Chapter 6 #2
It is a resounding yes from everyone. They all crowd into my kitchen making food, popping beers. Kev slaps my shoulder. “Gracie will be here in a couple hours. She said she would bring more beer, need anything else?”
I shake my head then pause, “Whiskey.”
“Meads can bring it. We have an extra bottle, both Wall and I bought it without realizing the other did. Can I invite Harry?” Mint questions.
I shrug. “Seems like I am throwing a party, so why the fuck not?”
Inside I am jumping for joy—two Harry sightings in a single day. Fuck, she is going to be in my house. I let my eyes move about the space to try and evaluate it. Based on her shit, I think she will like my house.
Mom did most of the decorating, but based it on what I like, black cabinets, modern vibe, wood counters, dark sectional, darker paint, deep wood floors, strategic lighting because I fucking hate big overhead lights.
I consider it modern gothic. I have a human skull with antlers painting over my stone fireplace.
My backsplash is brick, I like feeling like I live in a bit of a cave, especially considering there are too many fucking windows in this house.
I tug at the collar of my black tee, feeling a bit anxious about having Harry in here judging my space. While I think she will like it, I am thrown, I have never cared what the fuck anyone thought before and I have never had the object of my… attention, in my space before.
A couple hours later, when Harry shows up, I watch her like a hawk. Her eyes move about the space, is that appreciation? She pauses staring at the painting over my fireplace, her head tips to the side as she looks at it. “Well?”
I jerk my head to the side as I look at Virus. “What?”
His eyes move across the room to Harry before coming back to me. “Never mind.”
I force myself to not pay such close attention to Harry as she moves about my space. Meads and Gracie both step in next to her to chat. When Harry makes it to the kitchen where I am standing with a beer next to Virus, she looks me over. “Thanks for inviting me.”
I am about to say sure, of course, when stupid ass Hemmy jumps in. “We all invited ourselves. We are hiding out from the club, Bon Bon is just being kind enough to not kick us all out, but that could change at any moment.”
Harry’s lips tip up. “Got it. Then in that case—don’t be a bitch and kick us out.” I bark out a laugh, I can’t fucking help it. “How is the ink feeling?”
Mint’s head jerk around. “New ink?”
Fuck. I nod. “Yeah, Harry did a freehand for me since she was available, and I was in over the lease agreement for FT.”
Mint’s brows pinch “I see.”
Ugh, he is suspicious. I over explained myself—I never fucking do that. I did it with Virus earlier too. Fuck.
“It’s a bat,” Virus throws out there like an overeager kid wanting to share with the class.
Hem chuckles. “You and fucking bats.”
From the corner of my eye I note, Harry eyeing me. “You have a thing for bats?”
“You just did a tattoo of a bat for him. How did you not pick up on his obsession with bats?” Mint questions, but it doesn’t seem like a teasing questioning, he is watching, evaluating. Fuck.
Harry shrugs. “I guess I just didn’t think about it. Not my job.”
Good save. She can clearly read her brother’s Spidey senses tingling… which… wait… wouldn’t that be confirmation she is feeling this pull too? I find myself straightening up a bit.
“You should see his bat boxes,” Virus chips in.
“Oh! Are they inhabited now?” Gracie calls over.
I nod, trying to keep all my feelings locked down tight with Mint’s way too close attention on me. Meadow smiles. “That’s so exciting. Have you been seeing less insects?”
“Not sure. But I also have some opossums living under the deck out back,” I tell them.
Harry’s head turns, looking out my back windows. “Oh. I didn’t even notice you don’t have rear neighbors.”
“Creek runs through back there. There are houses on the other side, beyond the trees.” I drop my eyes to my beer bottle so to not stare at her in an attempt to soak in all of her reactions.
“This area is amazing,” she says quietly. “San Jose seems to have a little of everything.”
Mint chuckles lightly and I can hear the smile in his voice as he talks to her. “It really does. I’m glad you decided to make it your home.”
“Me too.” Her nails clack on my counter, which draws my eyes up, I am fanatical with those fucking nails.
My eyes travel up her arm and land on her ears.
She is wearing the earrings she showed me, her first big purchase.
Neither thing I truly appreciated earlier when she was tattooing me, no, I was focused too much on her gorgeous fucking face.
Virus’s hand bumps mine, pulling my eyes away from Harry. That’s when I notice Mint staring daggers at me, and I realize I’m smiling. Shit. I was smiling as I looked at Harry and now, I have Mint pissed at me.
I high tail it out of the kitchen, dropping down onto my sofa and spend the rest of the day staring at the baseball game, eating pizza, and grunting answers to people.
When people start departing, Harry goes to give me a hug, while I fucking want it like my life depends on it, I step back.
I give a harsh nod of my head then step back more.
The look on her face is surprise followed by disappointment, before she looks across at her brother.
Her cheek twinges just barely under her eye, she spins on her heel and is gone.
When I look back sometime in the future, I’ll remember this as the moment—the moment where I fucked up and lost her trust.