Hot As Sin

14

I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose between my fingers.

“I was so surprised, I jerked and nearly choked my poor angel to death. My c**k shot straight down her throat like a twelve-inch rocket—”

“I GOT IT! JESUS!”

Disturbed by the sudden loud noise, Abby fusses in A.J.’s arms, but quickly settles back into sleep.

After a moment, A.J. begins to softly laugh. “I’m kidding. It’s only eleven inches.”

“Congratulations, asshole. Think you can tell the rest of the story without breaking your arm patting yourself on the back for the size of your prick?”

He pretends to think. “I’ll do my best.”

“Much appreciated.”

“Where was I?”

“Gagging Chloe. And thank you, fucker, for that visual, which I’ll never be able to scrub from my mind.”

“Aw, don’t be jealous, bro. I’m sure your tiny pecker gets the job done just fine.” He pauses for a moment. “When was the last time you had a girlfriend, by the way?”

I release the sigh I’ve been holding, drag a hand through my hair, and finish the rest of the whiskey.

“Fine. Don’t answer, you secretive bastard. Moving on. Since then it happened sporadically, but it’s getting to be a regular thing now. Probably five days out of seven. Usually later in the day for some reason. I’ll just be doing whatever, then all of a sudden the vision in my right eye will clear. It’s not like 20/20 or anything. I’d never pass a driving test. But, for a few hours at a time, I can see.”

He stops for a moment, then inhales a breath. His voice full of wonder, he says quietly, “I can see.”

From the doorway comes a small cry.

I look over. There stands Chloe holding a plate of food, frozen in shock, her face white, her blue eyes huge and welling with tears.

In a strangled voice, Chloe says, “Tell me you just said what I think you said.”

With adoration shining from every feature on his face, A.J. looks at her. He says softly, “Love that yellow dress on you, angel.”

Chloe bursts into tears, drops the plate of food, and launches herself across the room. She throws her arms around A.J.’s shoulders and starts to desperately kiss him all over his face, sobbing as she tells him over and over that she loves him.

A.J. laughs and throws one big arm around her, squeezing her into his neck.

Abby, roused by all the commotion, wakes up and starts to shriek.

I take my cue and leave the room, quietly closing the door behind me.

5

Downstairs, the party is raging.

In my short absence, a troop of bare chested male fire dancers in grass skirts have appeared and are putting on an exhibition on the pool deck, spinning flaming swords and sticks into intricately woven circles of fire while doing some fusion of martial arts and hip-thrusting tribal dance moves.

I worry about the girls in the feather headdresses going up in exploding balls of flame, but no one else seems to care that they’re way too close to fire than people wearing highly flammable costumes should be. They weave in and out of the male dancers, shaking their asses and working the crowd into a frenzy as the music blares.

I catch a glimpse of Marcus’s broad back retreating toward the rave tent. He’s carrying a laughing Rihanna in his arms.

“If there’s one thing you can say about my man, he sure knows how to throw a party.”

I turn toward the sardonic voice. Standing next to me at the foot of the staircase is Kat, smiling wryly as she watches the scene. She glances up at me and her smile turns soft. “I’m thinking this probably wasn’t the greatest way to send you off.”

I sling an arm around her shoulder and give her a squeeze. “Don’t be silly. This is awesome.”

“Not really your style, though, is it?”

“Are you kidding? There’s premium whiskey. There’s my best friends all in one place. There’s fireworks, music, and good food. How could that not be my style?”

“Don’t forget the hot, half naked dancing girls.”

“They’re great, too. This is all really great, Kat. Thank you so much. I truly appreciate it.”

She gazes at me fondly, her pretty green eyes crinkling at the corners. “That’s one of the things I love about you, Barney.”

“What’s that?”

“The only time you ever lie is to keep someone else from getting hurt.”

I wave off the compliment. “Yeah, yeah. I’m amazing. How are you feeling? Better than earlier?”

“Tired, actually.” As if on cue, she stifles a yawn. “I must be getting old. I used to just be getting started at midnight!”

“You’re growing a person inside you. That takes a lot of energy. Why don’t you go up and go to bed?”

She looks around, shaking her head. “As if I could sleep with all this racket. God, what were we thinking?”

Noting the haze of smoke hanging in the air, the way everyone seems to be staggering on their feet, and the group of people writhing around half naked on the sofa, making out and groping each other, I chuckle. “The party does seem to have taken on a life of its own.”

“You makin’ moves on my woman, brother?”

Nico swaggers up, grinning, holding a cocktail in one hand. As she always does when she looks at him, Kat starts to glow.