Page 27 of In The Dark
“That’s a good question.” I shield my eyes from the sun and offer her a shrug. “Maybe Andy? Remember him? I met him in that adult coed soccer league I played in a couple years ago.”
“Oh, yeah. He wascute.” She sits in the chair next to me and rests her hands on her stomach. “What are you doing the rest of the day?”
“Too much. There’s laundry and worksheets and attempting to fix the faucet in my bathroom. It keeps leaking, and it’s beyond obnoxious. You know I love my job so much, and I never want to do anything else as a career, but when my to-do list gets long and chores pile up, being able to work from home so I could knock out a few things between meetings instead of leaving it all for my two days off every week would be nice.”
“Dustin can come over and look at the faucet for you. He mentioned his dad was a plumber. Wait. No. An electrician? I forget. But he seems like a guy who knows his shit.”
“Look at you having a man on speed dial who can fix household issues for us.” I grin and toss my used napkin at her. She screeches and bats it out of the way, flailing her legs. “How the tables of turned.”
“Shush. Out of the two of us, you’re going to be in a relationship before me. Youlovedating.”
“I don’t love dating. I’m just a romantic, I guess.” I sigh. “Which isn’t always a good thing. It’s weird to see people who went to high school with us on their second or third kid while I’m out here carving pumpkins for first graders who are going to throw a pie at my face.”
“I think that’s the nice thing about life. We’re all doing things at our own pace, and one path isn’t better than the other.” Skyler slides her sunglasses over her eyes and turns her chin my way. “We haven’t been single at the same time in forever, which means we need to find someone for you to hook up with at theparty on Tuesday. Goodbye, Brian, hello hot guy who operates a chainsaw during Fright Nights.”
“I don’t?—”
I snap my mouth closed. I was about to tell her I don’t want to find someone to hook up with, because that’s not me, but that would be a big fat lie.
And I’ve never liked liars.
“You don’t do one night stands. I know, I know. A girl can dream on your behalf, though.” Her laugh turns into a groan when she checks the time on her phone. “Dammit. I need to start getting ready for work.”
“I can’t believe how early you have to clock in. Your show doesn’t start until eight.”
“You’re telling me. Doing a full rehearsal before the actual performance should be against the law.”
“Hey.” I rub the back of my neck, looking at the umbrella again. “This sounds so weird, but could you ask the pool guy if he did fix the umbrella? I’m just… I don’t know. Maybe I’m being paranoid, but?—”
“I’ll call first thing in the morning.” She takes my hand and gives it a squeeze. “Better safe than sorry, right?”
“Right. And we should sign up for that self-defense class. Brian couldn’t find my clit, so I doubt he knows how to put someone in a headlock, but man this world has gone to shit these days.”
“Amen. We’ll be ass-kicking bitches who can fight our way out of anything.”
“That’s my girl. And speaking of ass-kicking, have a great show tonight. I promise I’ll come watch your last performance on Halloween.”
“You will?” Skyler squeals and throws her arms around me. “That makes me so happy. Thank you, Maxy Max. I love you.”
“I love you too, Sky. Now go get ready so you can twirl and dance and spin those sticks of fire around.”
“That’s what we should get for self-defense. No one would come near us if they thought we were fire-breathing dragons.”
“So true.” I untangle our limbs and pat her cheek. “Have a great show, babe.”
“Love you, my sweet darling.” She pops to her feet and blows me a kiss. “See you in the morning.”
I smile and wave, resting my chin on my knees. My eyes dart back to the umbrella then around the backyard, convinced I’m not here alone.
ELEVEN
MAX
“I’m soglad we’re going out tonight.” Skyler wiggles with excitement in the seat next to me in our Uber. “I could use a drink. Or six. The bane of my fucking existence is pushing me to my breaking point, and I’m afraid the show is close to falling apart because of it.”
“What’s his name again?” I ask. “Derek?”
“Dominic, but it should be Domi-dick,” she grumbles. “I swear his sole purpose on this earth is to make my life a living hell. We have this stunt we do together—you know the one where we’re both on the silks and he drops me, but I catch myself?”
