Page 12 of Lucy
“Oh, that’s…nice. What is it that you do for a living?”
“I’m a bartender at On the Rocks.” Lucy stopped quartering the potatoes to look at Lauren. She was waiting for the judgment and I cringed, wondering if she’d find it.
“Oh…well, are you planning to go back to school for another degree since your art degree isn’t cutting it?”Bingo. There it was. I sighed heavily and interjected before Lucy could.
“Lucy is doing fine. She’s the most popular bartender there and I’m still not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing since it seems to draw all sorts of attention.” I glared at her playfully and she crinkled her nose up at me.
“All my attention is for you, Abel,” she gushed and made sure to pour extra sugar on her words.
“Better be.” The possessive grunt slipped out before I could snatch it back and I cleared my throat nervously. I sure as hell hoped Lauren didn’t pick up on anything between Lucy and me.
“So, how much older than you is Abel?” Lauren washed her hands in the sink and grabbed a pan for the meatloaf.
“Eight years,” Lucy’s tone was back to being icy.
“He seems very protective. You must have had a ball growing up.”
“Oh…we did.” She looked over her shoulder at me and I shot her a warning glance. Those fiery copper eyes held so many secrets. They were dark and deep and never needed to see the light of day.
“Why didn’t we order food, Abel? Look at all the dishes we made. Now, who do you think is going to have to put them in the dishwasher later tonight?” I looked around the messy kitchen and shrugged.
“Not you, lazy bones.” I shoved her and she laughed, hitting my chest.
“I’ll clean up,” Lauren offered. She was helpful. That’s what she did at work and at home. She was safe and comfortable like worn jeans.
“No, you won’t because you won’t be here tonight.” A bottle of whiskey materialized in Lucy’s hand as she trailed out of the kitchen.
“And why is that?” Lauren demanded, right in step with my sister.
“Because I’m staying the night again. We need some brother-sister time.” Lucy flopped on the couch and I sat beside her. Lauren sat beside me. Perfect. A sandwich.
“Yeah, it’s okay Lauren. I’m helping Luce through a situation right now. Just me and her tonight.” Lauren looked at me like she could throw daggers from her pupils.
“She really has you wrapped around her little finger, wow.”
“Always has, always will,” Lucy sang and took a long drink from the Jack Daniels bottle in her hand.
“Lucy, did you talk to Mom and Dad about your situation?” I asked; trying to use anything to get out of the uncomfortable moment I was stuck in.
“No. All they’re going to do is sigh and act like I’m a huge fucking disappointment. Then they’ll call you to round me up. Which is why you should let me stay here until I get things settled. We can just skip the middleman.” She smiled up at me and I shook my head.
“No. You know you can’t stay here. If I let you stay here every time you got evicted, we’d be roommates.” Lauren let out a short laugh at my statement and muttered something into her wine glass.
“Something funny, Carmen?” Lucy cocked an arched brow at my girlfriend and Lauren looked at me.
“I’m gonna go check the food,” she said, standing to her feet. Once she was out of earshot, Lucy leveled me with a glare.
“Your girlfriend is about to get her ass beat.”
“No,you’reabout to get your ass beat if you don’t calm the fuck down, Lucy,” I grumbled.
“Beat my ass then, Abel. You’ll have to fight tooth and nail to bend me over though.” She was challenging me. I hated being challenged but I knew she was baiting me into a compromising position.
“I know what you’re doing,” I warned her. “It’s not going to work.”
“Whatever. I wonder what little Carmen would do if she came in here and saw me on my knees, blowing you.”
“Lucy…”
