Vexed by Phoenyx Slaughter Page B

a job.”
    “Yeah, I was thinking more like waiting tables, not taking strange dick up my ass.”
    “Oh! They pay way more for anal.”
    I stand there blinking because I have no response to that. None. Nope. My words have left my brain.
    “No.”
    “Okay.” She shrugs. “Sorry. I was just trying to help.”
    She follows me into the kitchen and watches while I put a salad together for dinner. “Do you want half?” I ask.
    “No. Snake’s bringing pizza over.”
    Great. Guess I’ll be spending my evening hiding out in my room.
    At least this time Snake only shows up with two of his shifty-looking buddies.
    After dinner, I point to his vest and ask about the patches.
    He raises an eyebrow as if I’ve finally said something worthwhile. “You know something about MCs, Athena?”
    “No. Not really. My best friend lives with a guy in one, and I’ve hung out with them.” What am I supposed to do, give this jerk the whole stupid story?
    “She his ol’ lady?” Roxy asks.
    “No. She’s my age.”
    All four of them have a good laugh at that.
    When Roxy stops giggling like a brain dead Barbie, she explains. “No. It’s like wife status in an MC.”
    “Oh.”
    Oh shit.
    When I asked Reed how he knew Karina’s father, he said something about old ladies. Old ladies stay out of club business. Did he mean he wanted me to be—
    “Athena?”
    “What?”
    “I was saying be careful. I got booted out of a club back in New York for not kissing the ass of the president’s ol’ lady. Hardcore MC guys take that shit seriously.”
    “Well, she’s my best friend, so it’s not an issue.”
    She shrugs. “I’m just saying. That’s why I like Snake being a nomad. I don’t have to worry about that shit.”
    He chuckles, a dark hollow sort of laugh that gives me the chills.
    When I can slip out of the room without them noticing, I do. I’m exhausted and confused. Overwhelmed. I miss Romeo. I feel awful for leaving the way I did. Maybe we could have tried long-distance, or I could have enrolled in acting classes back home.
    Now, I’ll never know.
    Like an idiot, I try calling him again. He’s ignored every one of my other fifty phone calls. I’m not sure why I think this time will be any different.
    Yup, straight to voicemail.
    “It’s me again. I know you don’t want to talk to me. But I wanted to say I miss you.”
    That’s so pathetic. I wish I could hack into his voicemail and erase it. Hopefully he deletes my messages without listening to them.
    I try Karina, and at least she answers my calls.
    “What’s up?”
    “Nothing. My roommate sent me on a porn audition today.”
    “Oh my God. You didn’t.”
    “Ew. Of course not. I got the hell out of there.”
    Her warm laughter eases the ickiness that followed me home from the casting couch. I haven’t gone this long without seeing my best friend since we met and I miss her terribly.
    “Everything else okay?” she asks.
    “No. I don’t know. Roxy has her shady boyfriend and his friends here again.”
    “Athena, I wish you’d find another roommate.”
    “I know. I’m not on the lease, so I could leave, but that’s a shitty thing to do.”
    “You’re too nice.”
    “Hey, are you Dante’s old lady?”
    She chuckles. “I guess. It’s not official, in the eyes of the club yet. There’s a special—never mind. What made you ask that?”
    “Roxy said something about it.”
    “Be careful what you say about the club to strangers, Athena. Seriously.”
    “I will. I didn’t use any names or anything.”
    “Good. She sounds shady as hell.”
    I sigh and yawn. “I’ve got an early class, so I’m going to try to get some sleep.”
    “Got your earplugs?”
    “Yup.” I’d told her Roxy and Snake had woken me from a dead sleep more than once with their loud, raunchy sex antics.
    Feeling lonely, I slip into Romeo’s shirt. It’s starting to smell more like me than him, but it still makes me feel better.
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    T he next morning , I’m up before