Chapter Twelve
January
“I’m on my way! For the love of dick, woman, what is so damned important?”
Cassidy invited me to dinner tonight with her and Wyatt, and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Not that I would’ve refused, but when I suggested stopping off on the way to her house for a cake or something to bring for dessert, she damn near bit my head off.
“I’m pulling in your driveway now. It’s just past five o’clock. Since when do you guys eat like senior citizens?”
“Bite me. I’m eating for two.”
I end the call and park my car. She’s waiting at the door like an excited puppy. Something is going on here. Maybe she has news she didn’t want to tell me over the phone. She’s already married and pregnant, what more could happen to her?
“Oh shit. Are you having twins?” I ask, stepping inside.
An indignant look crosses her face, and she looks down at her flat belly. “What? No!”
“You aren’t showing, you psycho. You just look like you have big news.”
Grabbing my arm, she pulls me into the living room. “I don’t have news, but you need to see the news. Trust me.”
She flops down on the couch in front of the television, pulling me down beside her. Wyatt waves from his recliner. Maybe he can clue me in on why my best friend is acting crazy.
“Is this like a hormone thing or something? Postpartum psychosis, maybe?”
He laughs, and Cass smacks my arm. “Postpartum means after the birth, genius. Just watch.”
They return from a commercial and the newscaster smiles into the camera. “We have a special segment today to welcome a new member of the WFUK family. You may have seen him a few days ago when he filled in for The Science Dude, and we’re happy to say he decided to stay after we threw him unprepared into the deep end. Since he was such a good sport, we’d like to introduce him to our audience. Noble, come on out.”
My head jerks back at the sound of his name, and a rush of adrenaline tingles through my body. I can’t believe what I’m seeing.
Noble steps into sight, his hand on a little girl’s shoulder. That’s Bailey! Neal’s daughter. She’s clutching a guitar with an excited smile on her face.
“Hi, I’m Noble Bradley and this is Bailey Chambers.” He smiles down at her. “She’s an amazing guitar player and she’s going to help me try to win back my girl today.”
Oh god. He wouldn’t.
“See, I screwed up a really good thing with the most beautiful woman in the world. She’s funny, and caring, and smart. I’m completely and totally in love with her. What better way to show her than humiliating myself on television, right?”
Wyatt snorts out a laugh, but it barely registers.
“January Dixon, I love you, and if you take me back, I promise not to screw up again.” He pauses. “No, that’s probably impossible. Okay, I promise to do my best to make you happy and keep the screw ups as few and far between as possible.”
My eyes well up as I giggle at his honesty.
“And since I can’t express myself quite as good as him, I’m going to sing a song from Ed Sheeran, who can say the right words better than I can.”
Oh no. This is extremely sweet and over the top romantic, but here’s the issue. I’ve heard Noble sing. God knows I love him, but the man couldn’t carry a tune if it was stapled to him. This is going to be horrible.
Bailey strums her guitar and her notes ring out strong and clear. The girl is good. She’s all smiles until Noble belts out the first line. Though her mouth falls open like a fish gasping for oxygen, her playing doesn’t show her shock.
His face is beet red, but he faces the camera and sings—or tries to—the lyrics to Perfect, my favorite song by Ed Sheeran. I pretty much wore it out while we were together, so I’m not surprised he knows the words.
But, oh god, what he’s doing to them. Ed would be horrified.
Wyatt nearly falls out his chair laughing, and Cass turns to me, her eyes wide with horror. “Oh, that’s so bad, Jani,” she whispers.
“Hey, it’s the thought that counts.”
“Does that mean you’ll give him another chance?”
Watching the most adorable man on the planet squeak and croak his way through my favorite love song, I nod. “I had already decided to get back together. I just needed a little time, you know.”
Wyatt laughs harder. “So he did this for nothing? Classic.”
I toss a throw pillow at him. “It’s not for nothing!”
Cass does the same, only her pillow smacks him in the head. “It’s romantic! She’ll never forget this!”
“That’s for sure,” I mumble. “Seriously, though, it’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me. If you give him shit over it, I’ll tell everyone you let Cass fuck you with a strap on.”
His mouth falls open. “I do not! Nothing has ever breached that area!”
“You own a sex toy shop. Who do you think people are going to believe?”
I smile sweetly at him while he grumbles. “Fine.”
Noble finishes the song and smiles at the camera before it jumps back to the anchors, who share a look of amused horror. I don’t hear what they say next because I’m on my feet, zipping my jacket.
“I’ve got to go the station.”
“I’ll drive you,” Cass exclaims, slipping on her shoes.
Wyatt follows behind us, holding up his palms when I turn to glare at him. “I won’t say a word. But I’m not missing this.”
I’m in too much of a hurry to argue.
My mind is moving almost as fast as my speeding heart on the drive to WFUK. The man at the door smiles and allows us inside as soon as I tell him my name. I’m not sure how I’ll react when I see Noble. I’m suddenly overwhelmed by too many emotions.
When his blond head appears around a corner, I tackle him. Literally. I jump into his arms and cover his mouth with mine, ignoring the hoots and cheers filling the hall around us.
Our lips smack loudly as we part, and I stare down into blue eyes brimming with joy. “You crazy asshole. I love you too. I can’t believe you did that.”
He kisses me again, his arms wrapped around me tight. “Does that mean we’re back together?”
“Yes, but I need you to understand something. Next time you have a problem or things aren’t going well, you talk to me. You don’t ignore me for days. I don’t deserve that shit and I’m not taking it from anybody.”
“Understood. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“I forgive you. No more sorries. I’m sure I’ll screw things up too.” I loosen the vice grip my legs have on his hips, and he sets me down, his fingers sweeping a lock of hair from my face. “I missed you.”
“Me too, sweetheart.”
“Are you off the clock? Can we get out of here? Because I really need a date with the porn penis.”
He steps back, his posture stiffening, muscles standing out in his neck. “Where did you hear that?”
Aw. He’s so cute looking all shocked. “A table full of girls at the coffee shop. I’m afraid I may have endangered your future career as a porn star by setting them straight. They were very disappointed.”
His gaze is as cautious as his question. “It doesn’t bother you?”
“Noble, we all have a past. I’m not exactly innocent, you know.”
“I’m aware.” Leaning down, he brushes his lips over my ear. “Innocent girls don’t give head as good as you do.”
“I’m flattered. Let’s go test that theory.”
His arm falls around my shoulders as we walk out to the cars. “Hey Cass, thanks for everything,” he shouts.
“Anytime.” She grins at us, then shakes her head at Wyatt who looks like he’s bursting to say something.
“Pegging, Wyatt. If you don’t know that word, look it up,” I warn in a singsong voice.
His lips press together, and he gets in the car without a word. Noble frowns down at me. “Did you just threaten to fuck him?”
Cassidy’s gaze locks with mine, and we both break into laughter.
***
“So, everyone is in on this?” I ask, as Noble fills me in on the plan to make the management wish they’d never thought of inspections. We’ve worn ourselves—and my vagina—out over the last twenty-four hours, so we’re just lounging on the couch together.
“Yeah, although half of them aren’t doing anything. We don’t want it to look like we’re trying to stop them from coming in each month. It has to look like this is business as usual on the circle. They need to think this is what they’ll be going through every time they come to snoop.”
“So, what should I do?”
Noble glances around my half empty apartment. “Your place is so clean. Maybe we should go for a too clean scenario.”
“Since all Mom’s stuff is gone, I took the opportunity for a little spring cleaning.”
His face softens and he strokes my leg. “How are you doing with that?”
“I miss her, but I’m adapting. I think I may like living alone. What do you mean by too clean?”
He kisses my head and wraps his arms tighter around me. “Well, since eviction is what they’re threatening, naturally people would be paranoid their apartments aren’t clean enough. So, we douse your bathroom and kitchen with bleach, mop the floors with vinegar, make it so you can’t breathe in here. They’ve made it clear you don’t have to be home for the inspection, so you wouldn’t have to stay and suffer with it. Afterward, we’d just have to open windows for a bit, rinse the surfaces and floors.”
“Devious. I love it. What are you and the guys doing?”
“I’ll be watching gay porn.”
Giggles spill out of me. “Make sure you’re in bed with your hands under the covers. They’ll assume the worst.”
“Oh, I’ll be in the living room. The other guys will all be at work or school. But a throw blanket is a great idea.”
“This is going to be amazing.” I cuddle into him.
His fingers entwine in my hair, gently tugging the strands. “You haven’t heard the best part. They’ve decided to put a tenant on the housing board. It’s all for show of course, it’s not like we’d get a vote in anything, but that tenant will be present at inspections.”
“Who is the chosen tenant?”
“Neal, and he volunteered to wear a camera to record the whole thing. Everyone is meeting that night to see the video. Trey has a projector, so we’re going to project it on the wall of the laundry room once it gets dark.”
“I can’t wait.” I lean my head back against his shoulder, reveling in the scent of him. “Do you really think it’ll change anything, though?”
“I don’t know, but we have to start somewhere. A few of their rules have to be illegal. Neal has an uncle that’s a lawyer. He sent the paper to him to check out what can be fought.”
“Well, the first inspection is tomorrow, so I’d better go get some bleach and vinegar.”
I stand up to stretch and hear a tentative tap on the front door. The new girl, Veronica, stands on the porch, holding a bag and wearing a sheepish smile. “Hi, I know we haven’t met. I’m Veronica. I just moved into two-oh-seven.”
“Come in. I’m Jani.”
She enters, and Noble waves from the couch. “Oh, hi, Noble. I’m just going around trying to collect some candles for the inspection.”
Noble chuckles and explains. “She’s going to burn scented candles, potpourri, fill the place with air freshener.”
“So, the opposite of my bleach and vinegar disaster,” I point out, and Veronica laughs.
“Ooh, that’s a good one.”
I have a few scented candles and a can of some flowery air freshener that I hand over. “I also have a can of Ozium, but that stuff smells like hospital disinfectant, so I think it’ll work better here.”
“Thanks, it was nice meeting you. I’ll see you at the laundry room tomorrow night.”
After she leaves, I flop back onto the couch. “Are your friends stalking that poor girl yet?”
“Nope, I think Neal has made it clear he’s interested. They’re both single parents, so they have that in common. Okay.” He slaps my ass. “Let’s get this place super clean.”
It’s funny as we prepare for this first inspection, I see all the neighbors out doing the same. I’m sure the maintenance men who witness it just think everyone is nervous and cleaning, the way they’d like us to be.
I almost feel sorry for the management. I mean, they’re new here, so they have no idea what Violent Circle is capable of when we all join together.
A smile creeps across my face.