Page 72 of Dirty Laundry (Down and Dirty)

“Of her?” Clay asked.

“Yes, of her.”

“By herself?”

Heidi knew exactly where Clay was going with the line of inquiry, and it was an unusual one for him. Generally, he wasn’t so particular about who the people he’d fucked were associating with. The probability of him even being attracted to a woman was around one in twenty thousand. He could have won the lottery easier. Heidi suspected there was a connection between the two things somewhere, but she wasn’t going to expend the bandwidth philosophizing on someone else’s behalf.

“She was by herself, Clay, yes.”

“Can I have it?”

“No, and you know better than to ask. If she wanted you to have the picture, she would have sent it directly to you. She still has all your numbers.”

Clay was quiet, and Heidi let him be.

Clear as day in her mind, she could picture him sitting on his porch steps and glowering at the trees. He and Tim had always been different types of brooders. Neither were pleasant or communicative when they were in those moods, but Tim was at least logical. Heidi could use history and context to figure out his emotional needs. Clay was volatile as a Carolina basketball team the year after winning a championship.

“Can you describe it?” he asked. “Just tell me what she looked like.”

Heidi had to give him something. Clay was needy when he got into his funks, and nothing would make him happy then. It was easiest for the people closest to him if they tried to prevent him from getting into them in the first place.

The problem was having to toe the line between her loyalties. She considered Leah family and didn’t want to erode her trust, but she’d known Clay far longer. She couldn’t imagine a scenario where Leah would be upset at her for giving the most trifling of details.

“Her hair was out,” Heidi said as she stowed her purse and lunch tote in the car. “Big and majestic as always. Had a gold foil flower in it that matched her bustier. Big smile. Red lips.”

“Did she look happy?”

He wanted her to say no.

Heidi couldn’t give him that, even if she’d thought Leah had been.

“She looked like she was caught up in the moment’s energy. Working. Soaking in the atmosphere.”

Clay sighed in his snarly way. “I guess that’s enough.”

“That’s all I can give you, so good. I was going to tell you to make it enough.”

“I’ll try. You coming to Lowdown Dirty this weekend? Folks miss you.”

Scoffing, Heidi bumped the car door closed with her hip. “Miss me for what?”

“The particular services you provide.”

“Could have fooled me.”

“Listen, even when they don’t offer themselves up as volunteers, they’re definitely rolling around in the energy. Vibe balance ain’t right in here with both you and Tim gone.”

“You could always dom up. Tie on your cape and throw your weight around a little.”

Clay sighed again. “Can’t. The difference between the two of you and me is I gotta be a little attracted to them to want to bother. Otherwise, it’s just bad acting or me being mean for an hour.”

Bemused, Heidi made her way around to the other side of the car. Clay used to be the kind of man who could sexualize even the most mundane things. That was part of his charm and what made him such a fine kink club host. “When’d that change?”

“Dunno. All I know is that it did. So. You coming? Please?”

Heidi grimaced and settled behind the wheel. “I’ll think about it. No promises. I don’t know what my schedule’s going to look like.”

“I’m taking that as a yes. See you then. Thank you so much, Heidi. Love you to pieces. Bye-bye.”

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