“Maker?”
“It was always the same person who made my shoes. He was my maker.”
“Shit. They must’ve cost a fortune.”
“They did when I was younger, but when I worked I didn’t have to pay for them myself anymore.” She nuzzled closer to him. “And the clothes. I miss dressing up in those beautiful costumes. I miss... standing on stage, soaked in sweat with an aching body, and hearing the applause while feeling that I’d done my best—that I delivered. It was a testament to all my work. It sometimes felt as if the stage was the only place I could truly be myself. A place where I could express all the emotions I have deep inside with the help of dancing and the character I was playing. I miss that outlet.”
“And the other side,” he said and stroked her nose with his. “What don’t you miss? Or what things in your life now do you like?”
“I like breakfast. Not obsessing about food and training or sleeping enough. My feet don’t hurt, and I have no blisters. And I have toenails!”
“You used to lose your toenails?” Everything about ballet seemed to be pretty fucking painful.
“It happened. On my big toes.” She went silent. “I still miss it. It’s a very short career even at the best of times and... I didn’t get even that. I miss it.”
“I’m sorry for bringing it up. Again.” He tilted her head back and gave her a kiss. “What else couldn’t you do?”
“I don’t know to be honest. Irina has tried this with me, but I’ve always lived with dancing, so I’m not sure I know what I’ve missed. I did get a tattoo.”
“I know one thing. Smoking pot,” he said. When he noticed how unsure she looked, he shook his head. “I’ll figure out other things.”
“No,” she said and turned to her back with a smile. “Do you have any?”
Did he? Pot was definitely something he could provide. He turned over and looked through his stash in the bed frame. He found the bag he wanted, and rolled her a joint.
“Sure about this?”
“Yes.”
“You used to smoke regular smokes?” He had some memory of her saying that.
“Yes.”
“Okay.” He lit it and handed it over. “Inhale like usual but hold it for a while. And if you want chocolate or something sweet, I have that here. Take it easy, though. I don’t think you’ll need the entire one.”
He didn’t give her much, but after a while she turned to him.
“I don’t feel anything. Maybe a little like when you’ve had the first morning cigarette, a little dizzy.”
“Give it a while,” he chuckled
He finished the joint and studied her while they were talking. He told her about the other members, his family, and his mom. Suddenly she sat up with a surprised expression.
“That’s weird.”
“Think it hit now?”
“Yeah. It’s like… I have the shortest short-term memory, and anything before feels like yesterday.”
“Yup, that’s it. Feeling sick?”
“No.” She lay back down with a big smile. “And… There’s no pain.”
“What?”
“My leg. There’s usually a dull pain… but nothing.”
“Well. That’s good, I guess.”
She turned and gave him a very stoned smile. “I’m not gonna start smoking pot all the time just to get rid of the pain. Don’t worry.”
“I’m not worried.”
“So you think you can show me more things I’ve missed out on?”
“Yes,” he said, put out the joint, caressed her face, and kissed her. “Loads of things.”
His mind immediately set off, and he came up with a few things she probably hadn’t done, but was interrupted when she pressed her naked body against his. That was what he’d hoped for when he picked that particular weed. It always turned him on, and it seemed to have had the same effect on her. He was definitely going to remember that.
-o0o-
The next day, she came with him to the hospital to visit Vi and Joshua. Mac was already there, and Anna handed over her gift.
“I bought it yesterday,” she said, and then noticed the confusion in Vi’s face. “Sorry. It’s a Russian thing. You don’t buy presents for babies until they are born, it’s customary to point that out. It was a reflex.”
“Thank you,” Vi smiled and then opened the present. It was a Harley carved out of wood. “It’s beautiful.”
Anna was leaning over the crib, looking at Joshua. “I thought it might be fitting.”
“Would you like to hold him?” Vi asked.
“No!” Anna took a step back. “I’m not used to kids, I might drop him or something. I’ll admire him from a distance.”
Mac picked up the baby, turned around and held out his hand. “Give me the cane.”
“No, really...” she tried.
“Just sit down, you won’t drop him.” He took the cane when she sat down, and he handed Joshua over to her. “Just support his neck and he’ll be fine.”
Mitch watched Anna talking to Joshua in Russian with a smile on her lips.
“You better be saying nice things,” Vi said.
“I’m not,” Anna laughed, still looking at Joshua. “Another Russian superstition. It’s bad luck to compliment the baby, so instead we tell them how ugly they are. I don’t mean it, though. He’s adorable.”
She gave his forehead a gentle kiss, and once again mumbled something before handing him back to Mac.
“Thank you,” she smiled. “I enjoyed that.”
Mitch quickly took Joshua from Mac and sat down in an armchair. He was already crazy about this kid and was looking forward to teaching him all the important things in life. The things your parents didn’t really want you to know. When Joshua fell asleep resting on his chest, he felt strangely proud. He ran his hand over his head.
“Mind if I call your kid cue ball?” he asked and wiggled his eyebrows at Mac.
“I’d say yes, but his mother is already calling him that. Didn’t help when Dad quickly informed her it was my genes making him bald.” When Mitch laughed he continued. “Not sure why you’re laughing, your kids are gonna be born like that, too.”
“I can live with that,” he said and gave Joshua’s bald head a kiss.
“I need to get going,” Anna said and stood up.
“Thank you for the present,” Mac said and gave her a hug. “And for coming by yesterday to celebrate.”
“It was nothing. Thank you for inviting me.”
“Want me to give you a lift?” Mitch asked.
“No, I’ll be fine. Spend some time with your little guy.”
“Cool. See you!”
He watched her leave, and then looked down at Joshua again.
“So what’s really going on there?” Vi asked.
He shrugged. “We’re fucking.”
“And you brought your fuck buddy to see your godson?” Vi asked, and he heard the laughter in her voice. “Don’t think so.”
“She’s a friend of Lisa’s and yours, so she was coming here anyway, so I gave her a lift. That’s all.”
Mac shook his head with a smile, but Mitch ignored it and focused on the baby instead. It didn’t matter, and there was no way to explain it, since he couldn’t figure it out himself. Or rather, he wasn’t prepared to admit it to himself.
CHAPTER NINE
Never In December
-o0o-
I’d left Mitch’s place that morning. The last two weeks, since Joshua’s birth, we’d spent even more nights than usual with each other, and Irina was starting to become very curious about it. It was easy to avoid her questions, though, since all I had to do was ask her about her boyfriend. She still didn’t like talking about him.
I had the day off, and had planned to spend it with her and do some shopping, but was surprised by Mitch ringing our doorbell.
“Hi?” I almost asked, because I hadn’t expected him to come by. “Something wrong?”
“Nope. Just t
hought I’d take you for a ride.”
“Mitch,” I sighed. “The cane.”
I had to remind him of it quite often. Initially, I had been pleasantly surprised that he always seemed to forget about it. I always expected it to be the thing people remembered about me, but these days it was mostly annoying that he kept coming up with ideas for things I couldn’t do.
“Won’t need it, I got a plan. Get dressed. Jeans, warm sweatshirt, and I borrowed Lisa’s leather jacket for you.” He looked into the hallway. “Got any good boots?”
“I have a pair,” I heard from behind me, and I turned around to see Irina in the doorway to the kitchen, with a big smile on her face. She walked towards him while wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. She looked extremely pleased, and I knew why—she knew who he was. “Irina.”
“Mitch,” he answered and took the hand she held out in front of her. “Nice to meet you.”
Irina opened the wardrobe in the hallway and held up a pair of knee-high boots. “These okay?”
“Perfect,” he said and looked at me. “You won’t need the cane, and you’ll like it.”
He wouldn’t give in, and since Irina was very keen on the idea of me taking a ride, it wouldn’t be possible to blame her and say that I’d promised her to go shopping or something. She’d just push me out the door to make sure I followed him. With a sigh, I took the boots and sat down on the hallway stool to put them on. Irina fetched me a sweatshirt from my room, and finally handed me Lisa’s leather jacket. When I was done, Mitch came up to me with a backpack.
“You’ll need to take this, too.”
“You’re going to have me carry stuff?” I asked and glared at him.
“Can’t have it on my back if you’re riding with me.” He helped me put it on and then turned around. “Jump up.”
“You better have a helmet for her,” Irina said, but her smile was still huge. I’d never hear the end of this. Riding, and with one of the Baxter boys. Her week was made—possibly her month.
“I do. I’ll keep her safe, don’t worry.”
“I don’t. Have fun, Zvezda.”
He walked out, to the elevator, but he didn’t put me down, and I quite liked his hand on my ass.
“What does Zvezda mean?” he asked.
“Star,” I answered and blushed a little. “She’s called me that since I was a kid.”
“It’s nice.”
“Were are we going?” I asked in return.
“A picnic.”
“In December?”
“Figured you’d never taken a ride or had a picnic in December.”
“No, I haven’t. Can’t even remember the last time I went on a picnic, and I’ve never been on a bike.”
When we came to the bike in question, he put me down on the ground and helped me with a helmet.
“Normally, I’d start the bike before you got up. Think that’s gonna be okay?”
“If I swing my left leg over it, it should be okay.”
“Let’s give it a try.” He started it, and I got up behind him. “Watch out for the exhaust pipe, it gets hot,” he pointed at it, which was good because I wasn’t sure I would have been able to identify it otherwise. “When I stop the bike, you sit tight, don’t put your feet down unless I say otherwise. You sit close to me, hold tight, and lean with me.”
It all sounded insane, and if I’d been reluctant before, I was getting terrified. Glowing hot exhaust pipes and leaning around on a motorcycle!
“Lean with you?”
“When I take a turn, I’ll lean, and you’ll need to follow my movements.”
“Okay.”
He gave me a big smile over his shoulder.
“Babe, I’ll take it really easy, just trust me.”
“Okay.”
I moved as close to him as possible, put my arms around his waist, and hugged him tight. Then he took off.
And he’d been right. I liked it, and after a few turns I stopped being worried about what on earth ‘lean with me’ meant. It wasn’t hard, and it didn’t feel like I’d fall off. He took us out on the highway and after a while turned onto a small road. I had no idea where we were, but then I saw a river. I assumed it was Gila. When he stopped, I remembered what he’d said about not putting down my feet until he said it was okay, but I let go of his waist. He turned slightly.
“Think you can get off by yourself?”
I put my right foot down and swung my left leg over the bike. It worked okay. He got off after me and turned his back towards me again, and I didn’t wait for him to ask me. I got up. If I had to leave my cane behind, he better carry me around. I did give his cheek a kiss, though, and he smiled again.
“I liked it. Riding,” I clarified.
“I know. All girls love riding bitch.”
“Yeah, if you want me to do this again you’re gonna have to call it something else.”
“Forget it,” he laughed. “If you wanna ride with me that’s what I’ll call it.”
“Hmm, I guess I can accept it, since you’re carrying me around and everything.”
I noticed a fire pit on the bank, and he threw down a blanket in front of it. I slid down from his back and sat on it, not sure what I was supposed to do. I’d never been much for hiking or… whatever this was. I watched him as he went over to a tree lying a bit further away. He dug around underneath it for a while before pulling out some firewood. He’d definitely been here before.
“What is this place?”
“Dad and Bear used to bring me and Mac here to fish when we were kids. Then Mac and me came by ourselves when we got older. Sometimes to fish or to just hang out and take a break from shit. It’s a calm place, and I like it.”
I was a bit surprised that it was a place for his family—for him and Mac. I’d figured he used to bring girls here to get into their pants, but I didn’t comment on it, and I didn’t ask. I preferred to not know.
“I’ve never fished,” I mumbled instead.
“You can get pretty tasty fish here.” He dropped the firewood on the ground. “Wanna try?”
“You brought a fishing pole?”
“No.” He returned to the tree and dug around underneath it until he found the pole and held it up with a smile.
“Don’t you need a worm?”
“Not if you’re fly fishing.” He came over again and held out his hand to pull me up. “I’ll show you. Not so sure you’ll like this, though.”
He was right; I didn’t like it much. Fishing was pretty darn boring, and after a while I sat down on a tree trunk close by to watch him doing it while we talked.
“Did you do this often?”
“Nah. Now and then when Dad had the time. Mom or Mel used to give me and Mac a lift out here so we could stay the night alone when we got older.”
“You’re really close. You and Mac.”
“Yeah. We fought and stuff, but... I don’t know. He’s my brother, I’d do anything for him, and I know he’d do the same for me.” He wasn’t looking at me. Instead he kept his eye on the water, which made the questioning easier. “He’s just a great guy. Like, decent. The most decent and kind person I’ve ever met. He’s always been like that. Like with Vi. He was fucking crazy about her, but he still didn’t go there until he was sure she felt the same way. He was worried she was too young. Not sure I would’ve given a shit if it was me.”
“How did he and Vi happen? I mean, they must’ve known each other since they were kids.”
“He took off for a few years to prospect with another charter. When he came back she was sixteen, and he noticed her. He was the one who suggested she should try tattooing.”
“I know. Lisa told me.”
“He tried to be the ‘good guy’ as usual and stay away since... you know, she was young, a brother’s daughter, and all that. Didn’t work out that well, and they hooked up.” He smiled. “He was a total goner long before it got serious officially. They’re really good together.”
“I noticed.”
“Fish!”
“What?”
“Got one.”
I watched as he struggled with getting the fish out of the water. Once it was flopping on land, he pulled out his knife, got the hook out of its mouth, and then stabbed it through the neck. It was all done quickly and efficiently, so it was obvious it was something he’d done more than once.
“Lunker largemouth.”
“A what?”
“That’s what it’s called. Think I brought salt.” He came up in front of me and turned around, still holding the fish in his hand. It didn’t look yummy at all. “Come on. I’ll start a fire and we can eat it. Brought some other stuff as well.”
I watched him start the fire, gut the fish—which was pretty gross—and he drew a stick through it and hung it over the pit. He’d definitely done all this before, and it was very strange seeing him like this.
“Is it good?” I asked while looking at the extremely ugly fish.
“Tastes better than it looks, that’s for sure,” he answered and sat down next to me. “Brought other stuff for you to eat, so you don’t have to.”
“No, I’ll try. Now that you’ve fished for me and everything.”
He reached for the bag and started to pick out beer, some sandwiches, and fruit. I was truly stunned. It was really sweet and a lot like a date. I wasn’t sure how to react, so I just thanked him and took the beer he was handing me.
A while later, he took the fish from the fire and gave me pieces of it after carefully picking out the bones.
“The ass pieces are the best ones,” he mumbled while poking around in the fish.
“Ass is always the best piece.”
“Very true,” he laughed. “So how do you like fishing and picnicing in December so far?”
Center of Gravity (Marauders Book 3) Page 13