Page 75 of Nave
“Yep.”
“Interesting. I stayed at one of those awful sleep-and-fuck motels for a few weeks while I was on the road. Had this obnoxious-as-fuck neighbor who was a low-level dealer. He had people coming and going all night long. The door never stopped slamming. I guess I still have some feelings about that to this day.”
“I’ve never stayed in a motel or hotel.”
“Ever?”
“My parents wouldn’t spend perfectly good drug money on a hotel room.” Was my tone a little bitter? Sure. My soul still was.
“What about after you left Ben?”
“There was no money for that even if I wanted to. But I didn’t because, you know, cameras.”
“You slept in the car every night?”
“You assume I slept. I napped here and there. But that was it. I was running on pure adrenaline until I found you.”
“Glad I was somewhat easy to find.”
“We can thank your mom and dad for giving you such a unique name.”
“I’m named after the town,” he admitted.
“I suspected as much. I like it. It’s completely unique but not super out-there.”
“Got baby names on the mind, huh?” he asked.
“I’ve been looking at baby names books from the library. A very… memorable librarian suggested I would be better looking at old-timey birth and death records instead.”
“You met Aunt Peyton.”
“Having an aunt like that growing up must have been something else.”
“Her sister runs a sex store. We all got a very uncomfortably thorough sex education.”
“Well,” I said, letting out an airy laugh. “I’m certainly thankful for that education.”
“I will let her know that.”
“Oh, God. Please don’t,” I said, thinking of running into her again.
We climbed out of the car, walked Edith, then made our way inside.
When we’d left, the clubhouse had been a disaster. Garbage cans had been overflowing. Red drink cups and empty beer cans were strewn all about. And every single surface felt sticky with dried liquor.
In just a few hours, the whole place had been transformed. The garbage and recycling were handled. Every surface was wiped down, floors swept and mopped. The whole space smelled like amber.
“Wow.”
“The power of prospects.”
“Spike and Cain?”
“Plus Perish and the twins. They’re all technically still prospects. So they do all the grunt work around here.”
“All of you have to do that?”
“For a few months or years, depending on the situation.”
