Page 101 of Crazy Thing

I plant a fist on my hip, trying not to smile. “You have a seven-bedroom castle across the yard. Why are you here, hogging my sofa-bed again?”

His eyes flick up to mine. His frown deepens. “That old shack?” Darius grouses resentfully, reaching out a hand and tangling his fingers in the hem of my T-shirt. “Don’t you know—your body is my kingdom. My castle is anywhere you are. Now come here and cuddle on me.”

It’s embarrassing the way I scamper into his arms, tucking myself into the warm cocoon of his embrace.

Darius discards his phone somewhere in the bedding. He nuzzles his nose into my neck and breathes me in. I fall asleep with a grin on my face.

39

DARIUS

She finally ditched me.

Over the past few days, I’ve done everything in my power to keep Ziggy around. But today after work, she insisted that she had a few things to take care of in Honey Hill before we leave for our Chicago trip tomorrow.

It sucked, watching her jump behind the wheel of her bus and drive out of my yard. It felt just like when I was in the third grade and out of nowhere, my best friend got transferred to a different school. Then I had no one to hang out with at recess. Itsucked, I tell you.

Am I a melodramatic fool? Yes, I am.

Do I care? I do not.

In any case, I take comfort in knowing that Ziggy and I leave for our business trip tomorrow. That means I’ll have her all to myself in a comfy hotel bed for the next few nights.

But for now, I’m stuck here at The North Node Tavern with my annoying siblings.

There’s a dance-off going on at the moment. Karlistarted it whenOne More Timeby Daft Punk came on and she dragged Mason to the middle of the room, grinding all over him while challenging Nicky and Ronan to outdo them. Felix forced poor Daphne into the mix, determined to upstage them all. I’d expected Nolan to put his foot down when Inez danced her way into the middle of things, but he willingly followed after her like an off-beat puppy trying to make his owner happy.

Thankfully, it’s Tuesday so business is rather slow here at the bar and there aren’t many witnesses to this embarrassing scene. Anyway, who am I to judge? If Ziggy were here, I’d probably be on that dance floor making a fool of myself, too. That girl can get me to do just about anything.

So I’m sitting with Archer, hidden at a shadowy table in the corner. We’re both trying to avoid eye contact with Karli, lest she coerce us to join her ridiculous dance party.

When my siblings and their significant others are done wearing themselves out, they trudge back to our table. They’re laughing and panting for air as they collapse into empty chairs.

Moments later, Nolan comes over with a tray of chilled beers.

“Hey Noles. You mind making me a bourbon lemonade?” I call out after him as he walks away.

Around the table, everyone gives me funny looks. I ignore them, convinced that having Ziggy’s favorite drink might somehow make me feel closer to her.

“Uh, sure,” Nolan says, clearly confused.

But when he returns with my drink, it just doesn’t taste right. It doesn’t taste like Ziggy’s.

Nothing feels right. And everything annoys me right now. Because Ziggy isn’t here.

Can’t stop thinking about her.

I send her a text message.

Me: Did you get to Honey Hill okay?

I stare at my phone, waiting for a response. Minutes pass by and I don’t get one. I huff, pulling on my hair.

“Hey, D. You okay?”

My head snaps up and I find Karli giving me a worried look. And you know what? I’m not okay.

“I think I’m gonna call it a night.” I’m already pushing out of my chair.

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