Page 76 of Dizzy

I let Dizzy do things to me—things I’m growing to crave—and right after, I suspect he’d do whatever I asked him to do. It’s a heady feeling. A rush. This enormous, wild man wrapped around my finger.

Hold up. “Do you mean that? You don’t want me to leave?”

“No,” he says immediately. “I mean, yeah. I don’t want you to leave. I want you to stay. With me. And Parker and Carson. Not just until shit is settled with the club. But as long as you want.”

“For the free sex and maid service?”

“Nah. For the hassle and the smart mouth.” His lip curls up at the corner. “You’re my woman. I told you so.”

“You can’t mean it. We hardly know each other.”

He sits flat on the ground, knees bent, and grabs a stick to draw swirls in the mud.

“You’ve got nothing to say to that?” I sink to my butt, too, and cross my legs. I take my own stick and mess with his swirls, give them ears and tails.

“I got no reasons, girl. It’s just the way it is.”

“What would you do if I left?”

“Chase you. Bring you home.”

“What if you really get to know me, and you decide you can’t stand me?”

“It’s a definite possibility.”

I slap him, and he chuckles.

“This is crazy.”

“I ain’t bothered. You really want a job?”

Do I? In my head, I get off the bus in New York City, and I’m looking up at all the skyscrapers like they do in the movies. Maybe twirling around with a suitcase in my hands. I didn’t get much beyond that.

I kind of figured I’d waitress since I’m friendly, and I’d be able to sneak leftovers. I wasn’t stoked about it, though.

“I guess I should get one.”

“You don’t have to. You can stay home. Take care of the house and the kids.”

I shudder. Ugh. Not interested. I’ve been doing that as long as I can remember. I don’t want more of the same.

“No. I want a real job. Then I can pay towards rent.”

“The house is paid off.”

“Well, groceries then.”

“Your money is your own. I do all right. You can buy yourself more sparkly blue dresses.”

I’m not sure why I’m arguing. Any of my sisters would have their hand jammed in his pocket long before this point.

“I got my high school diploma. What kinds of jobs are there around here?”

“What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know.” If I had a choice, what would I do? I’ve never had choices. Not in Dalton. Not when I had no reliable transportation. “I like people.”

“You get on well with the women at the club, don’t you?”

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