somewhere, then so can you. No excuses!”
With a glare, he breezed past me and left the bedroom door open. I took that as my cue to leave, especially when he sat down on the couch with his roommate and lit a fucking joint right in front of me as I walked by.
I certainly wasn’t done with Davey, but there was only so much you could do for someone at one time. I figured step one had been implemented as far as it could right now. He hadn’t seen the last of me.
When I got to the truck, I could tell Natalie was on edge and she practically pounced on me when I sat down.
“Everything’ll be okay, stay calm,” I told her.
She blinked her irritation as I turned the ignition and pulled onto the street. “What? Stay calm? Are you kidding?”
“You can’t throw the entire book at him at once, Nat. Just let this sink into him for now. I know you love him and you’re worried, but bit-by-bit right now. Okay? Chill out, scrap.”
She was caught off guard with that, and then cracked up laughing. Yeah, every once in a while I’d toss up a phrase I’d learned from her. She didn’t do it often because she’d been on the west coast for so long now—fifteen years—but every once in a while she’d say one. She still had somewhat of a New York accent if you listened hard enough, but especially when she was mad.
Nat settled back in her seat as I drove. I was worried she was going to argue with me, but after half a minute, she nodded. “I’m good. Okay.” She exhaled a deep breath of air. “We smell like pot, don’t we?”
I chuckled, allowing myself to relax a bit. “Yeah, I think we do. Let’s go for a walk somewhere, okay?”
She agreed, so I surprised her and headed for the Japanese Gardens. I figured it would be a nice break from life, and especially a distraction from the issues with her brother.
12
“ S o…” Madden entered my office with a stupid grin on his face. “You two finally took the plunge, huh? The big step? The first day to the end of your lives? The dawning of a new empire.”
I knew he was talking about Natalie, and I spun in my chair at my worktable to face him. “If you mean deciding on couplehood, then yes.”
“Ohhh myyyy God, couplehood ! Oooh me likey. Now am I supposed to, like, throw you a party or something?”
I rolled my eyes and went back to my design. “Quit being dramatic.”
Madden dropped into the chair across from me and eyed the design up on the computer screen as he scratched his beard. “Is that the Culliver’s house?”
“Mmhmm.”
“Cool beans. It looks sweet.”
He grabbed a pencil and began tapping it on the table rhythmically. I would have told him to knock it off, but his short attention span would eventually take care of it. I was correct when he stood and helped himself to a bottle of water from my mini fridge in the corner.
“So what’d she have to do to make you commit? Threaten physical harm on you? Blackmail you with juicy information?” He paused as I looked up at him with just my eyes. “Unspeakable promises in the bedroom?” he hissed.
Sighing, I pushed myself away from the table. I knew I wasn’t going to get any more work done, so it was best to call it quits. Madden was like a toddler sometimes.
“We just had a long talk.”
He raised his eyebrows. “A long talk? You? Ha, about what?”
“About…things.”
He rolled his eyes at me. “Fuck that. Just give me what I want to hear before I go harass her about it.”
That wouldn’t have been any better or worse, but I guess I decided to spare Natalie the hassle of warding off a pesky Madden.
“Apparently I’d opened my big fucking mouth in Vegas to her and talked about my parents and all that bullshit.”
His mouth dropped open and he paused for several beats. “No fucking way! Seriously? So she’s known all this time?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
At first he didn’t respond, but that look on his face was giving something away. I just didn’t know what it
With a glare, he breezed past me and left the bedroom door open. I took that as my cue to leave, especially when he sat down on the couch with his roommate and lit a fucking joint right in front of me as I walked by.
I certainly wasn’t done with Davey, but there was only so much you could do for someone at one time. I figured step one had been implemented as far as it could right now. He hadn’t seen the last of me.
When I got to the truck, I could tell Natalie was on edge and she practically pounced on me when I sat down.
“Everything’ll be okay, stay calm,” I told her.
She blinked her irritation as I turned the ignition and pulled onto the street. “What? Stay calm? Are you kidding?”
“You can’t throw the entire book at him at once, Nat. Just let this sink into him for now. I know you love him and you’re worried, but bit-by-bit right now. Okay? Chill out, scrap.”
She was caught off guard with that, and then cracked up laughing. Yeah, every once in a while I’d toss up a phrase I’d learned from her. She didn’t do it often because she’d been on the west coast for so long now—fifteen years—but every once in a while she’d say one. She still had somewhat of a New York accent if you listened hard enough, but especially when she was mad.
Nat settled back in her seat as I drove. I was worried she was going to argue with me, but after half a minute, she nodded. “I’m good. Okay.” She exhaled a deep breath of air. “We smell like pot, don’t we?”
I chuckled, allowing myself to relax a bit. “Yeah, I think we do. Let’s go for a walk somewhere, okay?”
She agreed, so I surprised her and headed for the Japanese Gardens. I figured it would be a nice break from life, and especially a distraction from the issues with her brother.
12
“ S o…” Madden entered my office with a stupid grin on his face. “You two finally took the plunge, huh? The big step? The first day to the end of your lives? The dawning of a new empire.”
I knew he was talking about Natalie, and I spun in my chair at my worktable to face him. “If you mean deciding on couplehood, then yes.”
“Ohhh myyyy God, couplehood ! Oooh me likey. Now am I supposed to, like, throw you a party or something?”
I rolled my eyes and went back to my design. “Quit being dramatic.”
Madden dropped into the chair across from me and eyed the design up on the computer screen as he scratched his beard. “Is that the Culliver’s house?”
“Mmhmm.”
“Cool beans. It looks sweet.”
He grabbed a pencil and began tapping it on the table rhythmically. I would have told him to knock it off, but his short attention span would eventually take care of it. I was correct when he stood and helped himself to a bottle of water from my mini fridge in the corner.
“So what’d she have to do to make you commit? Threaten physical harm on you? Blackmail you with juicy information?” He paused as I looked up at him with just my eyes. “Unspeakable promises in the bedroom?” he hissed.
Sighing, I pushed myself away from the table. I knew I wasn’t going to get any more work done, so it was best to call it quits. Madden was like a toddler sometimes.
“We just had a long talk.”
He raised his eyebrows. “A long talk? You? Ha, about what?”
“About…things.”
He rolled his eyes at me. “Fuck that. Just give me what I want to hear before I go harass her about it.”
That wouldn’t have been any better or worse, but I guess I decided to spare Natalie the hassle of warding off a pesky Madden.
“Apparently I’d opened my big fucking mouth in Vegas to her and talked about my parents and all that bullshit.”
His mouth dropped open and he paused for several beats. “No fucking way! Seriously? So she’s known all this time?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
At first he didn’t respond, but that look on his face was giving something away. I just didn’t know what it
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