Page 63 of He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

‘What do you want?’ she asks in not quite the whisper I was trying to use.

She and River have a like-hate relationship. They’re very similar, and he’s for sure the little brother she never wanted.

‘Hols is busy right now, and your buddy bringing women home to bang with her in the next room is not cool. You’re gonna let that shit fly in her fragile state?’

She has one elbow on the table while the phone is to her ear. Her face is pinched, and I know her well enough to know she’s not impressed with whatever River is saying.

‘Rein that boy in, would ya? He’s going to traumatize our recently dumped girl.’ She rolls her eyes at whatever he says then hands the phone back. ‘He’s maddening.’

I nod. It’s not like I can disagree.

‘Are you seriously bothered by him sleeping with her?’ he asks as I pull the phone to my head. ‘Don’t tell me you like him?’

‘I don’tlikehim,’ I lie. ‘At least notlikelike.’

‘Good. Cause that can never happen. Bro code, Hols. Bro code.’

‘What do you want?’ I ask, hoping to steer him back to why he called instead of annoying me while I’m having a little bit of fun.

‘I need you to work Mom’s shop tomorrow. She’s got a gig. The first in her comeback series.’

‘Work at the shop? I haven’t worked there in years. I’d have no idea what to do.’

‘Cause it’s real hard to ring up shit on a till and make sure no one loots the place. Trust me when I say even you can handle it. Nothing’s changed. Mom’s not big on upgrading. She peaked in the late eighties, remember?’

I laugh to myself; I know exactly what he’s saying. At the pool the other day, she was wearing a pair of hot pink spandex under her skirt that I’m sure made an appearance when she toured decades ago. She’s not always been one to keep up with the times.

After Mom stopped touring, she still had the music bug so she opened a small music store that still, to this day, sells mostly records, tapes, and CDs. The store’s become one of those nostalgia-type mom-and-pop shops that calls in teens and music lovers from miles around.

I spent a lot of time there as a kid, as did River, Dax, and Mercy. We all worked there. I even had my sixteenth birthday party there. Mom set it up like an underage dance club. She even hired a DJ.

‘What time?’ I ask River.

‘Meet me there at eight. I’ll show you the ropes.’

‘Bring coffee.’

‘Food is how I bribe people to do shit. If you were around more you’d know this.’

‘Well, I’m around now, so it better be a big coffee.’

‘Fine, ya pain in my ass. See ya tomorrow.’

‘Later.’

‘Hols!’ he yells into the phone before I can hang up. ‘Wait!’

‘What?’

‘What time did Syd come over?’

‘I don’t know. An hour ago?’

He mumbles to himself. ‘It’s nine now. Last time it went on for an hour and thirty-two minutes, that puts us at—’

Ew. Riv. You time them? Good Lord.

‘—Uh, don’t go home until about ten. They drag this shit out and utilize the entire apartment. Also, word to the wise,knock. You’ll know she’s gone because he’ll be wearing hot pink dishwashing gloves while he cleans. All I can say is thank god that boy’s a clean freak cause no one wants to eat on a counter where someone else was getting—’

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