Page 27 of My UnTrue Love
“So many popular musicians will want to be your roommate.” Clementine assured him, like she saw how upset he was becoming and instinctively wanted to calm him. “And Bill and I came up with a wonderful plan.” She smiled over at the coyote like he’d singlehandedly mapped a path to the Fountain of Youth. “I’m going to move in with him!”
Johnny’s head swiveled back to her in astonishment. “What?”
“She’s going to move in with me.” Bill repeated with a disgusting amount of smugness.
“Bill’s got an extra room.” Clementine said earnestly.
“I’ve got an extra room.” Bill agreed.
“And he swears it’s no trouble.”
“No trouble a’tall.” Bill vowed, brimming with hospitality.
“Isn’t he just thebest?” Clementine was talking to Johnny, but her admiring gaze was on Bill. “He won’t even accept any money, yet. He’s already paid his rent for the rest of the year, if you can imagine. He says it will just confuse all his banking, if I pay him now.”
Johnny gave his head a clearing shake. “Wait,what?”
“It’s true.” Clementine insisted, like that bullshit somehow made sense. “We’re going to work out a budget, but he doesn’t want to readjust his ‘housing’ deduction or something…?” She trailed off with a baffled shrug. “He says it will mess up his taxes.”
“Who worries about their damn taxes inSeptember?”
“I’m not a math guy.” Bill chimed in with a mournful sigh. “Clem isreallyhelping me out, by not paying rent and confusing my system.”
“No, you’re helpingmeout. And from now on, I’ll help you organize your finances. I feel like your system isn’t very efficient.” She held up a palm, as if she didn’t want to offend him. “It’s not your fault. Artists often find taxes difficult. I used to do Johnny’s for him.”
“Used to?” Johnny echoed. “Wait, you don’t expectmeto deal with all those forms, right?” What the fuck was happening here? “I’m a singer, not an accountant!”
Clementine tuned out his protest, still focused on reassuring her pet project. “And I’m sure your method workswonderfullyfor one person, Bill.”
“But now we’re two.” He murmured, his eyes crawling all over her. It was disgusting how the coyote watched her so intently. Like she was prey, and he was starving.
“Yes, now we’re two.” Clementine beamed back at him, a light in her eye that Johnny didn’t like.
“Clem, youhaveto see that he’s lying!”
Clementine lost her happy expression, her attention flashing back to Johnny. “Lying about what?”
“He didnotprepay three months of his rent!”
“Betcha I did.” That damn hidden-smirk was back in the coyote’s eyes and Johnny knew that the son of a bitchhadpaid the rent. So his lie wouldn’t be a lie, even though it was so clearly a lie.
Pecos Bill could lie with the truth. It was infuriating!
“What is wrong with you, Johnny?” Clem hissed, between just the two of them. As if she genuinely didn’t get it.
He was too mad to bother about his volume. “What’swrongis that coyote is tricking you!”
“For what possible purpose? So he can be extra generous, just for fun?I’mthe one taking advantage here. I’ll set him up a new banking system in January, to ensure he gets his fair share of the back-rent. Until then, though, he’ll be out the cost of…”
“Oh no. We can’t backtrack on this year’s financesnextyear.” Bill interrupted. “Too confusing. We’ll just put all our resources together, from now on. Keeps the accounts nice and simple.”
Clementine seemed to ponder that idea. “I feel like you’d be losing out on money, if we…”
“This is troll shit!” Johnny interrupted, willing Clem to see the obvious.
Instead, she rolled her eyes over at Bill, in silent communication. Like she was asking him if Johnny’s totally justified accusation had hurt his feelings.
Bill shrugged, signaling his unconcern.
