2. Duke #2
Days later I’d caught myself looking at the contact and smiling a bit at myself that it was even in there. Like some forbidden little secret that only I knew about.
Fucking dumbass.
“Good to see you, Duke.” MJ smiled at me, and there was a glint of something more in her eyes, like she was trying not to laugh at me.
I nodded and offered her a terse smile. “You too.”
“Got a minute?” The slight tip of her head told me she preferred to speak in private, away from my father’s ears.
“Yeah.” I turned toward my dad, who was already chatting with a neighbor. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Dad.”
After a quick handshake farewell, I walked alongside MJ as she pushed the cart.
“I wanted to talk to you about a new drug trial I heard about. I think your dad might be perfect for it.” She handed me a pamphlet. “Think about it. You never know, right?”
I looked down at the glossy trifold, and my stomach turned in on itself. I’d learned a long time ago that hoping his dementia would improve was a lost cause. I slipped the pamphlet into my back pocket. “I’ll look into it.”
I had taken one step away when she called over my shoulder. “So you chickened out, huh?”
I turned to look at her over my shoulder. “Excuse me?”
Her lips curled in as though she was holding back a smile. She blinked innocently. “I think she was bummed you didn’t call.”
My heart plummeted to my stomach.
Sylvie .
Even her name in my head felt like a betrayal to my entire family, but I couldn’t deny the uptick in my heartbeat at the way it rolled around in there.
“You know... your secret is safe with me.” The mischievous grin that split MJ’s face was a problem.
My jaw flexed. “There is no secret.”
She only smiled and shrugged before she singsonged, “If you say so.”
I was another two strides down the hallway when she called over my shoulder: “But if you ever did text her, I wouldn’t say a word.”
Stretched out on my bed, I draped my hand over the side to scratch at the scruff behind Ed’s ears.
He groaned, like the old man he was, and plopped onto the floor.
The old hound dog and I had been through the wringer.
He’d earned his name Three-Legged Ed because he was also a dumbass who liked to chase cars.
His grumble matched my mood as MJ’s words played in a loop in my head.
She was bummed you didn’t call.
Reaching for the nightstand, I grabbed my phone and unlocked it, staring at the contact I had yet to delete.
Daryl Hall .
A small smile cracked at the corners of my mouth. I pulled up a new text thread and typed a message.
Me
Cat Fact 159: Cats can dream.
I hit send and immediately felt foolish texting Sylvie King a random, stupid cat fact. When three tiny bubbles appeared, then disappeared, my heart pounded.
Daryl Hall
Nice try, but I have your number saved, remember?
I swallowed a laugh and typed again.
Cat Fact 160: Cat whiskers are the same width as their bodies.
Daryl Hall
Wait, is that true?
Hell if I know, but now I have random cat facts rolling around in my head. If I have to suffer, so do you.
My eyes darted around my bedroom. Despite knowing I was alone, the mere fact I was texting Sylvie King gave me anxiety. If her brothers knew, they’d be pissed. Hell, if my siblings knew, they would be hard-pressed to understand it.
Daryl Hall
OK, give me another one. Fair’s fair.
Cat Fact 161: A cat butthole in your face is a gesture of friendship.
As soon as my fingers flew over the send button I wanted to reach through the phone and undo it. I pressed my thumb into my eye socket.
I just texted the word butthole to Sylvie King.
Daryl Hall
A little soon for me to be showing you my butthole, don’t you think?
More than a little shocked, I stared at her response. The image of her perfectly round ass in the air flashed through my mind, and I stifled a groan.
Almost immediately, a slew of texts came pinging through.
Daryl Hall
Oh my god.
Please don’t read that.
It was a joke. A bad one.
I’m going to go crawl into a hole and die now.
I chuckled, feeling her embarrassment expand with every rapid-fire text.
All good. I laughed.
And pictured you naked.
Daryl Hall
You? Laugh? I didn’t know that was possible.
Stranger things have happened. Just look at us.
My words sank in, and I knew them to be undoubtedly true.
I could never be friends with Sylvie, not really.
The feud was a tie that bound the entire town together, and a genuine friendship between a Sullivan and a King would cause an uproar.
That thought alone caused a ripple of irritation to roll down my back and put me in an even shittier mood.
Daryl Hall
True. I have to go, but this has been...interesting. Maybe we could do this again sometime. What do you say, Oates?
I’ll let you know if I remember any more cat facts. ’Night, Hall.
Daryl Hall
Unsubscribe. (good night!)
I smiled. For years our families had been slinging insults at each other. Somewhere along the way, aloof Sylvie King had become fun .
I couldn’t wait to do it again.