Chapter 3
“Well, we’re here,” I said, the front door to my house swinging open with a light push after a brief jingling of my keys.
It was a nice house; a relatively recent build. Four bedrooms, central air cooling, integrated vacuum system with ports in every room, and double-stacked ovens in the marble laden kitchen.
There was just one problem.
“Jaxon Allen Dirge…” Cassie spoke. “What. The. Hell?”
“Something wrong?” I asked as we stepped into the foyer so the girls could have a look around.
“God, you need a woman,” Cassie said as she rolled her luggage into the living room.
“What’s that mean?”
“Ain’t no fuckin’ furniture!” Monica shouted as she came back from the scant dining room.
“Yeah…” I chuckled while scratching the dark hair on the back of my head. “I never have company over.”
Monica went into the kitchen, and then came out dangling an empty Chinese food container between her pinched fingers with a raised eyebrow. “How old is this?”
“You don’t wanna know.”
“Mmm hmm…” Monica slowly shook her head disapprovingly and went to the trash can, stepped on the foot pedal to pop open the lid, and chucked it inside. “You need more than a maid, you need Jesus.”
I laughed and leaned back against the counter island in the middle of the kitchen. “How about an interior decorator?”
“Can’t say I know any of them,” Monica replied as she immediately opened the dishwasher and started putting a stack of old dirty plates in it, bending over far enough for me to enjoy the sight of her ass.
“You’re hired,” I quipped while tilting my head to get a good angle. “Consider this your promotion.”
Monica straightened up and spun around. “Say what?”
“I’ll pick the store, you pick the furniture,” I replied.
“What’s your budget?”
“Whatever you say it is.”
Her jaw dropped, then she clapped happily before hopping up on her tip toes and skipping over to Cassie to hug her. “We’re about to be ballin’!”
Cassie smiled uneasily and looked at me while Monica gave her a squeeze. “You’re really gonna give her a blank check to deck out your house?”
“It’ll be fine,” I dismissed while looking to the patio door. “I have a basic idea of what I want, just haven’t gotten around to it.”
Monica let Cassie go and strolled over to start cleaning up faster than anyone I’d ever seen. “Oh, I got a whole plan for this place. Towels, toiletries, a TV.”
“I’ve got a TV,” I replied.
“Not out there you don’t,” Monica pointed to the room between the kitchen and the living room, the one featuring the patio door. “Can’t have people coming into your room to watch flicks.”
“How do you know the TV is in my room?”
“Where else would it be?”
“Fair enough.”
Cassie walked along the counter and looked at me suspiciously. “So, um. We’re we sleeping?”
“There’s a king sized bed in my room you can take,” I replied.
“What about you?” asked Cassie.
“Eh, I’ll be fine. I’ve got a sofa in the garage I never brought in.”
“Fuck that,” Monica protested as she tied the now-full garbage bag and then carried it to the patio, slid the door open, and took it to the city rolling bin outside. “We ain’t kicking a man out of his own bed.”
“Yeah, that doesn’t sound right,” Cassie agreed, just before opening an empty cabinet to peek inside, then sighed after it shut. “You’re already doing a lot for us.”
“You wanna take the sofa?” I blurted out with a smarmy grin. “It’s gonna be cramped.”
“It’s a king size, right?” Monica inquired as she came back into the kitchen to start the dishwasher. “That’s big enough for all of us.” —she then pointed at Cassie— “And don’t bitch about it. I shared a twin-sized air mattress with my cousin. You can sleep by me.”
“I wasn’t gonna say anything…” Cassie lifted her hands like she was in a stick-up.
Monica smiled, then came over and lightly squeezed my bicep through my coat while making eye contact. “Thanks again. I’ll go get the bed ready.”
She turned toward the hall where the staircase was, then stopped to turn on her heel. “Upstairs, right?”
“Yeah. What if it’s already made?” I teased.
“I know it’s not made,” Monica put her hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes, then giggled off the comment before heading to the master bedroom.
That just left me and Cassie, who was noodling around the kitchen with ample curiosity, taking inventory of every cabinet before looking in the fridge.
“Wow, Jax,” she said, taking out a half gallon of milk I’d forgotten about. “You know this is expired, right?”
“I thought it tasted a little funny…” I remarked before pointing my thumb toward the hall. “She’s certainly something.”
“Who, Monica? She’s just excited,” Cassie defended as she dropped the old milk jug into the now empty trash. “I don’t blame her.”
“You seem pretty chill,” I countered.
“Probably because I’m being emo,” Cassie came around to stand in front of me, crossing her arms while occasionally glancing at the patio. “Bracing myself for the next disappointment.”
Her recent breakup came to mind.
“Well, I won’t be adding to it,” I took off my trench-coat and set it on the counter, wearing a black t-shirt underneath with a chest holster for my custom cannon, which I took off to put down. “There’s a good chance I just lost you your job, so, take all the time you need.”
Cassie rushed forward and hugged me.
“I’m gonna pay you back for this somehow,” she said, parting the hug to run her fingers through her short blonde hair.
“Well…” I averted my eyes upward. “You did say something about getting me a girl.”
Cassie looked at me like I was incorrigible, crossing her arms with a tap of her foot. “When’s the last time you got laid?”
“When’s the last time you got laid?”
“Touchè,” Cassie shrugged with an eye roll. “What are you into?”
“I’m pickier about personality than I am about looks. Easy, but not too easy. Hot, but not so hot that she’s up her own ass.”
Cassie grinned as she bit her bottom lip. “Then you’ll like the girl I mentioned, I think—but she’s kind of a homebody so getting her out is gonna take some finesse.”
“A homebody?” I replied, tossing my keys onto the counter next to my golden, long-barreled sidearm. “Now you’re speaking my language. So what’s her name?”
“Her name’s Michelle. She likes to go by Mimi ‘cause she thinks it makes her cuter.”
“A Momo and a Mimi?” I chortled. “You girls really like your nicknames.”
“You’re gonna have to throw a party.”
“A party?” I spat with a grimace. “Baahhh. That sounds a little extra.”
“Just a small one. The party is a cover to get her in private. If I ask her to come over some guy’s house, she’s gonna have a ton of questions and then she’ll flake. She’ll feel safer with more people, trust me.”
“As long as she puts out…”
“Jax!” Cassie smacked my chest with a disbelieving smile before looking sneakily over her shoulder. “You know, flirting with Monica might help your cause.”
“Why would I do that?”
Cassie eyed me mischievously as she moved toward the hallway. “You know, other girls wouldn’t tell you this, but jealousy is motivation to make somebody notice you.”
“If you say so,” I grabbed my holstered gun by the strap and slung it over my shoulder as we headed toward my room. “We’ve got a big day ahead of us. You don’t snore do you?”
“No. You’re not a cuddler, are you?”
“No idea. Only when I’m invited, I guess.”
“Well, if Monica pushes her ass against you, that’s the signal.”
“You really think I’m gonna fuck a girl I just met right in front of you?”
“We could always fuck her together.”
My look of surprise was palpable. “I guess that’s what friends are for…”
“I’m joking!” Cassie gave me a light sideways shove. “Besides, we almost got shot—you did get shot, and Monica’s cute.”
“So you’re saying you would?”
“Oh, I totally would. Wouldn’t you?”
“Would. Twice…”