Can’t he sit at his desk like a normal person? Or turn the television on and watch a movie? My friends are almost done for the evening if he’d wait a few more minutes to be bored and obnoxious.
“Will you excuse me?” I set down my napkin, eyes on the swaying light fixture as I push my chair out and stand. “One second.”
Paul, who’s had a few too much to drink, half rises from his chair. “Want me to go check it out?”
“No, no—you sit. I have, um, raccoons in my attic. I’m sure it’s nothing.” I hesitate, realizing that was a dumb thing to say.
Raccoons in the attic making the lights sway?I’m such shit at lying…
“I meant—we’ve been known to have critters. No big deal, I’m just going to double-check. It’s not…”Stop talking, Posey. “Ghosts or anything.”
“Ghosts?!” Kate gasps. “Is this place haunted?”
“No! No. It’s squirrels. Or…rats.”
“Rats!?”
Shit, I’m making it worse.
Thump.
Thump.
I’m going to kill Duke Colter.“Be right back.”
Conscious of the fact that eight eyes are watching me, I try not to bound up the stairs, two at a time. Instead, I steady my pace and glance over my shoulder with a wide, happy grin.
See? No worries, it says to my drunk-ish friends.
But once I’m at the top of the steps?
I’m stalking like a woman on a mission the few steps to his bedroom, throwing open his door without a care to what he may be doing on the other side.
“What are you doing?” I whisper-hiss, standing in disbelief at the sight before me.
Watch as the overgrown child does pull-up exercises on his closet, a metal bracket braced atop the wood trim for support.
“One hundred and eighty…” He smirks, lifting himself to the chin.
Down.
Up.
“One hundred and eighty-one…”
He’s such a liar.
“You areunbelievable!” I hiss.
“Thanks,” he says at full volume, a little winded from the exercise.
Up.
Down.
“That wasn’t a compliment,” I hiss again. “And could you lower your voice?”
He cocks an eyebrow at me despite the fact that he’s moving up and down with zero effort at all.