Page 32 of Somebody's Watching Me
“Is that what you tell your son when you tuck him in at night?”
“I don’t get to tuck Selah in at night, or did you forget that part?”
“I never forget.” Albie came to sit with him, relaxing a little as he watched Laura Jean on the dance floor. “Do you understand that SiSi could’ve run? Hell, it would have been the smart thing to do.”
“I’ll be sure to let her know you think she’s stupid for staying.”
“The hell you will.” Albie’s gray eyes snapped back to him. “I will not have that woman mad at me.”
“Simone would take you down faster than Richard Forsyth.”
“Kiss my ass, and yes, Simone is scarier than Dick Foreskin,” Albie grumbled. “I heard he’s working on Wall Street now.”
Richard Forsyth, also known as Dick Foreskin to his enemies, had been Albie’s childhood bully until Ben finally got tired of seeing the scholarship kid get his ass kicked day in and day out. All it had taken was one word from a Fairweather for Albie’s torment to end.
And while Richard Forsyth remained a dickhead until they graduated, his utter shit behavior forged a friendship that would last a lifetime.
“Listen, I know I don’t deserve a healthy boy and another kid on the way,” Ben said as the song ended, and Laura Jean weaved back to them with Ty on her arm. “Not when there are people like you and Laura Jean who deserve it more.”
“That’s the attitude pissing me off,” Albie swung around in the seat to point a finger in his face. “You’re walking around with this misplaced guilt because you think we won’t be happy about this.”
“I don’t care if you’re happy for me, Albie.”
Lowering his finger, Albie smirked. “Yes, you do, you arrogant ass.”
“Yes, he does what?” Laura Jean slid up to her husband and stole his beer, having left Ty in the care of a woman by the bar. “And why does Ben look so pissed?”
Albie’s smirk deepened. “Shall I tell her, or do you want to do it?”
Glaring at his friend, Ben tried to think of how to approach this. Laura Jean was a weakness of his, and Albie knew it. “I was concerned you guys would be upset about Miranda’s pregnancy.”
Laura Jean shrugged. “I am, but I’m also happy for you.” She waved the beer bottle between them. “Let me guess, Ben was hesitating on telling his news because he didn’t want to hurt us, but Albie, I bet you were all, don’t be an asshole. We’re happy for you. Why would you think we wouldn’t be?”
Neither he nor Albie said anything, knowing she wasn’t done. Laura Jean aimed the bottle at her husband. “Refusing to acknowledge that it hurts to know we’ve been screwing our brains out trying to get pregnant while Ben is over here knocking women up left and right is not how friendship works. You’re just as guilty of being a jerk.”
“I have gotten two women pregnant,” Ben mumbled, swiping a hand through his dark hair. “Two women, Laura Jean.”
Laura Jean rolled her eyes and pointed the bottle at him next. “Hiding important stuff just because you think it’s going to hurt us is shitty on your part. Life always hurts, Ben. It’s what we share that makes it worth living.”
As usual, she had a point. Life, in general, was nothing but pain. It didn’t matter how much money or power he had; there would always be small slices of suffering to keep him humble.
But then, some moments made the pain tolerable. Like tonight or when he held Selah. Times like those burned at the pain yet held the same grounding effect.
“Your wife is a genius.”
Albie pulled Laura Jean closer. “Yeah, I know.”
From somewhere close by, Ty let out a nervous laugh. None of them could see who he was talking to, but if Ben didn’t know any better, the cute brunette Laura Jean had left him with had turned into a group of giant country boys.
“Ah, shit,” Albie mumbled. “Behave.”
Laura Jean frowned. “Who are you talking to?”
“Me.” Ben tossed back the rest of his beer and stood. “He’s talking to me.”
“I am a doctor.” Albie rose to go with him. “You are an upstanding citizen who owns half the land in this county and the county next door. We do not get into bar fights.”
“Ty can handle it.” Laura Jean placed a hand on each of their chests. “Sit down.”
