“Just a little pointer, Indy, girl to girl, if you want that week with Lee to last into two. He likes itwhen you go down on him in the morning. He’s a fucking animal in bed but give him a morning BJ,he’ll return the favor and rock your world.”Every muscle in my body froze solid.“What did she just say?” Stevie asked.“She did not just say that in front of me,” Kitty Sue said.“Holy crap,” Dolores said.“Oh… my… gawd,” Tod said.“You fucking bitch,” Ally said.“This is more like it,” Tex said.”

“I’m not going to fucking calm down. I’m going to hunt that bastard down and murderhim.”“Oh fuck,” Hank rocked back on his heels, his eyes went to the ceiling, his hands went to his hips.“What?” I asked.“Nothin’.”“What?” I asked, louder.His eyes came back to me. “You aren’thuntin’ anyone down.”“Wel … no,” I said, staring at him like he was crazy. “I was just saying that because I’m mad as hell. I wouldn’t begin to know how to hunt him down.””

“I looked up at Lee when we stopped in front of Hector and informed him helpfully, “You might want to take your arm away. Blanca tells me Hector doesn’t like men touching me.” “Blanca told you that?” Lee asked, his smile (and arm) still firmly in place.“Yes. She’s known Hector, like, his whole life so I think she’s in the position to know.” Lee nodded, his smile somehow bigger like he was trying not to laugh then his eyes moved to Hector and he said, “I tried to stop it.”Hector looked at Lee then looked at me then he muttered, “Oh fuck.”“It was Ally’s idea,” Lee told Hector.“What was Ally’s idea?” Hector asked Lee.“It was not Ally’s idea!” I cried.“It wasn’t!” super-power-eared Ally yelled from the open back window of Lee’s Explorer. “It was Sadie’s idea. I just was offering moral support.”“Shut up, Ally!” Indy shouted out the open passenger side window.“I will not shut up! I’m not taking the fall for this one!” Ally shouted back.I turned to the car, dislodging Lee’s arm and lifted both my hands and pressed down. “No one’s going to take a fall. Everyone calm down. It’s all okay. It’s rock ‘n’ roll!” I screamed.“Righteous!” Ally screamed back.“Rock on, sister!” Indy screamed too.“It’s rock ‘n’ roll?” Lee asked, sounding as amused as he looked.“You all wanna quit screamin’ at three o’clock in the mornin’ in my fuckin’ neighborhood?” Hector suggested.Mm, well maybe we were being an eensy bit loud.“Time for beddie by,” I announced (sounding like Ralphie), got up on tiptoe, kissed Lee’s cheek (like Ralphie and Buddy would do to me), turned and gave Indy and Ally a double devil’s horns (like Ava taught me) and shouted, “Rock on!” They shouted back in unison, “Rock on!”“Christ,” Hector muttered.”

“How did Terrible Teddy’s face get like that?”“Me.”“You hit him?”“He touched you, you said it hurt. I found him and beat the shit out of him.”Oh… my… God.”

“Lee nodded, his smile somehow bigger like he was trying not to laugh then his eyes moved to Hector and he said, “I tried to stop it.”Hector looked at Lee then looked at me then he muttered, “Oh fuck.”“It was Ally’s idea,” Lee told Hector.“What was Ally’s idea?” Hector asked Lee.“It was not Ally’s idea!” I cried.“It wasn’t!” super-power-eared Ally yelled from the open back window of Lee’s Explorer. “It was Sadie’s idea. I just was offering moral support.”“Shut up, Ally!” Indy shouted out the open passenger side window.“I will not shut up! I’m not taking the fall for this one!” Ally shouted back.”

“Fuck,” he muttered.…“Language in front of the girls,” I snapped.“Baby, they hear it all the time,” he returned and I felt my eyes get wide in motherly affront. Cal looked at my face then over the seat to the girls and asked, “You gonna say fuck because I say fuck?”“No,” Kate answered immediately.“No, ‘cause Mom doesn’t like it,” Keira replied waspishly. Cal looked back at me and raised his brows.”

“Then I said, “Matt’s got a big mouth.”“They all got big mouths, girl, learn that quick. These boys talk more than a pack of women. I lost fifty bucks on you.”I was stunned speechless again, this time it didn’t last as long.“What?”“See, Lee nailed Indy the first night they were together. Not nailed her nailed her but she was in his bed. Eddie, with Jet, it took a few days. Hank and Roxie, like, a day. Vance, like three, but Jules was a virgin and he had to interrupt the festivities once to go out and shoot someone.”I was blinking rapidly and feeling kind of faint at the amount and sensitivity of information Shirleen was imparting, not to mention what it might mean to me.“So we had a pool. Everyone threw down money on when they thought Luke would nail you. Mace won five hundred dollars.”Ho-ly crap.“So,” she went on. “Did he nail you nail you or did you two just sleep?”For some reason, I answered her unbelievably nosy question. “We just slept.”“New pool!” she shouted.”