Chapter 12 #2
Joey was light on his feet, hunched over the ball as he defended it from Roddy.
Roddy towered over him, making grabs at it until he eventually swiped it and pitched it to Charlie.
Charlie dribbled it down the court for an easy layup.
Nick leaned against his cane behind the court, catching the balls that flew under the backboard and pitching them to his friends.
He smiled, throwing out the occasional trash talk along with them, but as the play moved to center court, Nick’s attention drifted toward the door.
I ducked out of sight, hoping he hadn’t noticed me.
The promising glow of a vending machine guided me down the hall.
I fed what little cash I had into one of the snack machines.
My fingers hovered between the buttons that would release a pack of Oreos or a Twix, but it was only seventeen days into the new year, and while there wasn’t much to be done about Ike, I was determined to salvage this one resolution. I opted for the Cheez-Its instead.
The coils inside the machine turned on, spinning its meager offerings closer to the ledge, but apparently not close enough.
The cheese crackers tipped, catching on the glass.
With a swear, I threw my shoulder against the vending machine.
The Cheez-Its didn’t budge. I dropped to my knees and thrust my arm into the receptacle, feeling for the opening on the other side.
“I should probably point out that if you stop now, you’re only guilty of a second-degree misdemeanor.”
I froze as Nick’s cane clicked steadily closer. “Is that bad?”
His reflection shrugged back at me through the glass. “Sixty days in jail and a five-hundred-dollar fine. That’s a pricey bag of Cheez-Its, if you ask me.”
The metal compartment banged shut as I jerked my hand free.
“I missed dinner,” I said defensively. “And my purse is in my dorm room with Vero, and I can’t go back in to get it because she’s probably…
” Nick raised an eyebrow. “… sleeping,” I finished.
“And that damn vending machine ate my only dollar.”
He bit back a smile. “I was just getting ready to grab some dinner myself. I’ve got a key to the kitchen. Want to come with?”
I tried not to look too eager at the prospect of a hot meal. “That’d be nice. Thanks.”
“Great.” His grin spread wide. “I just need to grab my things from my locker. Back in a sec.”
I gave the vending machine one last shove as Nick disappeared into the men’s locker room, leaping back like a thief when the gymnasium door flew open behind me.
Joey stumbled backward through it, as if he’d been pushed.
Charlie followed him into the hall, a basketball tucked under his arm as he pressed a hard finger to Joey’s chest.
“Don’t think I don’t know who you are or what you’re all about,” Charlie said, his scar twisting with his scowl. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll back the hell off, Balafonte. I worked with Nick Anthony for six years, and that man is no fool. If he hasn’t seen through you yet, he will.”
Joey batted Charlie’s hand aside. “The way he saw through you?”
My Cheez-Its chose that exact moment to slide down the vending machine with a thump . Charlie and Joey stepped abruptly apart, both of them turning toward the sound as my crackers dropped into the tray.
“Sorry,” I said, breaking the tense silence. “Didn’t mean to interrupt. I was just getting something to eat.”
The locker room door nudged open. Nick hobbled a few steps into the hall and paused, his eyes sweeping over the three of us. “Everything okay?”
Joey cleared his throat. “Yeah, I was just gonna run out and grab some dinner. Figured maybe you’d want to come with. We can swing by the lab on our way and pick up those reports you’ve been waiting on.”
Charlie chuckled quietly, bouncing his ball with a cocksure smile. “Thought you were a detective, Balafonte. Read the room.”
Joey glanced at the duffel in Nick’s hand, then the gym bag by my feet.
“Sorry, partner,” Nick said as he limped toward me. “I’ve already got plans for dinner. But do me a favor and text me if you hear back from the lab before I do. I can drop by and pick up the reports in the morning.”
Joey’s eyes narrowed. “You’re taking her off campus?”
“Never said I was.”
“You never said you weren’t.”
Nick turned to his partner. “What’s the matter with you?” he asked in a low voice.
Joey shrugged. “Nothing. Your program, your rules. I just don’t think it looks good to go bending them because you want to get in her pants. That’s all.”
Charlie’s ball stopped bouncing. Nick’s knuckles tightened around his cane.
“Hey,” Joey said, throwing up his hands, “I’m just being honest with you, Nick. That’s what partners do.” He pierced Charlie with a cold glare before disappearing into the locker room.
Charlie dropped his ball. He came up beside me and gave the vending machine a hard shake.
A pack of M&M’s dropped into the tray alongside my Cheez-Its, and I was pretty sure I hadn’t paid for them.
He handed both snacks to me with the tip of an imaginary hat.
“The lady’s hungry, Nick. If you don’t take her to find something to eat around this place, I will.
” Charlie clapped Nick on the shoulder, scooped up his ball, and dribbled it into the locker room.
“Sorry about that,” Nick said, frowning at the door as it drifted closed behind them. “I don’t know what the hell’s wrong with Joey. I’ll understand if you want to pass on dinner. I can walk you back to your dorm.”
“No,” I said quickly. The last thing I needed was for Nick to see Javi in our room.
Or worse, shimmying down the drainpipe outside it.
I glanced over his shoulder toward the locker room.
I could either dine on vending machine snacks and risk another run-in with Joey, or I could go to the kitchen with Nick for a hot meal and maybe ask a few questions of my own.
I hoisted my gym bag over my shoulder. “I’m starving. Let’s go.”