Текст книги "The Song Remains the Same"

Автор книги: Kelli Jean

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Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 28 страниц)

“I love you,” I whispered. It filled my chest and eyes and mind.

Moonlight illuminated her profile, showing me her calm, cool surface. Eyes closed, her features were still.

“I love you, too,” she whispered back.

And I knew she hadn’t heard a fuckin’ word.

Phil

“Sheri and the girls are gonna take Kenna out for a ladies’ night,” Jason informed me. “They think she needs to be rereleased into the wild or some shit.”

“What?” I asked, looking up from the writing book Kenna had given me for Christmas.

“They’re takin’ her out for sushi and then to a show. Sheri said that she might not be able to hear the music, but when it’s loud enough, she could feel it. Plus, she has a thing for dudes on stage. Thinks they’re sexy fuckers. Or maybe they’re takin’ her to a strip club? Either way, sexy dudes on stage and loud thumpin’ music.”

Glaring up at his smirking face, I had the urge to put another kink in his nose.

“Oh, good, you haven’t lost it for her then.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

Jason shrugged and dropped his ass on the edge of my desk.

Douche.

“Only that Alys told Sheri who told me that you hardly bother with Kenna anymore. You leave her before she wakes up in the mornin’, and you don’t show up until maybe dinner. Then, after that, you go work out and don’t show up until she’s asleep, sneakin’ into her room like a thief in the—”

“Seriously?”

“Uh, yeah, man. You have been exhibitin’ the signs of a grumpy-ass motherfucker, the kind that only comes from the unlaid.”

“What the fuck, man?” I exploded, chucking my pen at his head.

A spark of satisfaction bloomed in my chest as it bounced off in between his eyes, and he rubbed the spot with his fingers.

“Ow! Shit!”

“She was fuckin’ blown to hell, and y’all are talkin’ shit about us? You people are supposed to be our fuckin’ friends, our family, and you’re all gossipin’ about—”

“It ain’t like that! Well, not really. I think her friends are worried, is all, because she’s fuckin’ depressed, and you won’t touch her or spend any time with her anymore.”

Fire ignited beneath my heart. I was about to unleash unholy hell on my brother until he opened his mouth again.

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

Weirdly enough…I did.

“I nearly lost her, Jace,” I said. “I came so close to fuckin’ losin’ her forever, and…” Just thinking about it had the power to choke me, even after almost three weeks. “She’s doin’ great, you know? She’s healin’ up and gettin’ active again, and I couldn’t be fuckin’ happier. But she’s goin’ for a whole body scan tomorrow, and the doctors will be able to see if there’s anythin’ they missed before, okay? Until then…I don’t wanna touch her. And not because I don’t wanna touch her, but because, once I do, I’m scared I won’t be able to stop. She’s supposed to take it easy, and when we…there ain’t nothin’ easy about our fuckin’.”

“Oh.”

“She knows this. We’ve talked about it. But she’s a stubborn little shit. Just because she’s a doctor, she thinks she fuckin’ knows everythin’. Up until a week ago, she was tryin’ to touch me and get me off—”

“Oh, the horror,” my brother snorted.

“Fuck you, man!” I snapped.

“If it’ll make her happy to make you blow your load, I don’t see what the problem is. Sounds like a win-win to me.”

“Yeah? Well, it ain’t! How is it fair for me to get off when I won’t do it for her because I’m tryin’ to keep her safe? Half the fuckin’ fun is gettin’ her off! More than half really…”

“Damn. I never considered it like that.”

“Poor Sheri,” I muttered, earning a glare.

“That ain’t what I meant, asshole. I meant, the fact that it wouldn’t be fair to let her get you off—”

I waved my hand at him to get him to stop. “It’s not like it’s been a fuckin’ walk in the park, man. She’s lookin’ good, and it ain’t easy, keepin’ my hands off her. So, I just fuckin’ stay the hell away. It ain’t like I want to.”

“Yeah, well, her friends aren’t too happy seein’ her messed up over you. Alys and X had a fight because she said that maybe you were goin’ off and findin’ a piece on the side since you couldn’t bother stickin’ around and just bein’ there for your woman.”

I stared at Jason in horrified disgust. “The fuck Alys said somethin’ like that.”

“She did. I get the feelin’ she was springin’ it on him to shock the truth out of him. I don’t think she actually believed it, not about you goin’ off with someone else, but just wanted to make sure, you know? X flipped out and told her you’d never do that to Kenna.”

At least my boys had my back.

“I can’t even get hard unless it’s for her,” popped out of my mouth.

“Seriously?”

“Fuck off,” I grumbled.

“That’s kind of sweet. And they’re only takin’ her out for sushi. No show afterward. I just wanted to see your face when I said she wanted to see some sexy fuckers—”

The second pen went sailing over his head before he ducked.

“So, I guess we’ll order pizza tonight?” he asked before leaving my office.

Asshole.

There was no way I was getting anything else done right then. Kenna was depressed and lonely. I really had been avoiding her, especially the last few days. The other morning, I’d woken up with my hand between her legs while grinding my cock against her ass. Kenna had still been asleep, but she’d been making those sexy noises that drove me out of my head, and I’d woken up close to spunking in my drawers. Fuck, she had been so soft and soaking wet, pushing her perfect ass into my groin. As quietly as possible, I’d gotten up and snuck out of our bed, out of the room, taking my clothes with me and dressing in the hall before running back home.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. This is just so fuckin’ fucked up.

I wanted to bury myself inside her, watch her face when she felt me hit that heartbeat, see the way her eyes rolled back and her brows drew together.

Now, my dick was swollen and aching.

“Fuck!” Jumping to my feet, I headed for my bathroom, slamming the door and locking it behind me.

Kenna

Digging through my closet, I found what I had been looking for. I’d forgotten about it until that moment, and I decided that maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea. My trusty vibrator was in a box in the back, looking a bit dusty. It was disheartening because, even though it was one of the bigger models with nodules and a clit stimulator and everything along with three different speeds and the ability to rotate in both directions if I so desired, it had nothing on Phil.

Hello, old friend. It’s been a while.

With a resigned sigh, I headed into my bathroom and locked the door. Recently, my friends had just taken to walking in since I couldn’t hear them knock. The last thing I needed was mortification added to my list of Shit That Sucks Since My Life Blew Up.

The worst thing on the list was the fact that I hadn’t heard a single peep in almost three weeks. Just a dull wah, wah, wah, wah that had receded into some semblance of normal, everyday life. At first, it had frustrated me, made me angry. I couldn’t have a decent conversation with anyone. The fact that I hadn’t heard music was horrific to me. However, after the memorial service, the fury had mellowed, and I’d just ended up seriously depressed.

More than anything, I wanted to hear Phil’s voice. I mourned the loss of it deep in my soul.

What I needed was a big, fat orgasm. Maybe three or four of them. Since it was impossible to tap my main source, I was going to have to resort to Plan B. I’d taken to masturbating on a daily basis, but I really needed to feel something substantial.

Enter: The Vibrator.

Phil was adamant that there be no sex, no touching of each other’s naughty bits, but it was okay if we touched our own. I’d even asked him to jerk off in front of me, and I’d touch myself for him, but that had apparently been a no-go as well. We could touch ourselves, by ourselves, alone.

Stripping out of my clothes, I hopped into the empty bathtub. My go-to orgasm inducer buzzed to life.

The first one was so good that I had to have another go.

And then another.

“Oh, thank the gods…” I groaned, as replete as I was going to get without Phil.

On wobbly legs, I stood and showered. Then, I cleaned off the vibrator in the sink. I was going to put it in its box and hide it in the back of the closet again. Tank top and underwear on, I unlocked the bathroom door and walked out, vibrator in hand, ready to stride into the closet.

But I froze.

Phil was sitting on the bed, a bunch of lotus blossoms in his hands. His eyes dropped to the gadget clutched in my fist, and they grew wide with shock. Then, they snapped back to my face, and I felt hellfire heat my cheeks and chest.

Mortification had just been added to My List.

Phil

My talk with Jason had made me realize that I needed to fix this shit. Kenna didn’t deserve this. I had always known it wasn’t the right way to handle the situation, but I couldn’t figure out anything better. I’d headed to the florist and bought her favorite lotus flowers, wanting to surprise her. She needed to know that I loved her, that I was always thinking of her.

When I had gotten to her place, the house had been quiet. Heading up to our room, I’d heard the shower going. I had been sorely tempted to bust in and see her all naked and wet, but I hadn’t wanted to fuckin’ have to whack off again, so I’d copped a squat on the bed.

Will she come out naked?

I wanted to see her naked.

Naked. Naked, naked, naked.

My Baby Girl had the most amazing body—long legs and arms, lean torso, all of her curves cut with strong muscles. She looked like those old drawings of heavy-metal warrior chicks, the ones from the ’70s and ’80s, waving swords and wearing fur undies and metal bras, except Kenna’s tits weren’t as massive. I loved her tits. I could suck a whole one into my mouth. They had the most perfect rosy nipples, and when they got all tight and hard, they looked sweet enough to eat.

Damn it.

It’d looked like I’d be going for round three on myself later.

The lock on the bathroom door had clicked, opening to reveal her in her white tank and white cotton panties.

Fuck, that’s hot.

And she had a huge fuckin’ purple vibrator clutched in her hand! My brain fritzed.

She has a vibrator? I stared at that thing for a good fuckin’ minute.

Son of a bitch! She has a fuckin’ vibrator!

Looking up into her beautiful little face, I saw she’d gone the color of a deep sunburn. I glared at her.

I was fuckin’ stupid jealous. I wanted to be up inside that sweet, hot, tight wet cunt of hers, but that…that thing…that obscene purple alien space dick had had the pleasure while I was chafed from whacking myself off half to death.

I stood up, and she whipped her purple alien dick behind her back, as if she could hide it now, after I’d stared it down.

“I, um…” She looked like she wished the ground would open up and swallow her.

I took a menacing step toward her, and she backed up. Another step followed and then another until she had backed herself into the sink.

Alien space dick clunked loudly against the cabinet.

“That’s my cunt,” I told her deaf ears. “I’m the only thing allowed up in my cunt.”

Reading my lips, she got the gist. I was so close to her, my body just a whisper from pressing the length of me into her. She smelled so good, the warmth of her heating me up. My dick hopefully raised its head.

“You won’t touch your cunt,” she hissed, her green eyes flashing fire, “so I took matters into my own hands.”

Tossing the bouquet over my shoulder, I grabbed her face, kissing the fuck out of her mouth. Like a fuckin’ magnet, my groin sought out hers, pushing right up in between her legs, grinding into her heat. Fuck, I wanted her. I wanted to be the thing that made her fall apart, and then I’d put her together again and do it over and over and over until neither of us could move.

She moaned, dropping the vibrator to the floor, and wrapped her arms around my neck, pushing back against me. The soft mounds of her tits pressed through my shirt, and I wanted to suck and bite them so bad. I filled my hands with her ass, pulling her into me, and we both groaned.

Fuck!

This wasn’t cool. It had to stop now.

I broke the kiss, and she mewled in protest. Everything inside me roared in protest, too, with that little noise.

“Phil…”

My heart was ready to burst out of my chest, and I was breathing like I’d just charged up a hill at full speed. “Less than a fuckin’ day, okay? Let’s wait one more day, and then…”

I held up a finger, and she sagged against the sink.

She nodded. She got me.

This wasn’t her fault. I was the one to blame. Kenna had done what she had to. She hadn’t done it to make me jealous. She hadn’t known I was coming.

But I was still fuckin’ jealous of that thing.

It wasn’t like I’d stop her from using it, not when I wouldn’t do my job. It wasn’t the orgasms that could hurt her. It was me. If there were injuries or weaknesses in her that could endanger her life—

Fuck, my heart stopped from me just thinking there could still be something wrong with her.

She had to be feeling back to her usual self, if she had resorted to alien space dicks.

My Baby Girl needed me, and I fuckin’ ached something fierce to give it to her.

It’s not your dick she needs, asshole. She needs you.

Back at the studio, Flipper and X were in the production box, working with the Space Monkeys, and Jason and Connor were tweaking some of our own material. We were ahead of schedule since I hadn’t gone to Italy with my fiancée.

Silver linings and all that shit, yeah?

“Is she holding up all right?” Connor asked as I walked into his space.

He hadn’t done too much with the office, not like the rest of us had. We’d told him to do whatever he wanted, and he’d brought in a futon and all his instruments. His desk, the same one he’d had in his bedroom at his parents’ house, was pushed up to one wall, giving him enough room to use all his instruments at once, if he were so fuckin’ inclined. He hadn’t gotten the gist that the band would pay for decorating his space, and Jason had thought it was fuckin’ hilarious. Connor seemed more than happy with it though.

“She’s fine,” I replied, parking it on a spare stool. “She was in the shower when I got there.”

“Mmm…” he said, looking through his sheet music.

“Mmm, what?” I asked.

“She was all alone?”

“Yeah. Why?” Who the fuck else would be in the shower with her—besides freaky alien space dick?

He shrugged. “Just wondering. I think she’s been pretty lonely since Alys and Lili had to go back to work, and you won’t hang with her—”

“Shut the fuck up,” I snapped. “None of you have any fuckin’ idea how hard it is—”

He turned to face me, and he was pissed, real pissed.

“I do know how hard it is for her because she fuckin’ tells me. She’s devastated because seventy-five percent of her life is about music, and she hasn’t heard a single fuckin’ thing in three weeks. She’s fuckin’ terrified that she’ll never hear your voice again, especially since Gavin’s hearing started coming back—”

“When?” I gasped.

“A few days ago. He woke up one morning and could hear. Not a hundred percent, but it’s been improving more and more.”

“She didn’t tell me.”

“You kind of have to be around to have a conversation with her. Yeah, it’s a pain in the ass to have to write everything down, but I thought you loved her enough to do that at least.”

Bastard.

He might as well have kicked me in the nuts.

“It’s not that, brother,” I replied.

“Then, what?”

“I’m not discussin’ it with you, man.”

He smirked. “Yeah, she told me about that, too.”

That had to be so fuckin’ bizarre. I’d never had a conversation with Danielle about either of our sex lives. As far as I was concerned, my niece and nephew were among the immaculately conceived. It couldn’t explain how Martin was their father, but I didn’t have to think about that.

“It’s for her own safety,” I said, keeping my voice hushed. “I’d never forgive myself if…”

Connor just nodded, but his next words chilled my soul. “So, what are you going to do if there is something wrong? Is your relationship gonna be reduced to you snuggling up with her in her sleep? Is that all you two will have?”

Heaving a sigh, I replied, “No. We’ll figure that shit out. She’s…she’s my best friend, Connor. Right now, it’s easier for both of us if we’re not all up in each other’s shit. And I don’t feel comfortable talking with you about my sex life with your sister.”

“Says the man who made me play ‘Love Letter,’” he stated sourly.

“Ha-ha! Yeah…”

“It’s not easier for her, man. Kenna’s heartbroken. She tries to convince herself that it’s okay, that you guys are only temporarily separated—”

“We aren’t separated!” I snapped.

“You sure fuckin’ act like you are!” he snapped back. “Kenna has never shown more emotion than when she’s with you! Right now, she’s hurting bad, and it’s not from being blown up. The only thing she’s never been able to hide is how she feels about you, not since that very first time she heard your voice. I saw—”

“What?” I asked, my chest swelling up with undying devotion for my woman.

“She fell in love. You were it for her. I saw that. Your voice connected with something inside her, and she has never been able to let it go. When she’s with you, she lights up. She’s warm and happy. I would hate to see that taken away from her.”

“I’m not leavin’ her, brother. Ever. She’s fuckin’ stuck with me. She’s it for me, too.”

“And if she has to take it easy for however long?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

“You won’t go fuckin’ around—”

The closest thing I found to throw at him was the scroungy-looking pillow on the futon. He was lucky because the second closest thing was a beaten-up bass that would’ve hurt a hell of a lot more if it had hit his head instead.

“That ain’t even remotely funny, asshole!” I snarled.

“I’m not laughing!” he said, tossing the pillow back on the futon. “But I’m not keen on watchin’ my sister die a little inside each time you decide you need some head and won’t let her give you a blow job!”

I got up and whacked him upside the head.

“Ow!”

“That’s your fuckin’ sister!”

“She’s your fuckin’ fiancée! Just because you and your sister grew up as prudes—”

I whacked him again.

“Ow!” He stood up and slapped me like a bitch.

I fuckin’ lost it, laughing my ass off. “Seriously? You slapped me?”

“Your sister ain’t a virgin either, douche bag—ow!”

“You take that back!”

“Fuck you!”

I tackled his ass to the floor, and it felt fuckin’ good to beat on someone my own size. We weren’t going for blood or anything, just working out some aggression. Avoiding each other’s faces, we wrestled and wailed on mostly stomachs and ribs. Motherfucker grabbed my hair like a fuckin’ chick, so I did it back. That shit hurt.

Jason charged into the room and tried to pull me off, but I ended up grabbing his ass and slamming him down, too. Then, Connor and I both went after him and gave the poor fucker a wedgie that ripped his designer boxers up his ass crack.

“Fuck!” he shrieked. “I think I’m bleedin’! You fuckers cut a deeper crack in my ass!”

Connor and I cracked up till tears were leaking out. Then, I smacked the soulless ginger for good measure before hauling my ass back to my space.

At six o’clock, I was ready to go home and wait for Kenna to come back from dinner with her friends. Guilt was eating at me, and I needed to tell her that I was sorry. I thought about texting her what I was thinking, but that seemed pretty fuckin’ lame. So, instead, I stayed at the studio, deciding it would be better to get some more shit done. I’d head out in a little while and hopefully get home around the same time she did.

Jason, Connor, and I got together and laid down the foundations for a new track. If we kept on it, we might have it ready to go on the next album. We were raising the standards, and it was proving to be epic.

All was going great until…

Flipper ended up blowing up on Koko from the Space Monkeys. The girl was a brilliant drummer. I’d give her that. But she knew it and liked to argue with Flipper over what would be best in the solo they were working on. The thing she didn’t seem to grasp was that if she was considered brilliant, then Flipper was the God of Percussion. They’d been snipping at each other all damn day, and the rest of us were doing our best to avoid them.

“Connor!” Flipper roared, finding us in the jam-out area. “Fuckin’ take my ass home, man. I’m fuckin’ done!”

“Uh…” Connor looked down in desperation at all we’d written.

“And you!” He pointed at me. “You’re workin’ with that little puta until her fuckin’ arms fall off!”

“Why me?” I shouted back. My shout could trump Flipper’s any day.

“Because you can scare some sense into that shitty little bitch! I’m fuckin’ sick of her whinin’ and complainin’, tellin’ me I don’t understand their music!”

“Seriously?” Jason snorted.

“I’m fuckin’ out!”

Connor put down his bass and stood up. “It’s cool. I wanna see Kenna anyway.”

There he was, kicking me in my nuts again.

Fuckin’ asshole.

Flipper started firing off in Spanglish, and Jason and I picked up our shit. When Flip got his Spanglish on, it was just best to get the fuck out of the way.

“I’ll get in the box and see what’s up with what they’ve recorded already, yeah?” said Jason.

“I don’t wanna work with Koko Loco,” I whined.

Jason just laughed and walked off.

“Order pizza, douche,” I called after him. “I ain’t tryin’ to tame the Asian Sensation on an empty gut. Worse comes to worse, I’ll puke on her to shut her up.”

“She’s got a mouth on her to rival Flip,” Jason conceded.

“Too fuckin’ right,” I grumbled.

An hour and a half later, I found myself setting up two drum kits in the jam-out area with Koko Loco. After we’d found X asleep in his office and fed his soulless ass, he and Jason went to work on some bass lines for the new song, and I was ready to kick the shit out of some drums.

I loved to drum. I didn’t do it often because I’d wrecked too many kits to count. Once I got going, I wouldn’t really check my strength. Flipper had banned me from touching his at all. But it was fuckin’ fun, and I was fuckin’ good at it—but not Flipper good. Not many people were Flipper good. I was just good. Okay, brilliant. Brilliant enough to put Koko Loco in her place, that was for fuckin’ sure.

“What? Flipper couldn’t handle me, so he foisted me onto you?” she sneered, dropping her flat, tiny ass on the stool behind the kit we’d set up for her use.

“Pretty much,” I replied, getting behind my bigger, sturdier kit. I took off my boots and socks, wanting to feel the pedals for the bass drums. “He’s sick of your mouth and shitty attitude.”

Her jaw dropped. “Shitty attitude?”

“Yep. Word to the wise, Koko Loco, don’t fuckin’ piss off the people who want to give you a shot at your dream. Flipper is one of the greatest drummers in the history of ever, and compared to his genius, you’re just a pissant. He took the time to lay it down for you, and you fuckin’ acted like a spoiled little shit. Now, you have to work with me, and I haven’t been in a very good mood lately.”

Flipper had told her what was needed to make the solo credible. I went into it, wailing on my kit, doing everything perfect, just like Flipper had wanted from her. He never expected her to take it to his level. He’d expected her to live up to her own. He had known she could raise the bar on it and make something mediocre into something fantastic.

When I finished the twenty-six seconds it had taken to complete the solo, she had a stunned look on her face.

“Wow.”

“Really? ’Cause I thought it was pretty basic.”

Good. Now, she was insulted.

“Your turn,” I said, smiling all sweet for her.

Chicks dug the dimples.

Kenna

Since the bombing, I hadn’t left the house much, mostly because people would stare at my freakish eyeball. Besides the memorial service, I’d ventured to the organic grocers with Sheri, and my face had made a little kid cry. No point in bothering after that. It would be best for the last speck of my ego if small children didn’t burst into tears at the sight of my busted face.

Sushi with my friends had been nice, but it had been hard, trying to keep up with conversations. I’d strained to read lips and felt bad that I could only get the gist of half of what they were talking about, if that. They had put in a lot of effort though, and that hadn’t gone unappreciated.

Feeling sorry for myself wasn’t helping. I wanted to be thankful that I was alive and healthy enough to have healed as quickly as I had. I wanted to be grateful that my friends were all happy and in love and having awesome sex with their boyfriends. I wished I could see all the good that had continued despite my entire world falling down around me.

One day, I knew I would. I would see it even if I could no longer hear it.

I was jealous of Gavin regaining his hearing. I was depressed that Phil couldn’t stand to be with me for more than a few hours in the middle of the night. It wasn’t like I pranced around naked, trying to entice him or anything.

Sitting me down, Phil had written down all the reasons why he was insisting that we abstain. He was scared of any underlying damage that we didn’t know about, of hurting me with all my bruises and aches. He’d assured me that he loved me though.

I’d gotten it. I really had.

Ceasing all sexual advances, I’d relinquished my right to touch him, kiss him, hold him, and have all those things in return. It had been hell.

Even after I’d promised to be good and keep my hands to myself, he’d stopped spending time with me, deciding to spend long hours at the studio.

Throughout the day, Phil would send me texts, asking if I was feeling okay, telling me he loved me. But…it felt forced, like he was only doing it because he had to. I might’ve been reading into that too much, but I had been spending a lot of time in my head with no distractions, and I’d found myself analyzing things that I never really would’ve given a second thought to when I was normal.

Normal.

Lili had Alys drop her off at Lewis’s place after dinner, and Alys and Sheri went back to the Plantation House. They wanted me to stay and hang out with them, but I told them I needed to rest. I had my checkup and CT scan tomorrow.

I hadn’t mentioned Phil all night, and neither had they. Pity was a bitter pill to swallow.

Fighting tears, I found Connor waiting for me on the back porch. I attempted a smile, but I was afraid I looked like I was trying to hold in a fart.

He smiled back anyway and waved a joint at me.

“Yeah.” Sighing, I sat down in my usual seat.

He sparked it up and passed it to me. Then, he wrote something down on a notepad.

Phil’s still at the studio. He’s working with Koko on her drum solo. She pissed off Flipper.

“Okay,” I replied.

I was thinking we could take a ride over there. He’s fucking awesome on the drums. We could go watch. You could feel the beats even if you can’t hear them.

That made me smile. I’d never seen Phil on drums. I knew that he really liked to play them.

“I’d like that,” I told my brother.

He misses his Baby Girl. He told me today that, if your scan showed anything wrong, you two would figure out something that didn’t involve him avoiding you. He’s not doing it to hurt you. He’s scared, and I think he’s only starting to come to grips with how close he came to losing you.

“Yeah.”

He also said that he’d never fuck around on you. I think he’d castrate himself before he had to sleep with another woman. Just saying.

“Oh, good. Because I’d castrate him if he did.”

Connor cracked up, and seeing that made me crack up, too.

I read his lips as he said, “Come on.”

Phil

For the first time in a long time, I felt good. I was having a fuckin’ blast on my kit, and I had to admit that Koko wasn’t so bad. After a while, we started freestyling off each other, and I was impressed with her all over again.

A couple of hours into it, I got up and grabbed some bottles of water. Sweating up a storm, I took off my shirt and dried my face with it. I had more in my office, so I wouldn’t have to put the gross one on when we were done.

“Again,” I told her. I dug in my cargoes for my cigarette case that held my weed. Fishing out a spliff—there it goes again—I sparked it up and copped a squat on a bench to watch her go for round sixty-three of her solo.

After listening to her play it, I heard what her problem was. She wasn’t confident with the speed at one crucial point, and Flipper—who was the walking, talking Mexican Captain Confident—had no sympathy for those without. He’d lost his patience with her because he hadn’t realized that she didn’t think she could do it. She could now, and for the fourth time running, she’d nailed the fuck out of it.

“I think that’ll do for today,” I told her. “Come have a smoke, and we’ll get the fuck outta here.”

Koko was a tiny little thing, not much taller than Pygmy and a lot less curvy. She looked like a thirteen-year-old dude from the back although she didn’t have that problem in the front. Her boobs bounced right along with her as she bounded over to me in her excitement.

“I can’t believe I finally did it!” she crowed, her face all smiles.

She plopped down next to me, and I passed her the joint.

“You just need to own that shit, girl. Ain’t nothin’ to it.”

“You’re really great, Phil. I mean, you’re a hard ass, but you’re a lot nicer than Flipper.”

“Yeah, well, he was desperate to shag his cousin. He gets twitchy if he goes without for too long.”

“Oh, yeah?” She blew out her cloud and propped her feet up on the edge of the bench. “What about you?”

I shrugged. “What about me?”

“I heard you and Baby Girl are on the outs.”

Fury sparked behind Kenna’s tattoo. “Who the fuck told you that?”

She shrugged her dainty shoulders. “Everyone’s been talking about it.”

“Everyone…” My inferno flared up. Dropping the roach on the floor, I used my boot to grind it out. “Fuckin’ bullshit.”

I was trying to wrap my head around this little piece of garbage as I leaned back against the bench when Koko decided it would be a good idea to hop on my lap.

Wrapping her little arms around my neck, she straddled my waist. “I’m down to be your little something on the side, if all you need is a bit of—”

Freezing like a deer in headlights, I gasped, “What?”