Page 92 of I Am Sin

He nods, grunting.

I leave the kitchen, head back to my bedroom, and turn on the television.

As usual, with nearly six hundred channels, I can’t find anything to watch.

I don’t know why I pay for cable anymore. Most of my friends only get streaming services. Mental note—call the cable company first thing tomorrow and cancel everything.

My phone rings with a number I’m not familiar with.

Normally, I ignore numbers I don’t know, but after yesterday and Dragon’s call, I can’t. What if it’s another emergency? Someone who needs me?

“Hello,” I say into the phone.

“Hi, Diana. It’s Antonio Carbone.”

I nearly drop the phone. I certainly didn’t think that I’d be hearing from him again, not after last night.

“Hi, how are you?”

“Good, good. I dropped by my store for a minute this evening to check on a few things, and my cashier told me your friend Dragon had been in looking for a drumming instructor job.”

“He told me he stopped by a music store. I figured it might be yours.”

“My cashier was pretty smitten. She wants me to hire him. But given the fact that you had to bail him out of jail last night…”

“Right. You want my opinion on the matter.”

“Let’s just say I’m going to need a reference. What can you tell me about him?”

Despite the fact that he gave me the best sex I’ve ever had, I barely know him. Still, I want him to get the position, so I tell Antonio what I do know.

“He’s my sister’s husband’s best friend. You know about their band, Dragonlock. You know how they opened for Emerald Phoenix.”

I leave out the tidbit that Dragon wasn’t part of that tour—at least not after the first night.

“And he’s your roommate. And he was arrested last night.”

“Yeah. I suppose you’re right.”

“I’d like to give the guy a break,” Antonio says. “But I’m a little apprehensive given the fact that he was caught soliciting.”

“He claims he wasn’t. He said he was just giving the woman some money out of the goodness of his heart. She gave him some sob story about getting in trouble with her pimp, so he gave her the money he had on him. And then of course the cops thought… I guess I don’t have to spell it out.”

“You believe him?”

I don’t even have to think about my response. “Absolutely, I believe him. He’s been through a rough time, and he’s trying to get back on his feet.”

“Rough time?”

Uh-oh. I said too much. I can’t tell Antonio that Dragon is an addict. That would really be breaching a confidence. Dragon never said it was a secret, but it’s not my place to tell anyone about it. Certainly not a potential employer.

“Yeah. I don’t know all the details. And I didn’t ask. I don’t consider any of it my business.”

“Diana, the guy lives with you. Don’t you have a right to know a little bit about him?”

I know more about Dragon Locke. Biblically, at least. But the man who was trying to make out with me last night probably doesn’t need to know that.

“I know all I need to know about him,” I say. “He’s a truly gifted percussionist, and I trust the opinions of my brother-in-law and sister. They adore him.”

---