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Something genuine, and scary, and perfect was going on between them.
And Nutsbe hoped against hope that whatever big and bad was out there, showing up in their lives, it would aim directly at him and not at Olivia.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Olivia
After another night of tossing and turning, Olivia, dressed in her court suit and tennis shoes, moved quickly down the road behind an exuberant Henrietta.
“I’m up because my kid can’t sleep once the neighbor's rooster starts crowing.” Jaylen yawned. “Why are you up? Did you have trouble sleeping from everything that went on yesterday? I’d be having nightmares.”
“I’m walking Henrietta. Then, I need to get to the courthouse early enough to find a parking spot. I’ll tell you, my whole nervous system has been way off since yesterday. I need a reset. Thank god for Nutsbe and Beowolf. Just immense heart-full gratitude. They at least knew what they were doing. I think my best metaphor is that I was a stick just riding the current, swept past any rocks or obstacles.”
“Poetic. Picturesque. Go with the flow.”
“Exactly. And that flow kept me from any harm. I trusted it. Was it consistently bad?” Olivia asked. “Absolutely. Did anything bad happen to me?”
“Scraped knees.”
“The ache didn’t start until bed last night, and, if I’m being honest, that whole bandaging scene was well worth the pain.”
“Sort of a reverse sexy-nurse scene. So now you can understand the appeal.”
“Absolutely. But I will tell you, my mind raced all night.” Olivia sent a glance over her shoulder when a car door slammed. “Not about yesterday, but about Mickey and my cases. I’m worried about my aunt and that she’ll stay safe. Just wrung out. Going this long without sleep is breaking my brain.”
“I’m sorry. I remember the days when Tilly was new, and she didn’t sleep but for two hours at a stretch. I thought my brain was melting inside my skull. A very uncomfortable sensation.”
Olivia stopped as Henrietta sniffed the stop sign and crouched for a ladylike pee. “Yeah, just have a lot on my mind. Nothing as precious as a sweet Tilly to care for.”
“So, how’s Nutsbe?” Jaylen’s voice was a teasing lilt.
“Fine, I guess.” Olivia whipped her head around as a car passed by. Granny-aged driver, nothing dangerous there. She realized she’d expected it to be the boogeyman.
“What’s that in your tone?”
Olivia let Henrietta pull her lead to get them walking again. “Nothing.”
“Olivia! You kissed him, didn’t you?”
Olivia didn’t answer. The emotions from yesterday were humming through her system.
“Boo, he had terrible breath?” Jaylen whispered.
“No.”
“He sucked on your tongue like a vacuum cleaner? Remember that guy in the frat, the pre-med guy that made your tongue ache for days after?” Jaylen asked.
“I remember, and no.”
“It was like kissing your brother, just a no-go?”
Olivia sighed. She knew Jaylen wasn’t going to stop. “I don’t have a brother to reference, but in my imagination, eww.”
“Yeah, pretty much. I kissed a guy once, and it was like kissing a brother. And to be honest, you never know—Tilly, no, ma’am! Tilly, we do not stick our fingers up the goat’s nose. Leave Zygoat’s boogers alone, please.” With a heavy exhale, Jaylen focused back on Olivia. “To the whole date your brother thing, did you know Iceland has an app to keep you from doing the nasty with a first cousin?”
“They need an app for that?”
“The country’s so small—three hundred thousand people or so—and almost all of them pool near the capital. There were so many accidental familial hookups that they made an app. In English, it translates to ‘incest protector,’ or something like that.”