Page 107 of The Alternate Captain
I know he’s not actually talking about me. He’s generalising the situation so Mike doesn’t ask questions. I mean, what was I expecting him to say?‘Oh yeah, I’ve been seeing your sister, and she was giving my prostate a massage before you knocked on the door’?
“Well, shit. If you aren’t a dark horse. Where did you meet her?” Mike says.
“Forget it. I don’t kiss and tell. And you should all know better than to ask.”
“Ain’t you the gentleman?” Parker says.
“So, breakfast?” Hutch says.
“I can’t. I need to get a shower and whatever,” Johnny says.
“It’s no problem. We’ll wait.”
“No, thanks,” Johnny says. “I’m not having you out here touching my stuff while I’m showering. I’ll come knock on your door when I’m ready. Besides, I’m about to spend enough time with you guys later.”
“Yeah, but you’ve got the good coffee,” Parker says.
I hear footsteps towards the kitchen, then rummaging. The footsteps move back up the hallway towards the front door.
“Here. You take the bag. I’ll see you soon,” Johnny says.
Then there’s a gasp.
Horror?
Shock?
“She’s still here, isn’t she?” Mike says.
Shit.
I can hear the grin in his voice. I know he’s smirking right at Johnny, eager to show that he’s cracked some sort of secret code.
“Could be a he,” Hutch says.
“Fuck. Off. All of you,” Johnny says, pointedly. “Now, I told you, I’ll come downstairs when I’m ready.”
There’s a shuffling of feet before the door slams, and I sit on the edge of the bed, dipping my head into my hands.
“I thought they’d never leave,” Johnny says as he walks back into his bedroom moments later. “Now, where were we?”
I gape at him.
“That can’t happen again,” I say. “I mean it, Johnny. I can’t come here if we’re going to play with fire like that. What if Mike had clocked it as my scarf? What if he’d spotted my jacket? What if he’d barged right in here and seen me in your room—in my nightwear?”
“Relax, it’s fine,” he says.
But I’m shaking.
“It’s not fine.”
“Okay, it was a close call, but we need to be more careful. Make sure your stuff is out of sight.” He kneels down in front of me and takes my hands in his. “Yeah?”
“I don’t know, Johnny,” I say, meeting his eyes.
“Okay, so we’ll lay off for a bit. I’ll come to yours or whatever. I mean, the guys already think I’ve got a secret girlfriend, so I may—”
“What?” I say, probably a little louder than I was expecting. “Why didn’t you mention this before?”
