Page 39 of Tempt Me

“Miss Summers, we have arrived.”

Yippee. Now, I need to put on my mask and get through the night.

Fifteen

Remiss: Failing to do a task you set for yourself.

Iwon’t give up.

Making my way down the dark streets next to the marina in search of a druggie, I tried to stick to the shadows. Someone had to have fucking weed in this prissy ass town. I was knocking myself for not demanding the information for the dealers from those punk kids I bummed it from all those months ago.

After a few deep breaths and allowing myself to feel the breeze of the night air on my face, I dialed up my old pal.

The sound of toddler shrieks and an exasperated father answered. I chuckled, remembering myself chasing after Xeny bug much the same way.

“Hey, Quinn wins,” I teased. “If you could spare a moment from diaper and puke duty, I need a favor.”

Micah’s ruffled sigh on the other end of the line made me smirk.

“Ivy. I am on a call, my love. Anastasia needs your tits, babe.”

Now, I laughed aloud. The sweet, kindhearted man I once knew was using his wife as a milk machine.

Listening to Ivy’s laugh and then the sounds of them kissing for a minute made me feel like a voyeur. Their private tender moment was none of my business.

“Of course, Porthos,” she said, her Russian accent kicking in an eloquent way. “I will put Ana to sleep and meet you in bed.”

Her tone was different, and the way Quinn cleared his throat, I could guess why.

“Uh yeah, Roe, what’s up?”

I got straight to the point, not wanting to take away precious pound-town-time. If I remember correctly, kids didn’t give adults space to fuck anymore than they allowed them to sleep.

And Quinn’s rougher-toned voice told me he’d probably not had enough of either.

“I need some weed,” I said.

The other end of the line became silent.

“Micah?”

Did that fucker hang up on me?

“How fucking old are you, Pharaoh Masters?” he scolded, and his ‘dad’ tone was in full swing. “I am pretty sure thirty-five-year-old professors can find better use of their time than getting high.”

“Hey man, don’t use that shit on me,” I said, poking at a loose rock next to the dock’s edge with the toe of my shoe. “It’s for a friend.”

He sighed, and his voice sounded aged. “Look, Roe, even if I wanted to indulge in your irresponsible habits, it’s not like I can just swipe a stash from evidence.”

I shrugged. “Why not?”

Quinn was silent again. “I’m not going to dignify that one with a response.”

I heard them shuffling around while humming some baby song.

“Pharaoh…” He changed his tone to a whisper. “I have not smoked weed since I was in college, and I know you hang out with college kids all day now, but an old professor friend gave me advice once—don’t act like your students.”

I ignored that, not bothering to mention that my friend was part of the staff, not the students.

---