Chapter 19 Lewis #2
My eyes dart back and forth between them. This is one hell of a catfight, and I have to admit, I’m getting a kick out of it. It’s almost making me wish I’d grown up with a brother.
“I don’t like knowing you’re getting laid in the room right next to Joey.” Raven shrugs. “So sue me.”
“You seriously need to chill, sis. Nothing happened in my room. We did it doggy on the back of the Aston Martin and that was enough of a dick fix for me.”
My coffee goes down the wrong way, and I start spluttering, doing my best not to spit it out all over Raven. I widen my eyes at Amy, but she’s caught up in a staring match with her sister. Neither of them blink.
“It wasn’t doggy, actually,” I say quietly.
“A big, throbbing dick fix,” Amy says slowly.
I shoot her a smile. “That’s really sweet of you. But can anyone tell me what the hell is going on right now?”
“Try harder, Amy. You think because I’m married to a woman, a little ‘dick’ is going to trigger me?”
Out of nowhere, a woman with an Afro comes bursting into the living room.
“I head out for a few hours, and you guys start talking dick behind my back?”
I shake my head. “Disgrace, dude!”
The woman drops her bag and coat by the front door and strides across the room to plant a kiss on Raven’s mouth.
Her sister’s wife, then.
This surprise breakfast has been an insightful glimpse into Amy’s world, at least.
“I’m Charlotte,” she offers as she pours herself a coffee, and for a moment, she just stands there, taking us all in. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Yeah. A cross-examination,” Amy snaps.
“This your boyfriend?”
We both roll our eyes in perfect sync.
“Yeah. We’ve got this vision of a full-moon handfasting. Maybe go raise albino goats in Patagonia together, or something.”
“Call me weird, but that sounds kinda great.” I smile. “Though you initially said dwarf elephants in Bali. Next time, try discussing big life changes with me first, okay? Disgrace, dude!”
“Are we fighting in front of my family?”
“Did you discuss my dick in front of your family?”
“I played loose with the details,” she snaps. “It’s really not all that big.”
Charlotte laughs. “So, how’d you guys meet?”
“College,” I say. “Classes start back tomorrow, and I need to get some stuff ready, so…”
“What!” Amy pouts. “You’re leaving already?”
“I’m the only guy here.” I shrug. “I feel so vulnerable.”
“I’m here!”
The voice is sweet and thick with sleep, and I turn to see a kid dart behind the couch to join us at the table.
There’s sleepy dust clinging to his eyelashes, but that doesn’t stop him from performing a series of karate kicks at Amy, finishing off with a punch to her stomach, and she doubles over in mock agony.
Raven wags a finger at them. “What did I tell the pair of you about roughhousing first thing in the morning?”
“Tatami!”
The boy bows, and Amy ruffles his hair.
“Juice or milk, sweetie?” she asks.
The gentleness of her voice catches me off guard. I’ve never seen her look so tender before.
“Both!”
“Wrong answer. One or the other, buddy.”
“Milk.”
The kid climbs onto Charlotte’s lap and side-eyes me with that same spine-chilling look I know all too well from his aunt. There’s definitely a family resemblance.
“I’m Joey, and I’m a boy.”
“You’re a big boy, that’s for sure! I’m Lewis.”
I hold out a fist, and after a moment’s thought, he bumps my knuckles before curling back into Charlotte’s chest, while Amy slides over a glass of milk. Our eyes meet, and she gives me the smallest of nods.
Time to go.
“Thanks for the coffee,” I say, getting to my feet. “It was great to meet the Hitman gang. Especially so early in the day.”
“You don’t want more coffee? I didn’t even get the chance to ask you stuff!”
“Charlotte…” Amy shoots her a warning look.
“Fine.” She holds her hands up. “I guess Raven can fill me in. See you around, Lewis.”
“Have a good one.”
I trail Firebird to the front door, and once we reach the car, she goes in for the kill.
“Coffee with my sister? Are you out of your freaking mind?”
“She went for me, man!”
“Fuck.” She rubs her face. “You really know how to drag a girl down, don’t you?”
“So, let me get this straight—you live with your sis, her son, and her wife?”
“Their son,” she corrects.
“Joey adopted?”
“Raven carried him, but they’re both his moms.”
There’s an edge to her voice that’s got me curious, and though I know Amy never gives me straight answers, I decide it’s worth a shot.
“Oh, I get it. So, they went to a sperm bank, and they—”
“That’s not what happened.”
I wait for her to go on, but she doesn’t. She can be so freaking annoying. I don’t normally like to pry, but Amy is an enigma wrapped in a mystery wrapped in a riddle, and it’s too much for me to stand.
“It’s sad you never open up to me, but that’s okay. I get it—you wanna keep things professional. I respect that.”
It’s total bull, since we’ve now had sex twice. But it’s my way of trying to tease her into cracking up. She starts gnawing on her lip, her brow furrowed, gazing at me with a mix of wariness and curiosity, and just when I’m about to give up, she speaks.
“I’ll give you the short version, and you better listen up, because I won’t tell you again,” she warns.
“As warm and engaging as ever…”
She flips me the finger, and my heart melts a little.
“Charlotte is my stepsister-in-law. Basically, her dad is my mom’s new husband.
Raven was seventeen when we met Charlotte, and they fell in love like that.
” She snaps her fingers. “You can imagine the complete shit show that caused, right? My sister was really messed up. She didn’t even know she liked girls, and there she is, crushing hard on our stepsister.
” Amy pauses. “She tried to bury it all deep inside—fucking the pain away with all these random guys, which made Charlotte super sad. My parents were totally oblivious to what was going on, but I got it the very first day. Eventually, Raven realized that she was a hot mess and that really she was madly in love with Charlotte, so they had this secret relationship until our parents walked in on them getting it on.” She shoots me a look.
“That’s when all hell broke loose. My mom lost her shit, and Charlotte’s dad…
You’ve never met a bigger asshole. And then, as if that weren’t enough, Raven suddenly realized she was pregnant from that one last hookup she’d had.
They got kicked out of the house overnight.
And that’s pretty much all there is to it. ”
She isn’t used to spilling that hard, and she’s practically panting from the effort. I take a moment to let it all soak in.
“Damn, girl. That’s one hell of a story.” I shake my head. “That was really brave of both of them.”
Amy looks surprised. “That’s sweet of you to say.”
“So, what’s the situation with you? Why do you live with them?”
“That’s enough intel for one day, Conley—I told you only so you would crawl out of my ass.”
I hold up my hands. “Crawling out as we speak. I need to get to practice, anyhow. But I’ll be back for episode two.”
“A guy can dream.”
I slip behind the wheel and get the engine warming. “One day, you’re gonna wake up and realize we don’t have any secrets between us anymore, Hitman.”
“Sure.” She nods. “For now, I just wake up and realize you’re having coffee with my sister—I don’t know which is worse. Oh, and by the way… You spilling the whole Campus Drivers thing? I’d say that cancels out me being fired last night.”
“Speaking of last night…” I start, revving my engine.
“Please, God, not another post-sex lecture…”
“I was about to say that I was serious—about letting off steam,” I add. “No more alleyways, okay? If you feel like you’re spiraling, you call me.”
“What, like you’re my shrink now?”
“No. But I can definitely keep a secret.”
I throw her a quick salute and hit the gas. And as I head for the gym, I’m suddenly feeling a whole lot lighter.