“We’re all so, so proud,” Lyric said, and Olivia laughed.
“We’re here.” Mouse pulled the van into the parking lot of Blurr and turned off the engine, turning to face us. “Y’all know the ground rules, right?”
“Dance until we can’t stand, and fuck the first hottie I come across,” I quipped.
Mouse turned his head toward me...slowly, and I heard Quin whisper, “Oh, shit.”
Continuing to stare me down, Mouse said, “Ladies, go ahead and step out. Kennedy and I are gonna have a quick conversation.”
“No, we’re not,” I countered.
Mouse gently took my arm as I tried to move to the door. “Ladies. Please.”
Being the traitors they were, the ladies scrambled out of the van and Shadow had to steady a couple of them as they fled.
“Close the door, brother,” Mouse said, and Shadow nodded, sliding the door closed.
I shook my head, pulling myself from the memory, and turning off the water. Christmas was rapidly approaching, and my boss needed me in the office early so we could get everything sorted before the office closed for two weeks. I was the executive assistant for the vice president of marketing, working for one of the largest tech companies in Savannah.
And I hated it.
My passion was sugar. Baking to be exact. I loved to create confectionery masterpieces and I was damn good at it. My dream was to open my own bakery, but for the moment, I was grinding it in the real world and saving every penny I could.
I took time to enjoy a giant cup of coffee, considering I didn’t have to leave for work for another hour, then I locked up my little one-bedroom apartment and headed into work.
* * *
Mouse
“Mouse!” Doc bellowed from the other side of the great room.
“Yeah?” I replied from the kitchen. I was currently pouring myself a cup of tar in an effort to wake up.
“Come help me with this fuckin’ tree.”
It was the club’s tenth annual holiday party for foster kids, and we were busting our asses to get everything ready in time. The party was Saturday and since today was Thursday, we were running a bit behind.
I walked into the great room and laughed. The Christmas tree was at least twelve feet tall and made Doc look like an elf.
“Don’t start,” Doc ordered.
“You didn’t want a bigger tree, huh?” I asked as I grabbed hold of the trunk so Doc could secure it.
“Olivia wanted this one. She said she wanted it to be ‘spectacular.’ Fuck me, never again.”
I held back a chuckle. If Olivia wanted an even bigger one next year, Doc’d chop it down himself if he couldn’t find one to buy, so his edict was a load of shit.
“Oh my god, baby, that looks amazing,” Olivia said, strolling out from her office down the hall.
Doc frowned at her. “This is bullshit, woman. Total overkill.”
“It’s perfect. The kids are going to love it.” She grasped her hands in front of her. “I love it.”
“You’re gonna need to water it every day,” Doc warned.
“We can get recruits to do that,” I countered.
Doc glared at me. “Or, my woman can do it since she insisted on having a sycamore in the middle of the goddamn barn.”
I smiled at Olivia. “Recruits’ll do it, babe.”
“Oh, I know,” she sassed.
“We don’t even have enough decorations to cover this monstrosity,” Doc grumbled.
“Oh, no,” Olivia said in mock horror. “I’m going to have to take the girls into town to shop.”
“You did this on purpose,” Doc accused.
She raised her hands in surrender. “I will neither confirm nor deny.”
I chuckled and grabbed the tree again while Doc wrapped a zip tie around it and anchored it to the wall.
“Hi, honey,” Olivia said. “I thought you weren’t coming until later.”
I glanced up to see Kennedy walking in, her hands full of groceries. She was baking all manner of desserts for the kids, and us, and I couldn’t fuckin’ wait to put whatever she created in my mouth. We had a few days, but she always planned ahead, which was something I admired about her.
“You good, Doc?” My president nodded, and I rushed to help Kennedy. “Hey, baby. Did you get off early?” I asked, easing her load.
“You could say that,” she evaded. “And don’t call me baby.”
“Not gonna happen.” I frowned. “What happened?”
“I got laid off.”
“What the fuck?” I growled setting the bags on the kitchen island. “Right before Christmas?”
“Yeah. Right before Christmas.” She sighed. “It’s fine. It’s not like I had time for a job right now anyway.”
“Baby, we’ll figure it out.”
“I’ll figure it out,” she countered. “You’ll stay out of it.”
I took her hand and tugged her toward the bunk room.
“Mouse, what are you doing?” she squeaked.
I didn’t enlighten her as I pulled her into the room and closed the door. “When, Kennedy?”
“When, what?”
“When are you gonna stop lyin’ to yourself?”
She dropped her head and I sighed.
“I’m here, Lace. You know that, right?”
“I wish you’d just walk away, Mouse. I wish you’d release me from whatever this is.”
“When you tell me the truth, just fuckin’ once, Kennedy, I’ll consider walking away.”
“Sunday after the party,” she breathed out.
“Sunday, what?”
“Come to my place for dinner. I’ll tell you everything, but then you need to promise you’ll walk out my door and leave me alone.”
I studied her. I didn’t give a shit what she planned on telling me. I would never leave her to navigate this world alone.
“Sunday,” I said.
She nodded, and I helped her put everything away.
Kennedy
Sunday rolled around and I was panicking. Why the hell did I suggest this? Gah! The party for the kids had been a huge success—no surprise, it usually was—and I’d been riding high on the love shown to my cupcakes. The kids all got to take one home, along with eating as many as they wanted at the party. It solidified my desire to do something with my gift, I just didn’t know what.
My doorbell pealed and I took a few steadying breaths before pulling the door
