Page 162 of Knot All is Crystal
She groans and crosses her arms over her chest. “I better be walking into the dirtiest of orgies, or I’m gonna be pissed.”
A choking laugh from Manny has me struggling to maintain composure. But I manage, and move in front of Crystal, holding her by the shoulders.
“Open your eyes, Queenie.”
When she does, I step away, standing beside her in an attempt to see the gallery through her eyes.
Directly in front of us is an interpretation of Mav’s tattoo, a broken crown surrounded by flowers. To the right is a sleepy giraffe with bottle cap eyes that somehow looks a little like our lead Alpha, and I’m not sure how that happened.
The gallery bought five pieces, including a replica of Burger and a brain cracked down the middle and falling apart. When Mav told me about “Pack Broken Brain,” I couldn’t stop laughing and knew I had to make it.
But I take her hand and lead her to my favorite.
Her.
Large amounts of scrap copper have been shaped into a woman with her knees bent and her head thrown back in ecstasy. I even went to one of those new-age shops and asked if I could sort through their dumpster, and found several shattered, pulverized, or otherwise unsellable crystals, which I used to create a colored effect on the ribbons and computer parts I used for her hair.
Found art isn’t delicate. It has rough edges, and you have to suspend belief to see it as it is supposed to be seen.
But when you open up your heart, it can be beautiful.
She grabs my hand and pulls me down to kiss my cheek. “It’s stunning. I’m amazed this is what you’ve been doing out there in the shed.”
“It’s a labor of love, for sure,” Gage says, popping up from the other side of the sculpture. “Burger looks awesome, man.”
“I have him to thank for a lot of the scraps since he tries to eat everything in sight.”
Gage laughs and shrugs. “I thought he’d grow out of it, but I guess not.”
He doesn’t need to know I feed the mangy mutt treats whenever he brings me something good.
After the showing, when we are all back home, I pull Crystal onto my lap as I sit on the couch. Gage turns on the television, and it’s a re-run of Lunarcrest After Dark.
“Turn it off!” Mav calls, skidding into the room on socked feet. “I can’t take another one!”
“It’s my night, so we’re leaving it on,” I say with feigned indifference.
Maverick wails, dropping to his feet in front of me. “Please, oh powerful Puck, go easy on me. My psyche is fragile.”
“Fragile like a bomb,” Gage mutters, tossing me the remote.
Mav climbs to his feet and throws himself haphazardly into Gage’s lap. “I mean, sure, yeah, but what does that say about you that you’re in love with two bombs? Me and cherry bomb.”
“Oh, is this the episode where Maverick shows up to a set without pants?” Manny asks from the kitchen. He’s making popcorn and grabbing drinks for all of us.
“Sure is,” Crystal replies, taking the water from him when he slides into the room.
Maverick runs his hands through his shaggy brown hair. “In my defense, I thought it would be a cool gimmick. Manic Mav’s Unmentionables. I thought there was going to be a theme night.”
There was, in fact, no theme that night. Everyone, even the other cast members, showed up in luxe outfits, and Maverick was just in his boxers and a flash drive necklace.
I laugh so hard that Crystal shakes in my lap at the force. “What was the theme? Embarrassment? Manic Mav’s Mortification?”
“You’re just jealous you don’t look as good in boxers as I do,” he mutters, sinking further into Gage’s lap.
The Beta throws popcorn at my face. “Be nice to my Alpha! It’s not his fault that he makes poor choices.”
“Yeah! Wait.”
