Slow Burn(49)

    “I think so,” I said. There was a reason I’d never gotten into meth.

    “They call that, um, hitting bottom,” he said.

    “Right,” I said. I nodded. “I’ve been there.”

    “Anyway, I started going to meetings, and then that Stacey chick said she was throwing a party here in Thomas, and I figured it would be safer to hang out here than to be with the people that I used to party with all the time. So I came. Congrats on a month.”

    “Thanks,” I said.

    “So, uh, you don’t actually live in Morgantown, do you?” he said.

    I was confused. Then I remembered the last conversation I’d had with him, when I’d lied to him about where I lived. Afterwards, the Op Wraith guy had shot me in the chest. My eyes narrowed. “Why do you care?”

    “Just curious,” he said.

    “Did some men in black suits come to talk to you about me, Benton?”

    He made a confused face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was just wondering if you lived here, that was all.”

    Maybe he hadn’t told the Op Wraith guys about me. Maybe that had all been a coincidence. “Yeah.” I pushed past him into the bathroom. “See you around, I guess.”

    I wanted to tell Griffin about seeing Benton and get his opinion on whether or not it was something we should worry about. But Stacey intercepted me in the kitchen and talked me into having a pina colada or some coconut drink. It was really tasty.

    Then we danced more.

    By the time I got to see Griffin, it was hours later, I was pretty tipsy, and I had forgotten all about Benton.

    The party was thinning out. I was sprawled on the couch in the living room, with Stacey next to me.

    “I can’t find my shoes,” I said, staring at the ceiling.

    Griffin appeared above me, dangling the shoes. “I got them.”

    I sat up. “Oh, you’re awesome.”

    “You are awesome, Griffin,” said Stacey. “And I’m so glad that I was right about the two of you. Wasn’t I right?”

    “You were,” I said.

    She pointed at Griffin. Stacey was a little bit tipsy too. “You were all, ‘It’s not going to happen, Stacey.’ And now look at the two of you. I am a matchmaker.”

    Griffin laughed. “Yes, you’re on top of it. I admit I was wrong.”

    “Good.” She sniffed, raising her chin.

    I giggled.

    “You ready to go home, doll?” asked Griffin.

    I lifted up my arms to him. “Take me home.”

    He handed me my shoes. “Hold these.” And then he reached down and picked me up.

    I shrieked. “Put me down! Put me down now!”

    Stacey laughed. “How come you never pick me up, Jack?”

    “Because I’m a weakling,” came Jack’s voice from somewhere close by. I couldn’t actually see him because Griffin was in my way.

    I was laughing. “Put me down, Griffin. I didn’t get to say goodbye to Stacey.”

    He swung me around to face her. “Say goodbye.”

    “I can’t hug her,” I protested.

    Stacey waved. “Bye, Leigh. I’ll hug you tomorrow when you guys come over to help clean up. Which you’re going to do, right?”

    “We are?” I said.

    “Of course,” said Griffin.

    He carried me all the way to the car.

* * *

    “It’s just that I’ve been thinking,” I said to Griffin as I walked up the steps to my apartment. “And we need to talk about some stuff.”

    He was behind me. “Maybe we should save the heavy topics for another time, doll. I doubt you’re in any condition for in-depth conversation right now.”

    I was a wee bit on the drunk side, it was true. But it wasn’t making me think unclearly. It was making me feel more bold. And I needed courage to broach this topic with Griffin. “I have to talk about it now. If I don’t, I’ll never bring it up again because I’ll be too scared.”

    “Okay, you’re making me nervous,” he said.