Welcome to Sugartown

Chapter Eleven Ana

“Come on. You have to give me more details than ‘it was nice’. I mean, why the hell haven’t you strapped him to the bed and impaled yourself on his enormous cock yet?” Holly whines.

It’s not that I’m not used to her being this vocal about my sex life—or up until recently, my lack thereof—it’s the fact that she’s sing-songing it throughout the diner when my kid brother is sitting at a booth nearby, and so is Sugartown’s one and only homeless resident, who carts around stray cats in his trolley and always smells like pee. He’s harmless. A little crazy, but he’s never been a threat to anyone. Ordinarily, Crazy-Eyed Callaghan would meet us at the back door at the end of the day and we’d offload any leftover pies into his eager hands. Today, for some reason, he’s a paying customer and has just as much right to be in here as anyone else.

I grab Holly by the arm and yank her behind the counter. “Would you keep your voice down, please?”

“What’s the matter? Don’t want Crazy-Eyes to hear all about your boyfriend’s big cock?” she whispers.

“I didn’t say it was big.”

“Honey, you didn’t have to. Have you seen the guy? He’s a freaking giant! A sexy giant, but a giant no less. If he’s not big, then there really is no god.”

“Oh my god, you are so sick.” I laugh and throw my cloth down on the counter and trade it instead for the pie I made Elijah. “I’m just going to run this over to him, really quick.”

“Oh, speaking of sick, is he into kinky shit? You know, cuffs, paddles, anal?” I feel my whole body flush head to toe, and I almost drop the pie. Holly’s eyes widen with excitement. Even Crazy-Eyed Callaghan has never looked this nuts.

“GET THE FUCK OUT!” she shrieks, and Callaghan starts shaking his head and muttering to himself as he gathers his ratty plastic bags together.

“Holly,” I whisper-yell before turning to him to apologise. He doesn’t hear me, on account of her carrying on like a banshee.

“Ohmygodyouhavetotellmeeverythingrightnooooooooooow!”

I hightail it out from behind the counter, snatch up Sammy, who is looking about as freaked out as I am, and bolt for the door. And, just as I’m thinking it might be time to find a new best friend, Holly throws back the shop door and screams, “That big, kinky giant of yours isn’t going to save you from me, Ana Belle. I know where you live girlfriend and I WILL find you!”

“Ana Cabana?” Sammy asks, as he shoots daggers at Holly over my shoulder. “Wath kinky mean?”

I really have to learn to keep Holly away from my kid brother.

“I’ll tell you when you’re older,” I say, and set him down on the footpath. He disappears into the shop. As I approach the garage, I can hear the sounds of flirty feminine laughter and the occasional clang of a wrench banging around. Dad took off with the dragon to some club meet thing earlier, so I know Elijah’s here alone finishing things up. Correction. Was here alone.

“And when I’m older, Anath’s gonna tell me what kinky ith,” Sammy states proudly, and I hear that stupid whore with the flirty laugh giggle again. The sound grates on me and I have a really weird sense of deja vu. I know that laugh, and I wasn’t wrong about it belonging to a skanky whore. Nicole White.

“Aww, he’s so cute. Is he yours?” she asks. Oh for the love of god, that bitch knows exactly who the kid belongs to. The same girl who she stole her last boyfriend off.

“Naw, he’s just my wingman.” Elijah hauls himself out from under the stupid cow’s Mazda 3 and fist-bumps Sammy. “Ain’t that right buddy?”

“Hellth yeah,” Sammy replies while he smashes his little fist into Elijah’s, and I can’t help but laugh.

Elijah’s gaze meets mine and a silent greeting is exchanged between us. His is possibly a little more friendly than mine.

“Sorry to interrupt,” I say, though I’m really, really not sorry at all, and if my tone didn’t convey as much, the look I give him sure does. I hold the pie out for him to take. “I thought you might appreciate this after a hard day’s work.”

“Oh my god, you actually made him a pie. That’s so cute,” Nicole says, and I swear I hear a hint of jealousy in her patronising tone.

Elijah gives her an odd look and then turns his attention back to me before yanking me toward him and taking the pie out of my hands. His other hand slides down my arse and cups my cheeks.

“Ana makes me all kinds of things,” he says, squeezing my bottom for emphasis and my heart swells so much in that moment that I kinda love him for putting Nicole in her place. In fact, I’m not even sure that line was for her benefit at all.

“Oh, I didn’t realise the two of you were together,” Nicole snipes.

I throw her a look over my shoulder. “Would it matter if you did?”

“Oh come on, Ana. Surely that nasty Scott business is in the past?”

“Oh, it is.” I turn and smile at Nicole and Elijah pulls me back against him. I press my hand to his cheek as he tucks himself against my neck. My grin grows to proportions that could only be called psychotic. “Absolutely.”

Sammy runs in from the courtyard out the back, drops a handful of toy cars at Elijah’s feet and adds his two cents. “Scotth’s a arthface with a sthinky weiner.”

“No arguments there, little man,” Elijah says, and mock punches Sammy’s shoulder before setting his pie down on the workbench. “We’ll still need to do some more work on the Mazda, Nicole. So, if you leave me your number, I’ll call you tomorrow when it’s done.”

Elijah fishes out a piece of paper and a permanent marker and puts them down on the bench in front of her but instead of using them, the way any normal person would, Nicole picks up the marker and sidles up to him. She takes his hand and scrawls her name and number across his palm. I’m about to go ten rounds with this bitch right there in front of Sammy, and something tells me Elijah knows it, because he shoots her an annoyed look and says, “Right, well, I’m about to close up shop. Ana and I are babysitting the kid tonight.

“Ooh, romantic,” she quips.

I swear to god, if she doesn’t shut up I will club her with a monkey wrench.

“I’m noth a baby,” Sammy protests.

“Of course you’re not, little dude. I don’t know why they call it that. It’s kinda stupid really.” Elijah turns back to Nicole. “Anyway, I’ll have Bob call you tomorrow when the car is done.”

“Oh. Okay, sure,” she mumbles and then turns to me and smiles with one of the fakest smiles I’ve ever seen. “Ana, we should totally hang out one day.”

“Yeah,” I say then mumble under my breath, “so not going to happen.”

“Well, thanks, Elijah,” she says, and she just can’t resist touching his arm one last time before she walks away, deliberately swaying her hips as she leaves.

I stare daggers into her back until she disappears from view, but the sound of Elijah’s laughter has me whipping my head around so fast I think I may have actually pulled something. “What’s so funny, Cade?”

“Nothing, just never picked you for the jealous type.”

“Yeah well, I am. So bite me.”

“I didn’t say I didn’t like it.” He lifts me up and sets me back down on the workbench, edging his way between my legs.

“Are you gonna kith my thister again, cauth dude, thath tho grossth.”

“Hey Sammy, do me a favour?” Elijah asks. “You know how the whole courtyard is covered in stones?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, earlier I dropped a dollar coin out there and I really, really need that dollar, but I just can’t see it because I don’t have awesome x-ray vision like you do. You think maybe you could find it for me? It’s really important that I get that money back.”

Sammy folds his little arms over his chest and gives Elijah his best discerning stare. “Whath in it for me, Cade?”

“I’ll split it with you.”

“Pleath. I get more than that for getting out of bed in the morning.”