Page 19 of Denim & Diamonds

“Jim.”

I forced a smile. “Hi, Jim.”

Once he put his seatbelt on, I took off. Hope he didn’t mind my lead foot, because I had no freaking time to waste here.

Jim turned to me. “I’m very grateful for your help.”

Tenser by the second, I groaned under my breath. “No problem.”

“You seem to be in a rush. I hope I’m not making you late for something.”

I laughed at the thought of explaining the truth to him: that I was in a race against time to view a pair of titsbefore my brother had a chance to. But instead, I said, “Nothing important enough to not get you home safely.”

After I got to the old man’s house, I helped him out of the truck. I was about to take off when he held up his shaky finger and asked me to wait outside. He said he needed to give me something.

Shit.What now?

He walked toward his house at a snail’s pace, and then I waited, not so patiently.

I bounced my legs as the minutes passed.What the hell am I waiting for?I should just go. But that would be a total dick move.

I shook my head at myself. What a dumbass I was to give February my shirt without checking the pockets first. Served me damn right to be in this position.

About five minutes later, the man finally came out of the house carrying something. Once again, it took him forever to get from point A to point B. It would be a miracle if Axe wasn’t whacking off to February’s photo as we spoke. Pretty sure I’d totally screwed myself.

The man handed me a small plastic bag. At first I thought it was weed, but then I realized there were two cookies inside. “Here are some treats my daughter made. I hope you enjoy them. Thank you again for driving me home.”

I couldn’t help but smile at the sweet gesture. “Thanks, buddy. I appreciate it.”

“Bless you,” he said.

The cookies looked good, but I doubted they were worth the consequences of this delay. This time I couldn’t afford to wait for Jim to safely reenter the house. I drove off and was lucky I didn’t get a ticket as I rushed to my aunt’s.

Thankfully, I could see my brother through the window, so I knew he was home.

Out of breath, I knocked on the door.

He opened a few seconds later. “What the hell? Why are you knocking like that?”

“I need your phone.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Why?”

“Never mind why. Just give it to me.”

My brother shook his head. “Fuck that. I just got it back. Why would I give it to you again?”

“Axe…” I scolded.

“What?”

“Give me the fucking phone…”

“Not until you tell me why you need it.”

I searched his eyes for a moment because I needed to know if he’d seen the photo. He looked genuinely confused, which told me I might still be safe. My brother wasn’t the type to hide his amusement very well. So, while I still didn’t know how I was gonna get the phone from him, I breathed a sigh of relief that I wasn’t too late.

“I just need to see the phone for a minute. I’ll give it right back.”