“SO … TELL ME ABOUT yourself.” Kai is making a jackass of himself in front of Melrose as she drives a corkscrew into the top of her wine bottle.
“That’s the best you can do?” She laughs, not looking up.
“Huh?”
“That’s your pickup line?”
Kai hooks a hand around the back of his neck, rubbing it as he wears a nervous smile. I told him before. He’s got no game.
“Yeah, I’m kind of old-fashioned like that. I see a pretty girl and I immediately want to get to know her,” he says. “I like to cut to the chase.”
Her lips flatten and her eyebrows lift, and she nods. “All right. I can respect that.”
“So …” he says, hand gripped around the neck of his beer bottle as he holds it against his chest.
Melrose pours her wine, keeping her back to him. Clearly she’s not interested, but Kai’s posture is cemented. He’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
I have to intervene.
This is too painful to watch.
Plus, I’ll shit myself if she so much as considers giving Kai a chance. Love the guy, but no. Just no. Guy’s a serial monogamist. When he gets a girl, he tends to keep her around for years, and I don’t want to spend the next five years seeing Melrose on Kai’s arm at every barbecue and get together.
Don’t think I’d be able to look at her without thinking about all the things we did and all the things I still want to do to her even if I won’t allow myself to do them.
“Kai,” I say, giving him a look and nodding toward the living room. Melrose watches the two of us and takes a small sip of her red wine as she watches Kai trek into the next room.
“You don’t have to do that,” she says when he’s out of earshot.
“Do what?” I wrinkle my nose before turning to reach for another beer from the fridge.
“Fend off guys for me,” she says. “It’s weird.”
“How is it weird?” I unscrew the cap with a refreshing hiss and take a swig.
Melrose shrugs. “It’s strange to me that you can’t stand me, yet you don’t want me to go out with anyone else. It’s like … you don’t want me, but you don’t want anyone else to have me.”
“You’re only half right,” I say.
“Whatever.” She rolls her eyes and takes her wine upstairs.
I head back to the living room, taking a seat across from Kai. A couple other guys from work are discussing the ostentatious penthouse apartment we wired this week. I’ll never get how people drool over that kind of lifestyle.
To me, the simpler the better.
I don’t need laundry dumbwaiters, fridges that open by voice command, or “smart” toilets.
“Dude, Sut, was that your roommate?” Christian asks.
I take a swig. “Yep.”
“No fucking way. You said you were living with some girl, but guess you forgot to mention she’s crazy fucking hot?” He eyes the stairs, as if he’s expecting her to come back down here. “She single?”
“I don’t know,” I lie. “Don’t know, don’t care.”
Kai shakes his head.
“What?” I shoot him a look.
“You like her,” he blasphemes in my house.
“Like hell I do,” I answer, taking an even bigger drink. I stare at the UFC weigh-ins happening on the TV screen in front of us, but I can sense the three of them staring in my direction like a damn peanut gallery.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, and when I check the screen, I find a text from Tucker.
TUCKER: DAD’S DRUNK AGAIN. FIGHTING WITH RHONDA. I LOCKED MY BEDROOM DOOR AFTER HE PUT HIS FIST THROUGH THE WALL.
God damn it.
I text him to pack a bag. At least it’s the weekend. He can stay with me until Sunday night, then I’ll have to take him back so he can go to school.
I can’t count how many times I’ve reported Dad to CPS. The first few times, they’d show up at random times, but usually before he’d go to work or right after he got off - he wasn’t drunk then and the house wouldn’t be in total disarray. The last few times, I think they stopped taking me seriously. Their investigations were always “unfounded.” Turns out you can’t take a child away from a parent simply because the parent drinks too much sometimes. It didn’t help that Rhonda vouched for his “character.” They’d interview Tuck as well, but he was always too scared to give the full details. He knew if he did, Dad wouldn’t waste any time making his life a living hell as soon as the CPS worker stepped out of the house.
But enough is enough.
I rise, drawing in a hard breath.
“Where you going?” Christian asks.
“I have to pick up my little brother. You guys are going to have to take this to Kai’s or something,” I say, checking my phone to make sure Tuck got my message, and then I make my way to the kitchen to pour out my wasted beer.
When I’m done, the guys are headed to the door.
“Where are they going?” Melrose stands at the base of the stairs, halfway between the front door and the entrance to the kitchen. Her wine glass is empty and her hair is piled into a messy bun on top of her head. Sexy black leggings with angled cut-outs hug her legs, and a loose lavender tank top hangs over one shoulder, exposing a neon yellow bra strap.
“I have to go get Tuck.” I drop the rinsed beer bottle into the recycling bin. I’ve only had a few sips and I’m fine to drive, but I hate that Tuck might smell beer on my breath. Even though there’s a huge fucking difference between getting shitfaced and beating up your girlfriend and destroying your house ... and having some drinks with friends … I can’t help but feel hypocritical.
“Is he okay?”
“What?” I buy time, trying to decide if I want to tell her the truth or some variation thereof. “Yeah.” I exhale. “He’s fine. I just … my dad likes to drink. He’ll be better off here.”
“Want company for the drive?” Her question is a surprise left hook.
I turn to face her, wondering if I heard her right. “Really?”
She shrugs before rinsing out her goblet in the sink. “I remember Tuck telling me it was over an hour each way. And it’s kind of late. Thought maybe you’d want some company for the drive? Plus, I want to get out of the house. I’ve been cooped up all day preparing for an audition, and I could use a change of scenery.”
“Uh. Yeah. Sure. If you want to.” I make damn sure I don’t sound over-enthusiastic … but I’d be lying if I ignored that microscopic-sized part of me that’s almost … kind of … likes that she’s tagging along. Even if I don’t exactly know why.