Hot As Sin

13

We turn our heads to the sound of the voice. In the doorway stands Miss Small Town Popularity, holding a drink in her hand.

She sees my inquisitive look and smiles winningly. “I was instructed by Mr. Nyx to make sure you got another whiskey. I’ve been looking all over for you.” She holds up the glass. “Good thing you don’t take ice, or it would’ve already melted.”

I notice A.J. has c****d his head and seems to be looking right at her, though I know that’s impossible. Sometimes his gaze lands on just the right spot to create that impression.

“Thank you.” I stand as she approaches and take the drink from her hand. There’s a moment of intense eye contact, then she looks away, blushing.

“Well. Um. Let me know if you need anything else. My name’s Celine, by the way.”

“Will do. Thanks, Celine.”

She glances at A.J., then sends me another smile and leaves.

As soon as she’s out of earshot, A.J. says, “She likes you.”

I chuckle. “What’s not to like?”

“True. Too bad for her you’re not into sporty blondes.”

“Plus, she’s about ten years old. I’d feel like a dirty old…” I turn and look at A.J. “Wait. How did you know she’s a blonde?”

He slowly leans back in his chair, inhales, and lowers his head, fiddling with the hem of Abby’s pink frilled dress. He says quietly, “So, that’s kinda what I wanted to talk to you about.”

I sink into the chair beside him, holding my glass so tightly it’s probably in danger of shattering in my hand. “Holy s**t, man. Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

After a moment, he shrugs. “Depends on what you think I’m saying.”

“f**k you! C’mon! Can you see?”

His voice becomes low and hesitant, as if he’s not sure he should be saying the words aloud. “I…can’t…not see.”

I say without heat, “I’m gonna punch you right in the nose.”

“Okay, fine, listen.” He blows out a breath and adjusts his bulk in the chair, sitting up a little straighter, cradling Abby closer to his chest. “After the operation to remove the tumor, I wasn’t totally blind, right? I could see light and shadows, some shapes. No faces or anything like that. No details. But it wasn’t like I was left totally in the dark.”

When he’s silent for too long, I prompt impatiently, “And?”

“And…now…it’s better.”

Jesus Christ. I’m gonna kill him! “If you don’t explain yourself, my friend, I’ll put hair remover in all your shampoo bottles and snakes in your underwear drawer.”

“I don’t wear underwear,” he says, as if I’m not about to have a heart attack on the spot.

I growl, “A.J.”

“Sometimes the sight in my right eye clears up.” He blurts it out then holds his breath, as if he’s confessed to murder.

To calm my nerves before I dive into this, I take a nice, long swig of whiskey.

I have a feeling what he needs from me is good advice. I want to make sure I’m steady enough to give it.

“That’s fantastic news, brother. Fantastic. What did your doctor say?”

When he looks chagrined, I know he hasn’t been to see his doctor. I want to smack him upside his thick skull, but that won’t get us anywhere.

“Well, what does Chloe say? She must be thrilled!”

He grimaces. “Yeeaaahhh…”

Now I really want to smack him. “For f**k’s sake. You didn’t tell her, either?”

“I don’t want to get her hopes up, man! This could be some kinda blip, like a fluke, right? It could all turn around tomorrow, and then she’d be devastated all over again!”

I down the rest of my drink, fumes searing my nose. “Okay. I get your point. Why don’t you start at the beginning, and we’ll talk about the situation. You don’t have to do anything about it tonight, right?”

“Right. Okay.” He exhales, sounding relieved.

“So. Walk me through this. When did this first start happening?”

He answers without hesitation. “Nine weeks ago. Chloe was, ah…” He clears his throat. “Let’s just say I was looking down at her at the time. At her face. Which was…sort of…between my legs.”

I stifle my sigh and merely shake my head instead. It seems to be my fate that tonight I’ll be subjected to the intimate details of my friends’ s*x lives.

I’ll have to be sure to steer well clear of Nico and Brody for the rest of the evening.

“At first, I thought it was like a memory. Or a wish, you know? Like, God, that feels so amazing I can almost see it. Those beautiful f*****g pink lips on my—”

“I get the picture, Romeo,” I interrupt drily.

“Uh, sorry. Anyway. One minute it was all sensation and a hazy blur of light, the next minute, I see lips. Luscious, full lips. And my d**k! Like materializing out of the mist! BOOM! There he is! Heya, big boy, haven’t seen you in a while!”