Page 103 of Alfie: Part Two

I stared at his phone on the nightstand.

“So it begins,” he whispered.

I gathered one of his hands in mine and kissed his knuckles—and he received another message.

Not two seconds passed before it rang.

West released another breath and gently lifted me off him, and I climbed out of bed on the other side, closest to the bathroom.

He left the bed too, and he eyed his phone. But before checking the texts, he glanced over at me with hesitation written across his face.

“Can you stop by my office with lunch?” he asked quietly. “I have a feeling I’ll need a break around one or two.”

I nodded once. “I’ll be there. I’ll pick up a couple cheesesteaks and a box of cannoli.”

He flashed a soft smile. “I love you. You know how I want my steak. Extra onion.”

Duh, and with provolone. Was I new here?

I think I know why you asked me to go to work late today.

I chewed on my lip and responded quickly.

Don’t say anything to Ma until I get there.

It was eight-twenty. Ma would be getting out of bed around now. When she worked, she’d get up at six, but her sick leave had turned her into a night owl. And it worked in my favor now. I’d dropped the kids off at school, and Colby had the day off to study in secrecy. He was now hell-bent on getting his GED early, and I couldn’t be happier. West was gonna be so fucking proud—and smug.

Either way, I’d get to my folks’ place before Mom had switched on the news.

Unless I got stuck here all day, of course. Traffic at this hour? Fuck me sideways. Actually, don’t. I was sore.

I blew out a breath and checked my other messages. I had some in our group chat, which reminded me I had to make more of an effort to leave a mark in there. Especially on a day like today. Keep up appearances and all. I did have a meme I’d saved for a special occasion. But first, I texted Kellan privately.

What’re you up to today?

I needed help with West’s Christmas present. He’d get a new watch, obviously, and…after that, no idea. I was usually good at that stuff.

He answered right away.

I’m thinking about jumping from the balcony so I don’t have to pick up Nessa from the airport today. She wants to go shopping. You?

I snorted softly and grinned.

Traffic eased up a little, so I placed my phone on my thigh and followed the herd.

Back in the day, we’d cheer each other up with bizarre responses, so I had just the right thing in mind.

Someone honked nearby, because that always helped.

While I was driving this slowly, I did the responsible thing and only tended to conversations I could engage in with minimalbrain power. So I went into the group chat and uploaded the Philly meme about how we waved here, and I pressed send.

“Fucking finally,” I muttered. That empty pocket in the left lane was so mine. I sped up and managed to zigzag probably fifty feet until shit backed up again.

All right, now I could respond to Kellan.

I grabbed my smokes and lit one up, then rolled down the window and typed while keeping one eye on the road.

Responsible was my middle name.

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