18. Mila
18
“Mila, are you awake?” She sits on the couch and pokes the bottom of my foot.
I curl up into a ball and glare at her from under my blanket. “That tickles!”
“Look, I’m really sorry about this but you need to speed up your apartment hunt. I’m not trying to be judgmental, but even if you lived here, we wouldn’t be thrilled about those bikers being around all the time. Carrie was pissed when we came home last night and that guy?—”
“Scrapper.”
She rolls her eyes. “Scrapper was pulling his clothes back on in our living room.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I spot a flash of color between the cushions. It’s a condom wrapper. I make a big show of sitting up and stretching, grabbing the wrapper while I do it so she doesn’t see. I’m such a bad friend. “Yeah, I get it. I'm sorry.”
“It’s not about being sorry. We all get that it’s hard to find a good place right at the start of the semester, but you aren’t trying. When was the last time you even looked?”
She’s right, which makes me feel even worse, and I can’t even tell her everything that’s happened because it could be dangerous. Her roommates were skeptical about letting me crash here to begin with, and now I'm just making things uncomfortable and weird. “I'll find somewhere by the end of the week. I swear.”
“I hope the sex is worth it,” she mumbles.
I nibble my lip and look the other way.
“Well? Is it?”
“Oh my God. You have no idea,” I gush. “It’s like… You know how when you always buy the diet version of something and you get used to it and it’s fine, but then one day you taste the regular real one again and it’s just sooooooo much better? It’s like that, but for orgasms.”
She blinks at me, mouth slightly open. “Fuck you.”
“Excuse me? You asked!”
She drops her face into her hands and pretends to sob. “But you didn’t have to tell me! Now I’m going to have to go through life knowing that there’s this holy grail of sex waiting for me and I’m never going to experience it. Is it because there’s more than one? Maybe I could make that happen.”
“Eh.” I wobble my hand in a ‘so-so’ kind of motion. “I think that part’s nice, but it wouldn’t be the same without the badass biker thing. Seriously, last night with Scrapper? It was just him and it was…” I don’t even know how to describe it.
“Full fat cheesecake?”
I boop myself on the tip of my nose. “Exactly.”
“Well, then why don’t you move in with them? You can’t tell me that they have an entire city block, and now our whole old building and there isn’t room for you?”
“They seem great now, but I haven’t known them for long though, you know? What if things change when I see them all the time? What if I never get anything done ever again and my legs go numb from all the sex?”
She shoves me over and gets up. “I love you but you need to get out of here before I kill you.”
“I know. Maybe I will ask if they have any ideas about—” My phone rings. I don’t recognize the number which instantly makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
“Who is it?” Meghan asks curiously.
I shrug. “Hello?”
“Good morning. Is this Miss Mila Cole?” A deep, earnest voice is on the other end. My initial impression is an older man, maybe my father’s age.
“That’s me. Can I ask what this is regarding?”
“Oh, I'm sorry. My secretary usually handles these sorts of calls. I’m Judge Royce Kincaid. I work at the city hall.”
“Judge?” As soon as I hear city hall, those neck hairs aren’t just standing up, they’re vibrating in alarm. I put it on speakerphone so if anything happens, someone else has heard it. “What's this about?”
“I’ll be brief. I heard you were here the other day to interview Hank Mullerby for some sort of college project?”
Shit. I can’t deny it. My name is right there on the sign in sheet, along with who I was there to see. “That's right, yes.”
“I wanted to let you know that Mr. Mullerby is taking a leave of absence due to stress. I heard from several people that your interview didn’t go very well and that he was quite aggressive and rude. I wanted to extend my personal apologies if you were unable to complete your assignment.”
“I've had easier interviews.” I laugh like we're sharing a little joke and he laughs along. “I hope he’s going to be all right.”
“Oh, how kind. Yes, I’m sure he will be.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but I'm still not sure I understand why you're calling me.”
“My apologies. I have a grand-daughter in college, you see. When I heard about poor Hank’s behavior, I immediately thought about how difficult it would be for her. If there is anything I can do to help, please don’t hesitate to ask. I actually have some time this afternoon if you’d like to try your hand at another interview.” Everything he says sounds so smooth and heartfelt.
And my BS radar is pinging like crazy.
That said, if this guy is connected to what Mullerby is up to, I can't just turn down the chance to see what he has to say. “That’s so amazing of you, Judge Kincaid. Thank you.”
“Please, outside of the courtroom, just Mr. is fine. I'm not big on formalities. My friends just call me Royce.”
Right. But we aren’t friends yet, are we? “Thank you, Mr. Kincaid. What time this afternoon?”
We settle on four o'clock, after he's wrapped up his last case of the day. When I hang up, Meghan’s eyebrows look like they are trying to crawl up under her hairline.
“Judge Kincaid called you just to have a chat because Mullerby was a jerk?”
“Does that sound normal for him?”
She looks very skeptical. “Not really, but it might be fine? I’ve never heard he has a granddaughter, but it’s not like we were buddies or anything. I’d be careful. It wouldn’t surprise me if Mullerby’s leave of absence was him panicking about you asking questions.”
She has no idea how right she is.
“I think so, too.”
“Do you want me to come with you? If anyone asks, I’ll say that I’m just there to catch up with the people I interned with.”
“No!”
She looks a little taken aback by how vehement I answered.
I try again. “I appreciate the offer, but the last thing I want is for anyone to make a connection between us. If it comes out that I have the Mullerby’s flash drive, and they know we’re friends, you could be in deep trouble. But it’s fine, I’ll make sure I have backup this time.”