Page 70 of Caught Up

It took the baseball bros another ten minutes to break apart, and then I spent five more inside the booth after they left, my heart pounding and my ears straining for any hint of noise. Nothing. I cracked the door.

Nonna sat in the pew right outside, grinning like the cheshire cat, and I about had a heart attack. How the hell had she snuck up on me?

“I see you took my advice,” she said.

My face flushed with warmth, but as I stepped out of the booth, I decided to feign ignorance. There was no way she could have known what I’d done. She hadn’t even seen Junior. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

She crowed with laughter. “Tell that to the handprint on your neck.”

23

Junior

“Hey, thanks again for unlockingthat phone for me the other night,” I said. I sat on my cousin’s couch in her smalltwo-bedroomcottage, herhuge-assboyfriend, strike that, fiancé, taking up most of the cushion space beside me.

“No problem,” Josh said. “Were you able to track Lauren down and switch them out?”

“Yeah, at church.”

He sat forward, eyes narrowed, a sly grin tugging at his mouth. “Aaand?” he prodded. “How’d it go?”

“Fine,” I said, trying not to think about how Lauren felt milking the head of my cock or the way she silently shuddered through an orgasm while a group of old men held a lively discussion just outside the confessional. I’d never think about baseball the same way again.

There was a game on now, but Josh had the volume so low I could barely hear the announcers. It was just an excuse anyway, a reason for the two of us to get together.

A pathetic mewl sounded from right behind me, all the warning I had before a gray blur streaked over my shoulder and a fuzzy kitten landed in my lap.

“Maud,” I said, “I see you still haven’t learned any manners.”

In response, she jumped sideways at me, swatted my hand, and then dove off the couch. Fred, their other cat, streaked toward her out of nowhere, and together they went racing into the kitchen.

“Fine?” Josh said, not knowing when to let the conversation drop. “Really? That’s all you’re going to give me after I slaved away for you forhours—”

“Minutes,” I corrected.

“Cracking open her phone and thenillegally—”

“Which you seemed fine with.”

“Uploading a tracker to run in the background, while you told me absolutelynothing—”

“Because you suck at keeping secrets from Aly.”

“About who Lauren is and why she’s so important to you.”

I feigned nonchalance. “Who said anything about her being important?”

Josh scoffed. “Come on, man. This is the first time you’ve even mentioned a woman’s name around me. And Ican tookeep secrets from Aly.”

“Like what?” I asked.

The taunting grin slipped off Josh’s face, a cold creeping into his eyes that I’d only seen a handful of times before. This look, this look right here was why we were friends. Because beneath the laughter and bullshit was another side to Josh, something vicious and dangerous that made even hardened criminals tread lightly in his presence. It was the same darkness I battled daily, and being around him, seeing him so happy and clearly in love with my cousin made me feel like there was hope for me still, like I might win the fight against my own demons.

He sat back. “Like what I said to your dad to get him to leave me the fuck alone.”

I perked up, wondering if I was finally going to learn what happened between the two of them. “And that was?”

“Trust me, you don’t want to know.” He frowned. “Hey, what happened after we left dinner? You’ve seemed off since.”

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