Tempted by Alana Sapphire Page B

him a lollipop.
    “Yay! Look, Momma!”
    “I see, baby.” Ellen looks at me
questioningly. “You wanted to talk to me?”
    “Yeah. I need your help.”
    “Sure. What’s up?”
    “I may have gotten in over my head here. I
promised Raven a birthday party.”
    “ Oh …I see,” she smirks.
    “Waben!” Mikey shrieks.
    “Wipe that grin off your face, sis.”
    “What? I’m happy for you. Even Mikey likes
her.”
    “So he told me.”
    “So, when’s this shindig?”
    “The twentieth.”
    “Great!” She rolls her eyes. “A week, Gage?
You couldn’t give me more notice?”
    “Sorry.”
    “Well…what does she like? Other than the
color blue.”
    “Books…music…drawing…”
    “What kind of music?”
    “I don’t know. Talk to her friend Chrissy.
She said she’d help. And you can do it at Scythe, so you don’t have
to worry about the location.”
    “That’s something, at least,” she says
pensively.
    “I have an idea I think she’d like.”
    “What?”
    “She mentioned that she missed her prom. I
figured that could be the theme or whatever.”
    She gasps and places her hand on her sternum,
her mouth hanging open.
    “I had no idea you could be so sweet. That’s
a great idea! We can get her a dress and…oh! You’ll wear a suit and
–”
    “Wait a minute. Who said anything about a
suit?”
    “You’ll wear a tux, and you’ll
dance with her.”
    “Ellen –”
    “This was your idea. Man the fu–,” her gaze
flicks to Mikey nervously then back to me. “…heck up, Gage
Hunter.”
    “I changed my mind. You come up with
something.”
    “No way. We’re doing this. I’m so happy!”
    She claps and jumps up and down like an
excited child. Me in a tux? And dancing? No fucking way.
    “It’s so good to see you focusing on one girl
for a change.”
    “Oh? What girl is that?” Aunt Nita walks up
with a raised brow.
    Ellen folds her lips, takes Mikey, and rushes
off. Great.
    “What’s going on?”
    I try to sound nonchalant. “She’s just
helping me to plan a birthday party.”
    “For who?”
    “Her name’s Raven.”
    “Raven…Millie’s waitress? Mikey’s
babysitter?”
    “You know her?”
    “Yeah. Talked to her a few times when I went
to the diner. Also know she’s just seventeen. What the fuck are you
doing, Gage?”
    “Nothing…yet. It’s her eighteenth birthday
next week and I can tell you that afterwards, you’ll be seeing a
lot of her.”
    “And you haven’t fucked her?”
    “No.”
    “Uh-huh,” she says skeptically. “I know her
father passed. What about her mother? She know about this?”
    “She’s never met her mother. Lonnie’s the
only family she has.”
    “Poor thing. No wonder Millie’s so drawn to
her.”
    “She’s a good girl, Nita. I really like
her.”
    “Okay, son. When do I get to meet her
officially?”
    “She might be coming to the show today. If
not…soon. I promise.”
    “Yeah. I really need to get to know this
chick better if she’s got you keeping it in your pants.”
    Oh, trust me, Nita. I won’t be keeping it in
for much longer.

***Raven***
     
    “Ray… please . It’s a bike show. I know
Ron’s gonna go off and leave me at some point. I need you.”
    We’re sitting on my porch, waiting for Ron to
come and pick her up. She’s been begging me for days to go to the
stupid bike show. Once I heard Lonnie and Deena making plans, I
decided I wasn’t going. I only have a couple days left in this
house, and I don’t want to make them worse than they already are. I
haven’t said anything to Lonnie about Glenn, but I know she’s seen
him. She looked like she wanted to say something to me, but I gave
her no indication of what happened. It took everything in me not to
slap the bitch.
    “I said no, Chrissy.”
    “ Why ?” She whines. “I know Gage wants
you to go, too.”
    “Well, it’s not about what you and Gage want.
It’s about me.”
    “Think of it as a way of making up for
holding out on me.”
    “What do you