Page 12 of Fly Boy
“Fuck you, dickhead,” he replies, wiping at his cheek, making the stain worse.
“No, I’m serious. Is everything okay?” Bowie asks, a hint of concern in his question. We might give each other shit half of the time, but we do really care for one another.
Teddy squeezes his eyes shut, a yawn tearing through him. “Yeah, just exhausted. I’ve been putting in extra hours at the shop so I can spend more time with the baby once he’s born,” he says, rubbing his hands down his face. “But it seems like as soon as the locals found out Ana was pregnant and I was taking on more clients, they all thought they were being helpful by actuallygivingme the work. I love them for it, but this wholesmall-townvibe they think they’ve got going doesn’t work when Phoenix isthisbig and word travels fast. I don’t think I’ve had a day off in months.”
“Thank god it’s almost the weekend, huh?” Bowie says optimistically.
“Weekend? What’s a weekend? I don’t know what those are anymore.” His gaze moves across his screen, and he frowns, leaning forward to assess the space I can only imagine is where my face is. “And then you’ve got this asshole all snuggled up in bed. Or are you walking around your house shirtless, showing off to your neighbors?”
Chuckling, I pull back my phone, panning the camera down my body. “Nah, dude, in bed. And like you, I also don’t know what weekends are anymore either.”
“But that was your choice,” Teddy sulks before perking up. “Wait… what’s the time there?”
“Eight-thirty,” I supply, tugging my comforter farther up my chest. “We’re only three hours ahead of you. That’s basic math.”
Teddy huffs, and his dirty blond hair puffs off his forehead. “Eight-thirty. Fuck, I’ll be lucky if Ifinishat eight-thirty.”
“If you’re worried about money, I can give—”
Teddy holds his hand up, cutting me off. “I’m not worried about money. I just want to continuenothaving to worry aboutmoney.” He half-laughs, half-huffs. “Apparently, having kids is expensive.”
“If you’re sure?” Bowie asks, and Teddy nods.
“Yeah, and I appreciate it, I do, but we’re good. Ana’s good, the baby’s good, the shop’s doing good…everything is good.”
“So good that you’ll be coming back for Thanksgiving at the end of the month?” I ask, hopeful. It’s been far too long since we were all under one roof.
Since Bowie returned from the Amazon, where he spent nearly ten years working for National Geographic, we’ve been lucky if the family has gotten together twice a year, especially since Teddy lives across the country.
He shakes his head, his face falling. “Can’t. Ana’s got a huge campaign due before the holiday, and she can’t take time off. Plus, the flight prices are astronomical.”
“I thought you were working over Thanksgiving anyway, Wyatt? Doesn’t your little princess have a show or whatever?” Bowie asks, and I shake my head.
“No, Phillipa flies with the team when it’s a competition and Mr. Cartwright can’t fly out to Tokyo for it,” I say. “Plus, it’s like the week before Thanksgiving anyway.”
Bowie claps his hands together, smirking into the camera. “So the plane will be free? Good thing we just so happen to have someone in the family who could fly Teddy and Ana out here himself, then.”
I point at myself. “Me?”
“Yes, you, dumbass. It’s not like I could fly Teddy in that fancy-as-fuck plane of yours now, could I?”
Teddy snorts as I roll my eyes. “Except it’s not mine, and I can’t fly it any time I like.”
Even if I do wish it was.
“But I bet if you asked your boss, he’d be all like,whyyes, Wyatt, my favorite employee, take whatever you need,” Bowiemocks, adopting a pseudo-posh voice that sounds nothing like my boss. “That man sucks up your ass. There’s no way he’d say no. Which is good of him, considering you want to bone his daughter.”
“I wish I never told you that,” I mumble, quiet enough that neither brother can hear me. I stare at Bowie’s image, hoping that if I don’t comment further, Teddy won’t notice and instead tease, “You’d know all about ass-sucking, right?”
“It’s almost as good as my dick-sucking,” Bowie smirks.
“Walked right into that one, Wy,” Teddy laughs, but his expression shifts, and I mentally prepare myself. It appears our younger sibling is more astute than I gave him credit for. “Wait, hold up, you want to fuck your boss's daughter? As in, your new boss? The one with the famous kid?”
Kid.I want to roll my eyes at Teddy’s assessment of Mr. Cartwright’s daughter. She is definitely not a kid.
“How many bosses do you think Wyatt’s had?” Bowie asks, only to be hushed by Teddy as he blinks, wide-eyed at the camera, waiting for my answer.
I grimace as a hot prickle of discomfort scatters over my skin. “Uh…”
