Page 24 of Between Brothers

Chapter 8

Blue

“So, did you hit it?” were the first words out of Cell’s mouth when I walked through my hou- bedroom’s door. It’s not a cell, it’s not a house, you’re not in prison; I reminded myself for the thousandth time.

I scowled at him and he raised an eyebrow, “Seriously, did you hit it?”

“On the first date?”

“Why the fuck not, you pussy!?”

I shook my head, “You really have no idea how regular people work, do you?”

It was his turn to scowl, “I’m not regular fuckin’ people.” That was the truth. “Well that’s fuckin’ irritating as shit. I was hoping to hit that come my turn.”

“Slow,” I reminded him and he rolled his eyes.

“So what did you do? You at least round second base, Junior? Seriously. Give it up!” I shook my head and turned around, irritated with him. “Aw, come on!” he cried after me but I shut the door on his smug look and went out back, trudging across the wet grass to the one person I found I could talk to that would actually give a damn about how I felt, who would listen and be happy with me.

I tried the smaller side door into Dani’s shop and found it unlocked, which it always was. When I opened it up, hot air wafted out to greet me. Red looked up from his phone from the small table and two chairs set up in the corner for visitors. He had a six pack of beer next to him, the amber glass sweating, one of the bottles open and three-quarters empty by his elbow.

Dani looked up from her workbench and over, her eyes magnified comically behind a pair of those square jewelers goggles. She set down her tools and pulled the apparatus off, cocking her head wordlessly to the side, communicating with a look, asking what was wrong.

I smiled and shook my head slightly and her smile lit up the world. I turned back to Thirteen who was grinning.

“Heard you had a hot date with that little waitress you been pining over, I take it by the smile it went well?” I nodded and blushed slightly and Thirteen plucked a beer out of the six pack and held it out to me. “Congratulations, brother!”

I took the offered beer and twisted off the cap. He kicked the chair opposite him out from the table and I dropped into it, the buckle on my jacket rattling and clacking against the arm of it.

Dani stood and gracefully stepped across the cracked cement floor, lowering herself into Thirteen’s lap. His arms wound protectively around her trim waist and I smiled a little bigger. I was happy for her, and for him, but I had to admit it to myself… before Hayley and even still, I held a little bit of a torch for Dani Broussard. If the stars aligned and I were allowed, I would go there.

Dani put her hands over Thirteens and smiled before saying, “Tell me everything,” and I shifted a bit uncomfortably. She raised an eyebrow and gave me a secret little smile and I huffed a laugh. She was going to make me do it. She was going to make me talk in front of Thirteen.

Thirteen laughed a little and said, “’S’all right, man. Your secrets are safe with me. That’s how this brotherhood and club business is supposed to go.”

I nodded. Things hadn’t exactly worked that way at the old chapter and this chapter, it still took some getting used to that it worked exactly how I imagined these things were supposed to work when I first went in to prospect with that first chapter. They’d talked a good game, but they hadn’t exactly walked the walk. Not like these guys did.

“I took her to Soul Fuel for that live music thing that Red and Em started up…”

“And?”

And I told them, all of it… I even told them about how she’d saved every bit of origami I’d ever folded for her. They celebrated with me, and I felt good about the time I’d spent with her. By the time I finished a couple of the beers and the conversation, I felt good, relaxed and ready to take on the ration of shit that Cell was likely going to have waiting for me for walking out on him.

I went back to my room and sure enough, Cell was waiting, the blue light of my flickering TV casting shadows and highlights across his face. The expression he wore gauging and calculating. He raised his eyebrows and said nothing, and the worry and apprehension evaporated. He genuinely wanted to hear how the night had gone. No more jibes, no more fucking around.

“Seriously, you gonna make me ask?”

I nodded, and he rolled his eyes but moved over so I could drop onto the edge of the bed and get out of my still-damp boots.

“Fine, this is me being totally serious. How’d it go and how far did it go?”

I leaned back against the headboard and put my feet up before I answered him, then I thought about how to answer, seeing as I just gave the full story to Dani and Thirteen. Still, spin was important when it came to Cell, mostly to make sure he kept himself reigned in.

“It fucking dumped on us on the ride back to her place.”

“Nice, that lead to some hot and heavy?”

“Some, but honestly, it didn’t go any further than making out like a couple of teenagers for a few hours.”

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