This ought to be great.
“Who the hell is this?” she asks loudly, dropping her smut book to the counter.
Luna looks up at me an unsure look of what to do and I put my hand on the small of her back again, just a simple touch to reassure her that everything is okay.
“Jannet, this is my friend Luna,” I introduce.
She stands up and walks toward us, and I’m actually surprised. I’ve never seen her get off her ass.
She’s wearing a black satin button-up blouse with tight jeans and bright blue heels. She looks like many women of New York, not someone working the lobby of an upscale apartment building.
“How come I’ve never seen you with a girl before, I thought you’s was gay,” she smarts, placing her hand on her hip.
“I’m not gay,” I inform with a sharp tongue, and I hear Luna’s light laugh. This encourages Jannet to cackle like a hyena.
“Where your shoes, baby?” she questions, looking down at Luna’s feet. Feeling the need to get this over with, I step in front of Luna.
“That’s where we’re going. To get some shoes.” I push Luna toward the door of the garage and Jannet’s face scowls.
“Oh no, you don’t want to walk out there without some kind of protection, baby.” She turns, her hand hung out in front of her as if she was showing us an engagement ring but her fingers are bare of jewelry, just really long fake nails that make me wonder how she does anything in them. She sashays to the desk and pulls out a black bag, propping it on her chair and unzipping it. She tugs out some black and white tennis shoes and holds them in her hand as she comes back to us. Her heels click-clacking on the golden lobby floor.
“Wear these shoes until you get you some, you can drop them off at the desk when you get back.” She hands them to Luna, and she reaches out and takes them with a grateful look on her face, her cheeks turning a light pink.
“T-hank you,” Luna says so politely. I’ve lived here for years and Jannet hasn’t even given me a second glance, let alone talk to me as much as she’s talked to Luna just now. What the hell?
“Why are you being so nice?” I interrogate as Luna drops the shoes to the floor and slips a foot into each one.
“What’ch you mean? I’m always nice!” Her voice carries through the lobby, and I scoff. She’s never nice.
“They fit!” Luna says with excitement.
Jannet cackles again and claps her hands once. “Bam, good juju coming my way!”
I just shake my head. “Thanks for the shoes, we’ll be back.” I push Luna toward the door again and this time she actually moves.
“Alright, you two kids have fun!” she says over her shoulder, walking back to her desk.
Outside the door in the garage, Luna looks at me with a big smile.
“Wow, is everyone that nice?”
“No, New York is mostly assholes,” I tell her just as we reach my SUV. I open the door for her and she slips in, but looks in the back seat before fully sitting down. She’s so paranoid, it’s starting to make me look over my shoulder.
Rounding the Navigator, I get in the driver’s seat and start the car. Glancing to her before we pull out, I notice her nostrils flare, and her eyes darting everywhere. She’s gotta relax before she has a stroke.
Leaning over the console, I grab the seat belt and click it in for her.
She stares at the buckle as if she hasn’t seen one before and it occurs to me that she’s probably not been in the front of a car in a long time. I don’t want to think about where else she’s ridden.
Reaching out, I tuck my hand around her cheek.
“Almost there,” I whisper, and she nods. Both of her lips rolling on to one another.
Backing out of my parking space, her hand frantically reaches for the door handle. Nerves prick the back of my neck that she’s going to jump but she doesn’t, she just holds on as if she was on a roller coaster.
Biting back a smile at how cute she looks afraid in a sexy dress and tennis shoes, I set out to the meat shop in the East Village. The owners needed a loan to get it up and going and they’re still paying us back so they’ll help me out if I need it. The last thing they want is trouble with the DeAngelos. My father is a prick and will up their payments if he so much as wants to.
Out on the main road, Luna looks up at the tall buildings, her eyes glossed over like a child seeing the big city for the first time. A group of people on bicycles, a homeless man fighting a stop sign at the corner, and the array of food aromas. We stop at a stoplight and a crowd of people walk across. A tall dark man walking a white poodle on a leash stands out.
“Have you ever had a pet?” she asks, still staring out the window.
“No. Have you?” I answer.
“No, but I want a cat.” She looks to me, her brows furrowed. “I feel like if you had a long day, coming home to curl up on the couch with a soft purring cat would make everything all right.” She looks at me as if she’s put deep thought into this.
“A cat? I think maybe a dog would be better,” I argue, and she shakes her head before looking back out the window.
“Nope, a cat. I want to hear it purr. Hearing a cat purr would make me feel like I’m doing something right.”
I don’t dispute, I just smirk and drive.
14
Luna
My eyes can’t focus on one
