Gary's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Wow."
"You like it?" she asked, smiling with one corner of her mouth. "Babe?"
"All right, you made your point." I'd pissed her off with the money comment. If I was picturing her in the bra, so was Gary, and she knew it. "Put it away."
She leaned over to Gary. "He gets jealous."
I did not get jealous, not really. I just didn't want to make Gary uncomfortable, and I sure as hell didn't invite anyone into my sex life.
Gary's pager beeped. "I'd better take off," he said after checking it. "Lydia's making me dinner tonight."
"How's it going with her?" Tiffany asked.
Gary shrugged. "Fine."
She rolled her eyes, dropping the lingerie back into the bag. "What do you two even talk about when you're together? Neither of you ever answer my questions with more than one word."
I shook his hand. "You up to help with a coffee table?" I asked. "We could make it look like a dinghy, then top it with glass."
"I'm in," Gary said.
"Next week, then. Unless I get that job."
"Job?" Tiffany asked once Gary had left.
"I might get on a crew," I said. "No guarantee."
"Well, that's good," she said. "That'll be at least a few months of work, right?"
I went to the fridge for another beer. "I'd be replacing someone and coming in at the end. A couple weeks, maybe three."
Tiffany followed me out of the kitchen to the couch. "Then what?"
She'd been bringing up the job thing more and more lately, and I didn't blame her, but that didn't mean I wanted to talk about it. "Keep looking."
"What if you don't find anything? You need something steady."
"You got an idea?" I asked, gesturing at her with the remote. "I'm all ears."
"Can't you go see a headhunter or whatever?" she asked. "A recruiter?"
"I might, if I were cut out for a desk job. Or even if I thought anyone was open to hiring ex-cons."
"You don't know until you try. Maybe you'd like working in an office. It'd be better than sitting on your ass all day."
"I don't do that, and you know it," I said. "I'm at the garage half the week. Word of mouth is everything in my industry. I have guys recommending me for jobs, but it takes time."
"We can't mooch off my dad forever," she said.
"You think I don't know that?" I sat up too quickly, spilling some beer on my shirt. There was nowhere to fucking put it without a coffee table. "I'm the one who's been saying that since day one."
"Well, he's on my case. He wants to know what we're doing. I swear, he can be so fucking annoying. He still makes me drive Lake sometimes. I don't understand why she doesn't get her stupid license. Between the two of you, I feel like a chauffeur."
I grabbed for my cigarettes. Lake had been taking driving lessons and had failed the driver's test twice. Everyone had been surprised, considering she aced everything else. I was glad. I hated to think of her taking off whenever she wanted, driving to see boys, to parties, to college . . .
At the same time, it made me wonder what was going on with her.
"As long as he contributes to our rent, we don't have much choice, do we?" I pointed out.
"No, that's why you need a job. So I can get away from him." She sighed heavily. "For the millionth time, can you please not smoke in here? My dad will be so pissed if he doesn't get his deposit back."
I didn't even realize I'd lit a cigarette. "Sorry," I muttered. "Just a few drags while I watch the news, and then I have to get in the shower."
"Shower? Why? Are you going somewhere?"
I raised my eyebrows at her. "We have Lake's thing at the school."
She groaned, flopping onto the arm of the couch. "I forgot. Let's skip it."
I shook my head. "We said we'd be there."
"So? She won't care." She winked. "I can model my new purchases for you."
I got up, put my cigarette out under the faucet, and headed for our bedroom. "Maybe when we get home."
"Why is it," she started, "when I make us reservations or invite you to come out with my friends or ask you to meet me at the movies, you always forget, every single time. Yet this you remember? Lake's stupid honor roll ceremony?"
I turned around in the living room. Tonight wasn't some run-of-the-mill event. Lake had made Principal's Honor Roll with a GPA over 4.0, and on top of that, she was the school's Student of the Month for April. I wasn't going to miss it, even if I had to go alone. "It's a family obligation," I told her. "We can't afford to piss off your parents."