He opened his mouth to speak, but then narrowed his eyes. “Ah, I see.”
“See what?” I asked, before it hit me. I grinned at him. “I’m not saying anything, but what Mum doesn’t know, she doesn’t know.”
“Fine, fine. You go out then, but you stay safe, okay?” He got up and touched the side of my arm almost unconsciously, before pulling his hand quickly away. “And Mum doesn’t find out any of this.” He couldn’t help himself; he smirked.
“It’s a deal,” I said, still grinning. “Enjoy the pizzas and gambling!” I swung off the counter and went to my room to get changed.
“You’re not going to eat with us?”
“Not after your breakfast this morning! The female metabolism is slower than the male’s.”
“Right,” I heard him say. I could just picture him, shaking his head, hands in his pockets, wondering if he was making a mistake.
It had never occurred to me to use the times when he had his friends over against him. Gambling, drinking… it was so obvious!
* * *
It was well past one in the morning when I got home. I rather hoped that Michael wouldn’t remember that I had said I wouldn’t be home late. Janet dropped me off, and got out of the car to walk me to the door. This time, she hadn’t had more than two drinks the whole night, which was good. I never actually got mad at her for drink driving the last time, but probably should have.
She left her new boy-of-the-moment in the car, and he played some game on his phone in the front seat.
“Kiss me,” she said before we’d reached the front door to my building.
“What?” I asked, laughing. “No!”
“Come on, put on a show with me.”
“For what?”
“Him!” she said, jerking her head back toward the car.
“Why?” I asked. “It’s not like he’s going anywhere.”
“Come on,” she hissed. “Just do it.”
“Fine,” I said. “But he’s not even looking.”
Janet bent down and picked up a piece of gravel, and then tossed it at her car.
“You’ll scratch it, you idiot.”
“That piece of shit? I don’t care.” When she was satisfied that her new boy was watching, she grabbed hold of me by the waist and kissed me hard. I didn’t really enjoy kissing girls, but whatever, she drove me home so I owed her, I guess.
“Thanks,” she said, grinning at me. We said our goodbyes, and I watched her walk back to her car, a swing in her step.
That girl, I thought to myself, shaking my head. She was seriously a freak.
When I got inside the apartment, I announced my presence. Usually safe to do that, I thought to myself. “Michael, I’m home.”
“It’s late!” I heard hi
m say. I could hear music playing, and the smell of pizza made my stomach growl. “Get some pizza in the kitchen if you’re hungry.”
Well, I wasn’t about to pass that up. He didn’t seem to care that I was late, too, which was great. I did as I was told, and brought out a couple of beers for Michael and his friend. But when I reached the living room, I saw that there were another two men there I didn’t recognize.
“I only brought two cans,” I said, putting them on the table. They had a pretty pro setup going… chips with different colors, and a pile of cash in the middle of the table.
“You never told us Allie was so gorgeous,” one of the men said, and I rolled my eyes.