Page 19 of Enemy Crush
“Bundy, Bundy,” he says, finally stepping onto her hand.
She laughs. “Where did you come up with that name?”
I join her laughter. “I bought him off a private seller. Bundy was his pet, but he got sick and wasn’t able to care for him anymore. So I didn’t name him. The dude I got him off of though had serial killer posters everywhere, so I think he was a Ted Bundy fan.”
Her eyes widen. “That’s a strange backstory.”
I laugh as I move deeper into the living room. “Want a beer?”
“Sure,” she says, moving to sit on the couch with Bundy.
I go into the kitchen and get her a beer before walking back and sitting at her side on the couch.
“He’s so pretty,” she says, petting him.
“Pretty bird,” Bundy says.
She giggles. “Yes, pretty bird.”
“Pretty Stella,” he says and that makes her laugh harder.
“He’s a flirt. Just ignore him,” I joke.
“Ignore asshole,” Bundy tells her.
I laugh. “Am I the asshole?”
He looks over at me. “Asshole.”
I throw my hands in the air. “I should’ve known. Go stretch your wings.”
With that command, he flies off her finger and back up to his book case.
Stella takes her beer and has a sip. “That’s so funny. I bet the two of you have so much fun.”
I cock my head to the side. “I don’t know about fun.”
“How many words can he say?”
I shrug. “I never counted. But studies have shown that they can remember and use up to one hundred words. His favorite word though is…”
“Asshole?” she says, cutting me off.
“Exactly.” I nod. “I’m glad you came by. I was a little worried when I hadn’t heard from you all week.”
She takes a drink of her beer. “Well, I didn’t want to come to you empty handed. I wanted something, an update, news, something good to tell you about the store. But everything is still rolling. DJ is working on the website, our first signing is on the books, and the books should be arriving soon. I just…I’m really focusing on getting our next author lined up. Doing this once is great, but we need to have something to fall back on in case sales fall short.”
“We can hang out for fun too. It doesn’t always have to be about work.”
She nods. “I know, I just wasn’t sure how to go about it, you know. This is all so new.”
“What do you like to do in your free time?”
She gives me a confused look.
“I was just thinking that if we knew a little more about one another that maybe it wouldn’t feel so awkward. Like if I’m going to a game and I know you like the team, I’ll ask you to come.”
“Oh…well, I’m not really big on sports like baseball, basketball, and football. I like going to races, like the drag strip outside of town. I like dirt tracks the most though. I like to play sports, just not big on watching them. I’m just a good old country girl. If there is a cookout, cold beer, and a game of washers, I’m down.”
