Chapter 16
Morgan
I’m going to need some backup.
Now that selling Grandma’s ring is pushed off to be a Future Morgan problem, I need to finally get my butt in gear about getting the money my brother owes me.
It’s been a few days since Rory stayed the night at my place.
Unfortunately, I’ve been busy and had to spend a bit of money, just in case she stays again.
Leo and Kit helped me clean up my guest bedroom and I found a used coffee maker on one of the online marketplaces.
I didn’t spend so much that I can’t afford groceries or rent, but I’m not able to put away as much as I normally do into the bar fund.
Hence, my need to collect from my brother.
Texting and calling haven’t been working. My mom is no help. So it looks like I’m going to have to go in person, which I hate doing.
Visiting my brother is like looking at myself in an alternate universe. This is what I could have become if only I’d been born first, or been Mom’s favorite, or hadn’t had anywhere else to go.
And maybe it’s also a bit of guilt too. Because I’m nothing like my mom. And Graham is just like her.
So the next question is, who do I take for backup?
I quickly toss out the idea of anyone in my friend group.
Graham hates them all, especially Hunter, who punched Graham the last time I saw him—trust me, he deserved it.
Bailey could talk circles around my brother since he’s dumber than rocks, but I don’t want to bring her to my brother’s house. Silas and her brother would kill me.
Which pretty much leaves Rory, and the more I think about it the more I warm up to the idea. My brother would find her hot or intimidating, but either way, I’m certain Rory could handle herself.
I text her, and her instant response cracks me up. I can picture her fake irritated face perfectly.
My Queen
Hey, you have a minute?
No.
Pretty please?
Ugh, fine. But only for you. What?
Can I call you?
What are you a boomer?
Fine.
I call her and explain the situation.
“Let me get this straight,” she says. “You want me to go with you to your brother’s house—a small-time petty drug dealer—and help get the money he owes you.”
“Yeah. He might not have the cash, but at this point I’ll take anything of value.”
“Should I, like, steal something while you distract him?”
“What? No.”
“Do I need to bring a weapon?” Okay, now I can hear the barest hint of humor in her voice and I know she’s just fucking with me.
“Absolutely not, we’re just—”
“Fine, I’m in, whatever.”
Well, that was too easy. And now I’m having second thoughts. Rory sounds excited about the danger, and thinking about her with a weapon . . .
Huh. I’m turned on. How ’bout that.
But I also want to spend more time with Rory and get the money. Two birds, one stone. I push the concern away. “Great.”
“How do we want to play this? Good cop/bad cop? Should I play the dumb bimbo or the bitchy badass?”
“How is bitchy badass different from your regular self? And also, can we someday role-play you as a dumb bimbo?”
“Rude,” she says, but it’s half-hearted. “And no.”
“When can you come out?”
We pencil in Tuesday afternoon, pending Hunter taking over the bar for me. Normally Rory leaves Here in her rearview mirror headed off to wherever Monday morning, so I’m thrilled that she’s going to hang around another day for me.
“By the way, my grandma wants your phone number,” she adds.
“Yeah? You can give it to her.”
I can’t see Rory’s face, but I can feel the suspicion over the line. “She wouldn’t say why she wants it. And honestly, I’m not sure I want you two conspiring.”
“Oh, I know why she wants it.”
“You do? Why?”
Rory’s gonna be mad. “I sent her flowers.”
She gasps. “You did not.”
“Yup. The card thanked her for kicking you out.”
“Fuuuuuuucccckkkkk,” she groans. “You asshole. I’m never going to be able to sleep there again.”
I just grin.
“Why am I helping you?”
“Because you secretly like me. And you feel bad that I’m pretending to be engaged to you so you figure you owe me a favor.”
“Oh I do?”
“Absolutely. Help me with this and we’ll call it even.”
“I’ll call it even for the fake fiancé bit, but I’m going to get you back for those flowers, Morgan.”
And with that ominous warning, Rory hangs up on me.
Rory’s motorcycle roars into my driveway right on time Tuesday afternoon. I haven’t seen her since the night she stayed over.
Princess barks once and then wags her tail.
“Sorry, girl, you’re staying behind today.” My heart races as I lock the door behind me with both excitement over seeing my pretend fiancée and nerves for trying to squeeze money out of my brother.
I stride out to meet Rory, who kills her engine and takes her helmet off, but doesn’t dismount. Her hair is in those two braids again and she’s wearing her leather jacket over a white, tight top.
Watching Rory on a bike is pretty goddamn hot.
She reaches behind her and unlatches a second helmet. “Here.”
I stare at it. “We’re taking your bike?”
She shrugs. “Sure. Why not? Unless you don’t like motorcycles.”
“You do realize that your ass plus my crotch plus vibrations equals boners, right?”
She rolls her eyes. “Get on, loser.”
Rory always seems to think I’m joking. “Did you just quote Mean Girls to me? That’s a hidden depth I didn’t know you had in you.”
Rory ignores me and puts her helmet on, and I follow suit. The engine starts up.
“Can you hear me?” Rory’s voice comes in through the helmet as I sling my leg over the backseat.
“A headset? Cool. Uh . . . how should I hold on?”
Rory reaches back, grabbing both my arms and pulling them around her waist, bringing my chest flush with her back.
Awesome.
“Move with me, okay? When I lean, you lean.”
I sing the chorus to “Da’ Dip” by Freak Nasty but replace the word dip with lean. Rory ignores me and backs us out the driveway.
“Any instructions for me in front of your brother?” she asks. “Am I your fiancée?”
I think about it. “We might as well call you my fiancée. But don’t wear the ring.”
“It’s in my pocket already. I take it off when I’m wearing my gloves.”
Talking is good. It distracts me from thinking about my arms around Rory, her ass nestled into my crotch. “Other than that . . . I don’t know what to expect, really. He won’t want to pay me, and will insist that he doesn’t have the money, but maybe I can get a couple thousand out of him at least.”
It’s wishful thinking. But I won’t know until I try.
The headsets make it easy to tell her where we’re going, and for the most part, I get to enjoy the feel of Rory in my arms and the thrill of riding a motorcycle.
It’ll take us about an hour of back-road driving to get to my brother’s place.
I don’t know why he moved all the way out here, and I don’t think I want to know.
The nearby town is bigger, but it doesn’t have the economy that Here gets thanks to the ski resort, and it’s run-down and tired.
Rory’s a confident driver, but my heart lurches with every bend in the road and it seems like we’re screaming along well above the speed limit, though Rory swears we’re not.
The conversation does cease, so I’m left to my own thoughts, which are wild. Can you have sex on a motorcycle? Would the vibrations travel up my dick, turning it into a vibrator? I should run an experiment. If only I had a willing test subject . . .
There’s no need to announce ourselves when we pull up to the ramshackle place my brother calls home. The bike is loud enough that he comes out, slamming the screen door behind him.
He can’t tell it’s me until I dismount and take my helmet off. Graham smirks. “What the fuck, Morgan? Riding bitch? I knew it.”
I ignore my brother’s jab. “Hey, Graham, good to see you.”
Rory takes her helmet off and my brother’s smile turns appreciative. “What’s a girl like you doing with a guy like my brother?”
I sigh. “Graham, this is my fiancée, Rory.”
Rory offers him a chin lift.
“Nice. When’s the big day?”
“We haven’t decided yet.” Actually, that gives me an idea. “Weddings are expensive, man. Gotta collect my money.”
My brother’s eyes turn sharp. “I ain’t got no money for you. But I can hook you up for the bachelor party. Or bachelorette party.”
Rory ignores him and wanders over to the other side of her bike, leaning down to check something. Or maybe she’s faking it and my brother’s making her nervous. Unease slips through me, and I wonder if bringing her was a mistake.
“It’s been two years, Graham. You were supposed to pay me back in six months.”
I know he’s got money. He does have a regular job on top of whatever dumbass stuff he does on the side, plus a nice new truck. And the money was for a dispensary that he never opened.
We argue for a while, and then my phone buzzes in my pocket and I check it.
My Queen
Say $12,000 and act like you don’t want it.
I look around. I don’t see Rory anywhere. What the hell is she talking about?
I respond with a thumbs-up emoji, though, and she must have been waiting for it, because ten seconds later her voice calls out, “Hey. What’s the deal with this?”
Graham and I both turn. Rory’s next to the garage, lifting a cover on an old SUV. The grass has grown up around it and the paint is an ugly brown color.
My brother shrugs. “I’ve had it for a while, just been sitting there.”
“Does it run?”
“I start it up every few months.”
Rory contemplates the vehicle and then glances up at me. “Babe, you know my nephew needs a ride. Maybe your brother could offer you a good deal on this one and you can forgive some of his debt. Since he’s not using it.”
Babe. She called me babe. Sure, it’s an act for my brother but I’ll take it.
Also . . . she has a nephew?
“You want your nephew to drive that thing? It’s a piece of shit. And just because Graham starts it up every so often doesn’t mean it runs well.”
“I didn’t think you’d want a car,” my brother interjects. “But maybe your Rory has a good idea here.”
Rory takes the cover completely off. It’s . . . not an attractive vehicle. Graham obviously doesn’t have the cash, so he’d rather give me a piece-of-shit instead. Fuck knows what I’m gonna do with this thing, but I trust Rory.
“That isn’t gonna pay for our wedding, babe. We need cash.”
Rory puts her hands on her hips and scrunches up her face. “What do you think this is worth, anyway?”
I make an exaggerated sigh. “I don’t know. Maybe twelve thousand?”
My brother starts walking to the SUV, shaking his head. “Look, since you’re my brother and you did lend me money, I can go as low as fourteen.”
“Twelve.” Rory stands firm. “If it can make it home.”
My brother rubs his chin and I hold my breath. Will he think it’s worth it to get me to stop bugging him? I’m skeptical, because what incentive does he have to give me anything?
Finally, he drops his hand. “Keys are in the glove box.”
Uh-oh. Maybe this really is a piece-of-shit. Have I just traded part of the debt my brother owes me for nothing?
Rory opens the door and slides in. It starts on the second try, sputtering and coughing for a good thirty seconds.
“I don’t know, Rory . . .”
“They don’t make them like this anymore, you know. Your girl has a good eye.”
Jesus. My brother can really blow smoke when he wants to. He doesn’t know shit about cars.
Rory gets out, leaving the door open and one boot on the floorboard. “Please, babe. It would make my niece so happy.”
“I thought it was your nephew?” My brother’s eyes narrow.
“One of each,” Rory says smoothly.
“Whatever. Do we have a deal?”
I genuinely have no idea what’s happening here. But Rory looks at me, her eyes begging me, and maybe it’s not an act.
“Fine.” I cross my arms and scowl like I am not happy about it.
My brother disappears to get a bill of sale and Rory digs the title out of the glove box too. Signatures are collected and the next thing I know, I’m driving this clunker home, Rory’s motorcycle roaring behind me.