went out fucking a girl, or in a fight, or at fucking rock concert. Or on the trail, ya know, crushed by the Jeep because that’s the only way to go. Either way, you know. Sorry for the trouble. I know Kali is probably a mess and my parents are probably beside themselves. I know I am no older than thirty-seven because they say you gotta update the message every five years or when something changes your family situation, ya know. So you know who you’re talking to and all… you know. So… fuck. I went young, I guess. I don’t know what happened but I’m sorry I’m not there anymore.”