Page 58 of Intangible
“That’s it, we can never have actual intercourse,” Thayer announced, collapsing against his chest, still trying to catch her breath.
“Why is that?” he asked, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.
“I think my head will explode. If a simple rub off can be this mind blowing, what would the rest be like.”
“Simple rub off?” Memphis chuckled. Sometimes it took all of his effort to keep up with her train of thought.
“Rub out?”
“I was having a problem with the word simple.”
“Oh, sorry,” she answered, resting her head on her hands, watching him. “A very complex and thought-provoking grind fest.” He laughed, making her head bounce. “I’m sticky,” she added.
“I don’t doubt it. Want to help me into the shower? I have some new tricks to try out with my tongue.”
“Hum, I don’t know. I would hate for you to slip and fall?” She smiled when he looked down at her.
“You just get your sexy ass in the shower. Let me worry about the rest.”
Chapter 23
Knox laidin bed staring at the ceiling. At least he had managed to sleep until midnight before his dream about missing the other roof jerked him awake.
He rubbed his hands together, throwing a small fireball at the ceiling. It always burned away before it made it back to him. It was his equivalent of tossing a ball at the ceiling, only he’d never had to worry about breaking his nose this way. He had only caught his bed on fire once and that was in high school. His mother had not been amused in the least.
He listened to the loft, but all he could hear was snoring from the room next door. Getting back to sleep seemed to be out of the question. A walk might help him clear his mind, or at least help him work through what happened just a few hours ago. If he could have just caught up on that rooftop, there was a chance this would all be over now.
Getting out of the bed, he pulled his jeans back on, hunting around for a shirt. Dressed, he nodded to the dog that had moved into his room at some point while he slept. Quietly, he opened the bedroom door the rest of the way. At least the mystery of how Murphy got in his room was solved.
Trying to be as quiet as a two-hundred-and-fifty-pound man could be, Knox carried his boots into the living room, where Shaun slept on the couch.
“Where’re you going?” Shaun asked, watching Knox with one eye open. Knox had learned from Memphis that Shaun never slept very deeply, having learned at an early age that bad things happen when you let your guard down.
“I need some air,” Knox grunted, lacing up his boots.
“This isn’t a good neighborhood to walk in at night.” When Knox stood with a smirk, Shaun just shrugged before pulling the blanket farther up his body. Murphy met Knox at the door, so he fished the leash off the hook.
Checking that the outer door was secured behind him, they started down the road.
He walked out of the industrial park toward the few bars and shops in the area. Randall had told him there was the start of a renewal of the area, but as far as he could see, they had a long way to go. Quite a number of the old buildings he passed were empty and seemed to be more in need of a wrecking ball than a renovation. He guessed that was why he was a math teacher and not a developer.
He had only been walking for fifteen minutes when Knox felt someone following him. They were at least half a block away, but he could tell they were closing in slowly.
Reaching down, he unhooked Murphy’s leash. If there was going to be trouble, he didn’t want the dog to be unable to get away. Using the opportunity to take a quick glance back, he saw that there were at least four young men following him. He figured he could take two, three if he had to, but four might be a stretch.
Ducking around a corner, he walked a few feet before turning around to wait for them. The only weapon he had was a nasty-looking knife he kept razor sharp, but, with any luck, he wouldn’t have to use it.
Within a few minutes, the men jogged around the corner after him, sliding to a stop when they found him facing them. He wasn’t sure if the word “men” was accurate, they looked more like a couple of boys up to no good.
“Yo. Give us your green, old man, and we’ll let you walk away.” The biggest of the thugs held a baseball bat, tapping it on his hand as he spoke.
“You think I’d walk around here flush?” Knox asked, holding out his hands. With any luck, he could bluff his way out of this without any bloodshed.
“Give me your fucking money,” the man repeated with a snarl. Knox prepared for the onslaught.
Snapping his fingers at Murphy, he gave him a hand signal to go back to the loft. Memphis had shown him the hand commands the dog would respond to when they were sitting around one evening. Murphy would respond not only to hand and voice commands but also whistles. The damned border collie was smarter than most people he knew.
“Listen up, blow by, I don’t have any money,” he growled when Murphy was a safe distance away. “Turn around and walk away before you get hurt.” Knox’s lip curled up as he glared at the leader of the crew, daring him to engage.
