Page 31 of Crow
“Fine,” I said, rolling my eyes and stepping away. Surprise flashed across her face, and fury tinged the edges of my vision red. I made a note to shoot Ray more than was strictly necessary when I finally got my hands on the bastard, and kick him around a bit for good measure. Then she beamed at me, and that smile drove everything else from my head. I leaned against the doorframe between the sitting room and the hallway, watching her round ass as she bent over to pull her shoes on. I wanted to slap it, and as it swayed with her movements, it was like an invitation. My hand made a satisfying smacking sound as it connected, and I grinned as she straightened and turned to me with a cute little yelp.
“The fuck was that for?” she cried. My grin widened.
“It looked good,” I told her, shrugging one shoulder. She stared at me for a moment, a smile twitching her lips.
“That’s real mature, you know that?” she teased. I pushed myself off the wall and stepped closer, leaning in for a kiss.
“What can I say?” I murmured, nipping at her lower lip. “You bring out the worst in me.”
“Well, if that’s your worst, I think we’re gonna be just fine,” she replied, bumping her nose against mine. We both laughed softly. At some point, her hand had ended up in mine again, and I lifted it to my face to press a kiss to her knuckles. She looked away, a blush staining her cheekbones and nodded at the front door.
“I really need to be going,” she said quietly. I smiled weakly, still not wanting her out of my sight. I used my grip on her hand to reel her back for another kiss. There was a hunger inside my chest, a need to be close to her now that I finally knew she cared for me too. It was like every need and desire I had pushed down and ignored since Jeannie died hit me at once, and now I couldn’t stand to not be touching Jade in some way. Just to make sure she was there, that this was real and not some other twisted wet dream.
“Michael, I’m serious.” She smiled.
“I know, I know,” I mumbled between kisses, reaching around to open the door for her.
“Goodbye,” she said, trying to step away.
“Goodbye.” I kissed her again.
“Goodbye,Michael,” she repeated, firmer now even though she was still smiling.
“Bye.” I stayed to watch her head down my driveway, the knot in my chest easing when she turned to wave at me. Then she was gone, heading out of my sight, and I had to remind myself that it was only for a few hours and to stop being such a fucking sap. My stomach growled, complaining that we had been awake and active for so long without me feeding it. I went into the kitchen to check out the fridge. Stuffed between the beer bottles and condiments was a half-empty carton of eggs, and once I saw them, I craved scrambled eggs. As I cooked, I wondered how Jade liked her eggs. I should probably buy some groceries before she came back too; there weren’t enough eggs for two tomorrow.
I tried to watch TV as I ate, but I couldn’t focus. My gaze kept being drawn to Jeannie’s picture sitting on the coffee table. My appetite faltered. I put down my knife and fork, picking up the picture instead. I ran my fingers over her smiling face.
“You’re always gonna be special to me,” I told the picture. “But… I think Jade might be right. That it’s okay to move on. It’s been years, Jeannie. And I’m always gonna love you, but you’d want me to be happy, right? And I think… Fuck it all, I think Jade makes me happy.”
I thought of the hours we had spent on the couch, mocking the TV and swapping stories. Jade made me laugh, almost more than anyone else I had ever known. I pressed a kiss to the photo frame before setting it back on the coffee table.
Energy was buzzing under my skin. I couldn’t sit still. I headed to Ironhead Tavern for something to do, hoping that having other people around me would help, and found that the Tavern was full to bursting. Grumbling bikers helped people in uniforms carry chairs, tables, and bouquets of flowers across the room. In the middle of it all was Archer, hands on his hips and shouting like a drill sergeant.
“Look here, you useless bastards!” he yelled. “My wedding is in two fucking days, and I expect this goddamn Tavern to look fuckingperfectfor Rose, you hear? She’s out with the other women getting pampered, and she’s trusted me to do this, so you are going to move, move, move!”
I covered a smile with my hand as he went marching toward where Vegas and Maverick were leaning over the bar, trying to flirt with some girls in aprons with Kate’s Catering written on them. He grabbed them both by the ears and dragged them back, tossing them toward the middle of the room and ordering them to start hanging up the banners Rose had ordered. The girls giggled behind their hands. I headed over to them to grab a beer.
“And you two!” Archer cried, jabbing a finger toward Tank and Wrench, who were holed up in a corner booth covered in papers and watching everything go down with amused smirks on their faces. “The only reason you’re not fucking helping them is because you said you were planning damage control for the fucking Freeways. Either get on with it or I’ll have the pair of you making airport trips for Rose’s family.” The man turned, scowling. “Speaking of, where the fuck is Ripper?”
“I’m right here, keep your fucking panties on.” Ripper gave a low whistle as he walked into the Tavern, looking around at all the decorations hanging from every surface. “Never thought I’d see the day when I saw the Ironhead Tavern covered in pink streamers.”
“It’s called fucking blush, you uncultured bastard,” Archer grumbled. I couldn’t help a laugh, and he glared at me. “Rose was very clear. Only blush pink and cream at the wedding,” he explained quietly, rubbing the back of his neck.
“I get it.” I laughed, holding my hands up, still holding the beer bottle. “My wedding was all champagne.”
It was like a bad movie. Everybody around me stopped to turn and stare. Even Tank and Wrench looked up from where they had hunched over their plans after Archer had scolded them. Archer gaped at me.
“I’m sorry, your what now?” he asked.
“It was in style.” I shrugged one shoulder, grinning. Archer’s jaw dropped further, and he looked like he was about to say something else when he was interrupted.
“Which one of you, uh, lovely young men is Russel?”
I looked over to see that a couple I didn’t recognize had entered the Tavern behind Ripper. It was the woman who had spoken, and she was looking around the place like a mouse in the lion’s den. I could see that she had the same nose as Rose. The man seemed confused by it all. I didn’t blame him. Archer winced.
“One of Rose’s aunts and her husband,” he muttered to me before hurrying over to the couple. “Ah, it’s Archer, ma’am,” he said, holding one hand out to shake hers and rubbing the back of his neck with the other one. “Rose is so excited to see you. She’s at the nail place right now so if you’ll let me show you where you’ll be staying…” As he guided the pair back out of the Tavern, Archer looked over his shoulder at me. “When I get back, you are telling me more!” he called. I raised my beer.
“Whatever you say, Archer.”
