Page 32 of Counting the Stars

“Inebriated,” I deadpan, though I’m happy he did nothing but sleep. “Give me his keys. I’ll open the door and drag his ass inside. Did he mention if he had any pets, like a guard dog or anything?”

“No, he never mentioned any pets.” She chews on her bottom lip. She always does that when she’s nervous. “I really don’t know much about him.”

“No kidding.”

I walk up the two steps to Dr. Cheek Checker’s front door and listen for any clue that something or someone might be inside. Everything seems quiet, so I unlock it and feel the wall for a light switch. Finding what I’m looking for, I flip on a light to the sight of one shithole of a house. The place looks like a 1970s bachelor pad complete with dirty shag carpet, wood paneling on the walls, and a dark green sofa and recliner set. Perfect. I’ll drag Dr. Tush Tester to the recliner, where he can sleep his drunk ass off.

“You so dodged a bullet on this one.” I smirk and walk past Gabby to get the drunkard.

“What do you mean?”

“Go inside and have a look for yourself.” I nod my chin toward the front of the house. She gives me a hesitant look but walks toward the house.

I open my passenger side door, unclick the drunk doctor’s seat belt, and lift him over my shoulder. The dude is deadweight, but Nick the Brick was right on the money. I’d say he weighs just about one hundred seventy pounds if not slightly lighter.

“I’m getting too old for this shit,” I mumble, schlepping Dr. Deadweight from the side of the road and into his shack of a house. He’s not the first passed-out guy I’ve carried before, although it’s usually out of a building and not into it. I dump his butt in the recliner, then turn to Gabby, who’s still taking in the scenery with a horrified look on her face.

“Is it okay to just leave him here like this?” She fidgets with her hands, still trying to take in the retro scene surrounding us.

“He should be fine.” I shrug and start to explore the rest of the place out of sheer curiosity.

“I’m just going to leave him a note so he doesn’t wonder how he got back here.” Gabby starts looking around for something to write on.

“Maybe he has something in here.” I open a door and… “No…freaking…way!”

I figured the rest of the house would look similar to the living room, but this is more than I ever could’ve imagined.

“What’s going on?” Gabby walks up beside me and peers into the funhouse-looking room. I’m all too familiar with the sight. It looks just like the mirrored room I helped demolish in Jax and Aly’s future home. Jax and Travis had dubbed it the “Hotel California Room” because it was hard to find your way out once the door was shut. We had endless ideas about who the previous tenant was. Now I think I have the answer.

She gasps as I take out my phone and snap a few pictures.

“You said this guy used to live here, moved away, and came back, right?”

“That’s what he told me,” she confirms. “Why do you ask?”

“I think I just found out who used to live at Jax and Aly’s new place.” I snap a few more photos. The only difference between this room and the previous one is that this one has a bed smack dab in the middle.

“I can’t believe this.” She shakes her head.

“I can. He’s probably a narcissist who gets off on looking at himself from all angles. I can’t imagine that with this house and his stellar personality, he brings many women back here. Like I said before, you dodged a bullet.”

“I never planned to go home with him,” she replies defensively.

“What were your plans exactly?” A muscle in my jaw twitches.

“I don’t know!” She takes a step back. “I told you. He seemed nice enough and I didn’t think going out to dinner would do any harm.”

“Well, it might’ve done a lot of harm. Who knows what this guy had planned for you.” I stare her down, so agitated by her recent actions. She’s better than this.

“Let’s just get out of here.” She crosses her arms over her chest and pivots towards the living room.

With one last check that Josh is fine and propped in an upright position, I place his keys on the side table, turn the bottom lock, and close the door. He’s in for a hell of a hangover, but that’s not my problem.

Walking back to my SUV, I notice that Gabby has already settled into the passenger side, undoubtedly waiting for me to drive her back to the restaurant to retrieve her car. Too bad I have other plans. This whole cat-and-mouse chase she’s put me through needs to stop and I’m declaring it ends tonight.

18

Gabby

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