Keep It Sexy (KIS Series Book 3) (18 page)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Billie

“What do you mean he left?” I frowned while pouring tequila into the blender for a pitcher of margaritas.

“Yeah, Jaime said he left in a hurry.”

Apparently, my
wonderful
ex-boyfriend left after helping Ava out of her car. Then she headed to a hospital, and Claudia had called out earlier. So the only three people left were Jade, Jaime, and me. Luckily, we weren’t crazy busy, and Jaime was able to help serve the few orders that came in. By the end of the night, I was exhausted to the point where I had forgotten all about my break-up with Christian.

It wasn’t a question of whether or not I was coming back home with Jade. She knew there was something up with Christian and me, but she didn’t ask. That’s what was great about our relationship. She knew I’d come to her when I was ready. But I knew she wasn’t going to wait too long for an explanation.

Later on, I crashed on the tiny bed in the basement with my uniform still on. I was sound asleep when I heard my name being shrieked, followed by music, trumpets, guitars…and violins?

“Billie, wake the hell up!” Jade yelled from the top of the stairs. I shot up and ran upstairs, almost slamming into her.

“What’s going on?”

“You tell me,” she said with a grin. Then I heard the singing coming for outside. Pete stood behind the window of the living room, pushing apart the curtain while he chuckled.

“Dumbass fell again.”

I shuffled to the window, pushing him aside. On the front lawn was a Mariachi band dressed in white suits, white hats, and a golden bow under each of their chins. There was a man with a guitar, another with a violin, two men with trumpets, and the lead singer.

Christian stood off to the side, swaying back and forth, trying to sing along with the man as he clutched a bottle, half full of an amber colored liquid that looked like brandy. As soon as he saw me peeking through the window, he gulped down a drink from the bottle, then fell to his knees with his arms stretched out. He sang louder. That’s when I noticed Angel bent at the waist, laughing.

“What is this?” Jade asked.

“Billie is being serenaded, Mexican style,” Pete explained.

“I don’t even understand what he’s singing. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose? The only thing I understand is
chiquita
and
bonita
,” I said.

“At least it’s something good, and not
chinga tu madre.”

“Jade!”

“What? It means
fuck your mother
. Please, Billie, we cuss
all
the time.”

“I know. It just sounds harsher in Spanish, doesn’t it?”

Both Pete and Jade nodded but kept looking out the window.

“Bah…Bah…Billie!” Christian struggled to get off the ground.
Oh, God.

“You should go out there,” Jade said, pushing me toward the front door.

I resisted a little before giving up and opened the door. Jade’s neighbors were outside witnessing Christian’s spectacular drunken show. While some looked angry they’d been woken up so late—or early in the morning—others had their phones out and were laughing or grinning as they photographed the gesture.
I
couldn’t figure out how I felt about it.

“I tried to stop him, Billie,” Angel said through his laughter.

My eyes were centered on the drunken man in front of me, his glossy reddened eyes watching me with sweetness and something else I couldn’t put my finger on. Even though he’d broken up with me, it hadn’t felt final. Almost like he was doing it for another reason, and I knew that sounded crazy but the look in his eyes right now was confirmation for me. The song ended and the music stopped. He and I stood silent in front of each other. Christian stared at me like he wanted to tell me so many things but couldn’t. He scratched the back of his neck, then dropped the bottle on the grass.

“I love you.” He hiccupped. I bit my bottom lip to stop myself from laughing and instead a snort came out, like a pig snort. Christian let out a deep laugh that seemed to have come from the bottom of his stomach. I joined him.

“Fuck, Christian, you’re doing it all wrong,” Angel said. The Mariachi band awkwardly said goodbye before getting into a white van.

“There’s no right or wrong with us. Right, babe?” Christian whispered loud enough for me to hear. I stopped laughing and nodded.

“Right.”

“Can I come in?” he asked, and it was sweet how unsure he was.

“Chris,” Angel said sternly. “I don’t think that’s the best idea.”

“Go home, Angel.”

Angel huffed, then ran his hand over his face. “Chris—”

“Angel, I’m drunk, not stupid. G’home.”

Angel stared down Christian’s back, then looked at me. Frowning, my stare flickered between him and Christian. Angel did the same but Christian hadn’t broken his stare off of me since I had come outside.

“Fine,” he grumbled, then trudged to his car.

“So, can I?” Christian swayed to the side and I shot my hand out to stabilize him. Pete came outside, laughing, and he slung Christian’s arm over his shoulder as I did the other. Not that it helped much.

“I should let you sleep outside for pulling a stunt like that.”

“What? You didn’t think it waaas roman…
tic
?” he asked while we struggled to get him through the door.

I didn’t answer. In a weird way, I did think it was romantic. I would have preferred to know what the words of the song were, but overall the gesture was pretty cute. Drunk Christian and all. Getting through the door was rough, but getting him down the stairs was a catastrophe. We ended up leaving him on the couch in the living room. I thanked Pete and apologized to Jade, but they waved me off. While I had gone to get my blanket from my bed, Christian had fallen asleep, and he was snoring.

I took off his shoes and propped his head with a throw pillow, then covered him with my Little Mermaid comforter. It didn’t even cover his length. His feet stuck out. I smiled, bending to kiss his forehead. Suddenly, I was lying on top of him. His thick arms held me against his chest as he shifted around to get comfortable. I waited until he was done moving before I attempted to climb off of him. After several failed efforts, I had given up. His hold was too strong and I was too tired to keep fighting him. But to my dismay, I couldn’t fall asleep. I was kept up all night. Who knew a drunk Christian talked in his sleep.

***

I waited a little longer before his grip loosened, and that’s when I was able to escape. He shifted again, then flinched. He’d turn on his side, pushing the contents of his front pocket to dig against his thigh. I struggled to push him to his other side and when I did, I retrieved his phone, wallet, and keys. I noticed his phone was dead, so I went in to the kitchen to unplug mine and plug his in to charge. I checked on him again before opening the sliding doors in the kitchen, and went outside. With shaky hands, I accessed my contacts list and called John.

“What happened? Is Jade okay? Are you okay?” B.J. asked frantically.

“Yeah,” I whispered, then realized that was dumb because I had purposefully gone outside for this very reason. I cleared my throat. “Yeah, we’re fine.”

“Fucking shit, Billie, you scared me. What’s up?”

“Are you alone?” There was a feminine groan of protest in the background before I heard him mumble something.

“Yeah, I’m alone,” he answered after a moment.

“I need you to pass on something to the Grifter.”

“Okay.”

“He needs to get a throwaway so I can call him,” I said. There was silence.

“I’m not going to ask why, not over the phone. But I’ll get the message to him. Are
you
set?”

“Yeah, I have a couple at my disposal. I’ll text you the number.”

“Good, I’ll send you the number when I get it.”

I nodded, knowing he couldn’t see me, then hung up. Hastily, I ran back inside and down the stairs. I shuffled through my bag until I found the pre-paid phone still inside the plastic. Walking back up the steps, I searched Jade’s kitchen cabinets for a pair of scissors. My hands trembled while I tried to cut the plastic open. I was nervous and felt so confused with everything. How had I let this happen?

My first instincts were to call Don. I just hoped my gut hadn’t failed me like my heart had. I struggled to get the phone out, but once I did I took it and the plastic back outside. I headed for a dumpster that was a few blocks down the street to throw away the plastic. It wasn’t the best idea, walking alone in the middle of the night, but right now I had so many things running through my mind that my safety wasn’t a concern. When the phone powered up, I sent John a quick text so he had the number.

At the house, I sat with my back against the glass door when an unknown number texted me the number to Don’s throwaway. Taking in a deep breath, I called him, and it only took a few rings before the phone picked up. Silence.

“On the doss, Da?” I said in an Irish accent. It was our way to be sure we were speaking to one another.

“Aye, is the color green?”

“Nah, red.” I breathed in, with tears in my eyes. “I fucked up, Da.”

“Jaayzus, Billie, what now?”

“I love him,” I whispered without thinking, while tears ran down my cheeks. He muttered something I couldn’t understand. Leave Don in the motherland for a few days, and his accent became thicker than Irish moss.

“Oh, Billie,” Don replied. He sighed into the phone. “I need to tell you something, and you’re not going to like it,” he continued. “Actually, you’re going to hate it.”

Chapter Thirty

Christian

My nose was up before I was. The combination of bacon, eggs, and coffee swirled inside my nose. The food made my stomach churn but the coffee smelled like heaven. At the sound of her laugh, my heart picked up and I felt my mouth curl into a smile. I was trying to remember last night, but came up empty. I didn’t even know where I was, but hearing Billie’s voice made me feel at ease.

I opened my eyes and winced. The sunlight beamed in all directions of the room. I knew I wasn’t home because I kept my apartment dark. When I heard footsteps getting closer to me, I tried to get up but my head was pounding so hard it was difficult to move.

“Don’t bother moving,” Billie said as she sat on the edge of the couch. Her cold hand caressed my face, and I groaned, relishing the feeling. She giggled, then opened my hand and placed two pills in my palm. “Take this. Give it a while before you get up. Then come to the kitchen to hydrate yourself.”

“Yes ma’am,” I replied. Popping the pills in my mouth, I swallowed. When she tried to get up from the couch, I stopped her. “Lay with me,” I whispered. She smiled, then lowered her mouth to kiss me. It felt like an eternity since I had kissed her. It was so easy to go crazy for her, to love her. Billie broke our kiss sooner than I would have liked, then laid on my chest.

“Your mom keeps calling your phone,” she said, and instantly my body stiffened. I tried to tell myself to relax. “I took your phone, keys, and wallet from your pockets to make you more comfortable. I noticed your phone was dead so I charged it. Don’t worry, I didn’t go through it.” She placed my phone on my chest next to her head. I ran my fingers through her hair.

“No, baby, you can go through my phone anytime you want.” We stayed quiet for a little. “I have nothing to hide.” My throat felt dry. Just then, my phone rang. Gently, I took it from Billie’s hold, and she let go easily. I looked at the screen. Mom. I ignored the call when I noticed I had a voicemail. I lowered the volume on my phone and accessed my voicemail box.

“Christian, es tu Mama. Roman and I want to have a little barbeque. I invited Angel, Ava, and all the boys from the neighborhood. It’s at one, come for a little. Oh! And bring some beer!”

Fucking Roman. I grunted, and Billie’s wrinkled brows appeared as she rested her chin on my chest.

“Want to meet my mother and brother?” I asked her. It sounded like the perfect plan to me. I knew the detectives would be watching, and that would give them the illusion I was still working for them. I would also have Billie with me, safe.

“Are you sure that’s what you want?” she asked.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Her brows dug deeper into her skin. Damn, she was fucking cute. She was confused, and wasn’t trying to hide it.

“So, we’re going as friends?” Billie pushed off my chest to sit up. I didn’t know how I ended up here in Jade’s house, but I knew I must have begged for Billie’s forgiveness if she was being so sweet to me. Her question confused me. What had I done last night? Lifting my head a little off the pillow, I tested if the pain had subsided. When I didn’t feel anything but a small pang, I sat up and brought her to sit on my lap, straddling me.

“No bullshit?” I asked.

She pulled both her lips into her mouth and began to nibble them, keeping her words inside. She lifted her eyebrows, inviting me to continue.

“I don’t remember what happened last night,” I said. “The last thing I remember is arriving at Angel’s. But if I’m here and you haven’t smothered me in my sleep, I must have gotten back into your good graces, and you’ve forgiven me for being an ass yesterday and getting scared and breaking up with you.”

Billie chuckled. With a little secretive smile, she ran her fingers through my hair.

“At three-thirty in the morning, you woke Jade, Pete, and me. But you also woke the entire neighborhood with a live Mariachi band and your horrible drunken singing.”

My eyelids closed heavily while I swallowed slowly and realized that’s why my throat was so sore. “Did I say anything stupid?” It was a reckless decision, getting drunk and coming to see her. I could have told her what I had agreed to do. Luckily, I knew her well enough that if I had told her my mistake, I would have gotten a bullet hole in my ass by now.

“More or less.” She giggled.

“You’re not going to tell me, are you?” I groaned. She shook her head, then kissed my forehead.

“Come on, let’s get something to drink.”

***

We sat around the small dining room table in their kitchen as Pete laid bacon on a pan. The raw meat sizzled, instantly perfuming the room with the smoky fatty scent of bacon. All of us, other than Billie, looked exhausted and dragging out every movement. She seemed like she was wired on a hefty amount of caffeine…or speed. But I was going to chalk it up to adrenaline.

Pete asked if I wanted some eggs. I declined his offer because my stomach was very, very unhappy with me. The only thing I could handle was coffee and that was because I had to function today. Billie got up to serve me a mug almost like she could read my mind. With the hot liquid in front of me, she pushed the glass sugar bowl and carton of half-in-half right next to it, then sat down. I fixed my drink. Jade chuckled to herself.

“What’s so funny?” Billie asked with a smile.

“You two.”

“What about us?” I asked.

“Two birds of a feather,” Jade replied before taking a sip of her coffee. Pete grunted behind her. “You two are the most adorably impulsive people I’ve ever met.”

“What?” Billie squealed. “I’m not impulsive. Everything I do is calculated. I wouldn’t be much of a crook if I was impulsive, now would I?”

“Good thing you’re not a thief anymore, huh?” I asked. Billie’s lips tugged into a small amused smile.

“Um, no. Billie, you
are
impulsive,” Jade said. “You call breaking out into song at work a premeditated move?” Billie’s head snapped in her direction while her lips widened.

“It was his fault! He was looking at me like,
wow
, and I was like,
um, your looks are disarming
, and he just kept at it, and so I sang so I wouldn’t jump his bones.” Everyone broke out into laughter while my feelings for her deepened. The guilt I felt wasn’t far behind, causing me to quiet suddenly.

“Remember that year it snowed like four feet in high school, and you decided it was the best idea to hose down the hill behind my house and slide down it?” Jade asked.

Billie laughed. “It would have worked out if we hadn’t used cardboard boxes as our sleds.”

“God, John was so pissed when we came in all wet and dirty.” Jade chuckled, looking down at her mug.

“You must get your OCD from somewhere.”

The girls continued to reminisce as Pete and I stayed silent, watching their faces light up with each memory. I felt a pang of jealousy to think my brother and I never shared anything remotely close to what Jade and Billie had, and they weren’t even blood related. But by now, I knew a family wasn’t always made up of people you were blood related to, but instead, those who loved you despite your flaws. And stayed loyal to you even when it was hard to.

Billie finished up her breakfast and excused herself to go shower and get ready for Roman’s little get-together. Thirty minutes later, she came upstairs with her hair in a messy knot on top of her head, clad in skinny jeans, and a flannel purple and black shirt with her red Vans. She was mine. I didn’t know how I was going to get the cops off my back, but I’d figure out a way. There was no chance in Hell I was going to betray her.

Pete drove us back to my house so I could take a quick shower, and then I drove us to my mom’s place in Big Bertha. With October only a few days away, it still seemed like late summer instead of fall. Nevertheless, the leaves were beginning to change. Depending on the neighborhood, there was a streak of green trees or shades of yellow, reds, and oranges. With both front windows down, the air gently blew Billie’s air around every time she pulled a strand behind her ears.

“I have an idea,” I said, handing her my phone.

“Let me guess.” She accessed the playlist on my phone. “You want me to sing to you.”

I watched her from the corner of my eye as she typed and swiped through my phone. Seconds later, music played through the car speakers. I recognized the song instantly. It was often played on different radio stations. Billie chose the instrumental version and soon began to sing Ed Sheeran’s “Don’t.”

My throat tightened, making it difficult to swallow. The song was basically telling a person not to fuck with their love. My mind started to race at the reasoning behind Billie’s song choice. Was it because I broke up with her yesterday? Because I was being so hot and cold? Or was it because I had accidentally revealed my secret in my drunken state this morning? When she finished, she smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes while she handed me the phone.

“What made you choose that song?”

Billie shrugged, then looked away. “Just felt like singing it.”

I drove to my mother’s in silence until my phone rang. Without even looking down at the screen, I knew who it was from the ring tone. I pushed on the talk button on my steering wheel before answering.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Chris, do you have a minute?” Ava sounded different, and instantly my heart began to speed up. I didn’t love her but I stilled cared about her, so hearing her sorrow did something to my chest.

“Yes, of course. What’s up?”

Billie tapped me on the shoulder. I looked at her while I pressed down on the brake to stop at a red light.

“Take her off speaker phone,” she whispered.

I shook my head, but her eyes widened before she said
yes
a little forcefully. I felt like I was already keeping enough secrets from her, and I wasn’t going to hide conversations with Ava. I refused.

“I have to quit,” Ava said. “I’m not able to put in a two weeks’ notice either. I’m so sorry, Chris, you gave me a job when I needed it and now I’m kind of screwing you over.”

“Oh, Ava, don’t sweat it. Are you okay, is everything all right?”

She giggled, and I scowled at the sound. I’d never heard her giggle before. It was…weird.

“Yeah, actually, I’m good. Great! The happiest I’ve ever been.” Ava sighed, then laughed. “I’m pregnant, Chris.”

“Holy shit! Well, congratulations, Ava. I’m happy you’ve finally found the light at the end of the tunnel.”

She laughed again. “Thanks, Christian, but what about you? Have you found your light?”

Without question.
I looked over at Billie and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Yeah, I have.”