obvious?
Dumb question. To Dean, of course it was. Nothing got past him, even though I hadn’t said a word.
“Carter?” he asked, urgent now.
“I promise.”
“Okay. Whew! Now that we have that settled, when do I get to visit? Now, it’s imperative that I fly first class, and when I arrive, I want the works. I want those towels that the maids shape like dolphins and other various sea creatures, a full mini bar in my room, and a full supply of sunblock. The kind made for sensitive skin. I can’t have rashes breaking out on this money-makin’ face.”
“Wait, what’s that?” I asked innocently. “The sound of something exploding, did you hear that? Oh, that’s right…must be your head.”
“I just speak the truth, brother.”
“Uh-huh. You’re such a diva, dude. How Crystal puts up with your steady flow of crazy is beyond me.”
Dean didn’t respond, instead busting out singing Aerosmith’s “Livin’ on the Edge,” and damn, I had to admit…he was pretty good.
“Hey!” I hollered over his Steven Tyler impression. “I’m hanging up now.”
“No, no, wait.”
“I can’t stay on. I still have shit to do before I go to work, and you’re making me go deaf.”
“I wanna visit. Crystal does, too.”
“I bet you do.”
“Are you gonna deny me the chance to see my girl in a bikini?”
“I’m sure you’ve already seen much more than that.”
“That doesn’t count!”
“The hell it doesn’t count. If you can come up with cash to get here, then of course you can come. My place is just a studio flat, though. You and Crystal will have to take the couch or something. I don’t think that meets your diva standards.”
“There are always exceptions,” he replied snootily, giving a little huff.
“If you say so, Madonna. We’ll talk more about it later. I gotta go.”
“Okay, I’m off to pack my Speedos. I have them in assorted colors, you know.”
“Goodbye, Dean.” I hung up, my eyes squeezed shut in horror. I didn’t care that athletes wore them. I didn’t care that they were commonly worn in Europe. The visual of Dean in one of those things made me cringe.
It was official. I so wasn’t having lunch today.
Relieved to finally finish my chores, I locked up and started down the stairs for the shop, realizing for the first time one of the major disadvantages to living above my workplace. There would be no calling in sick, and my boss officially knew pretty much all there was about to know about my personal life. Granted, he didn’t live in the building and he wasn’t around at night, but it occurred to me then that my privacy was pretty limited.
Thank God the welcome party Jackson threw for me was at night. I didn’t need him witnessing that evening of debauchery.
When I reached the bottom of the stairwell, the front hall door opened before I could slip into the shop entrance, and I paused a beat, wondering what Jackson’s friend Ruben was doing here. I hadn’t seen him since the showdown he’d had with Whitney at Emma’s. That little display was still grating on me.
“Hey,” I said, my brow furrowing in confusion. “You looking for Jackson? He doesn’t work here this afternoon.”
“Nope.” He made himself comfortable in the doorway, cockily folding his arms across his chest and propping one leg, crossing it over his other ankle. “I’m here to see you.”
“Me?”
“That’s what I said.” His voice grew icier, and I immediately recognized the same patronizing tone he’d used when he’d shown up at Emma’s looking for Whitney.
“Okay, so…what’s up?”
“You haven’t been living on this island long, Carter, so I’ll be forgiving and go a little easy on you.”
“Excuse me?” I laughed shortly, completely shocked by his arrogance. I’d gotten used to his and Jackson’s egos, but unlike Jackson, it was clear Ruben really did think highly of himself. So highly that I got the impression he really believed he was better than everyone
Dumb question. To Dean, of course it was. Nothing got past him, even though I hadn’t said a word.
“Carter?” he asked, urgent now.
“I promise.”
“Okay. Whew! Now that we have that settled, when do I get to visit? Now, it’s imperative that I fly first class, and when I arrive, I want the works. I want those towels that the maids shape like dolphins and other various sea creatures, a full mini bar in my room, and a full supply of sunblock. The kind made for sensitive skin. I can’t have rashes breaking out on this money-makin’ face.”
“Wait, what’s that?” I asked innocently. “The sound of something exploding, did you hear that? Oh, that’s right…must be your head.”
“I just speak the truth, brother.”
“Uh-huh. You’re such a diva, dude. How Crystal puts up with your steady flow of crazy is beyond me.”
Dean didn’t respond, instead busting out singing Aerosmith’s “Livin’ on the Edge,” and damn, I had to admit…he was pretty good.
“Hey!” I hollered over his Steven Tyler impression. “I’m hanging up now.”
“No, no, wait.”
“I can’t stay on. I still have shit to do before I go to work, and you’re making me go deaf.”
“I wanna visit. Crystal does, too.”
“I bet you do.”
“Are you gonna deny me the chance to see my girl in a bikini?”
“I’m sure you’ve already seen much more than that.”
“That doesn’t count!”
“The hell it doesn’t count. If you can come up with cash to get here, then of course you can come. My place is just a studio flat, though. You and Crystal will have to take the couch or something. I don’t think that meets your diva standards.”
“There are always exceptions,” he replied snootily, giving a little huff.
“If you say so, Madonna. We’ll talk more about it later. I gotta go.”
“Okay, I’m off to pack my Speedos. I have them in assorted colors, you know.”
“Goodbye, Dean.” I hung up, my eyes squeezed shut in horror. I didn’t care that athletes wore them. I didn’t care that they were commonly worn in Europe. The visual of Dean in one of those things made me cringe.
It was official. I so wasn’t having lunch today.
Relieved to finally finish my chores, I locked up and started down the stairs for the shop, realizing for the first time one of the major disadvantages to living above my workplace. There would be no calling in sick, and my boss officially knew pretty much all there was about to know about my personal life. Granted, he didn’t live in the building and he wasn’t around at night, but it occurred to me then that my privacy was pretty limited.
Thank God the welcome party Jackson threw for me was at night. I didn’t need him witnessing that evening of debauchery.
When I reached the bottom of the stairwell, the front hall door opened before I could slip into the shop entrance, and I paused a beat, wondering what Jackson’s friend Ruben was doing here. I hadn’t seen him since the showdown he’d had with Whitney at Emma’s. That little display was still grating on me.
“Hey,” I said, my brow furrowing in confusion. “You looking for Jackson? He doesn’t work here this afternoon.”
“Nope.” He made himself comfortable in the doorway, cockily folding his arms across his chest and propping one leg, crossing it over his other ankle. “I’m here to see you.”
“Me?”
“That’s what I said.” His voice grew icier, and I immediately recognized the same patronizing tone he’d used when he’d shown up at Emma’s looking for Whitney.
“Okay, so…what’s up?”
“You haven’t been living on this island long, Carter, so I’ll be forgiving and go a little easy on you.”
“Excuse me?” I laughed shortly, completely shocked by his arrogance. I’d gotten used to his and Jackson’s egos, but unlike Jackson, it was clear Ruben really did think highly of himself. So highly that I got the impression he really believed he was better than everyone
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