Page 59 of Hollywood

There was a warmth in his eyes that lit me up inside. My cheeks heated, and I glanced away. Now was not the time to act like a schoolboy with a crush, but I couldn’t seem to help it.

We lined up to fill our plates with pizza and pour cups of soda. Ruby could probably eat some toppings, even though she couldn’t scarf a whole piece, so I added extra to my plate for her.

Tex followed us to a booth across from Ghost. We slid in. Knight and Joyride took seats just behind him. Matteo perched a hip on an empty table up front.

“You and Joyride have gotten cozy,” Tex said under his breath. “Surprised he didn’t want to sit with you.”

“He’s a good kid,” I said. “He helped out with Ruby while you were gone.”

“Great, I have competition on all fronts.”

I blinked. “Competition?”

He shook his head, not answering. Matteo started speaking, so I couldn’t push him. Still, with him sweaty and dirty and his thigh pressing mine under the table, I couldn’t really ignore him. My skin crackled with the desire to feel all that heat pressed right up against me. To slide against him, our sweat mingling.

I bit down on my lower lip and focused on giving Ruby bites of sausage while Matteo checked in with each of us.

“Hendrix, I trust things are going well at the barbershop?”

I nodded. “Clint was great about me missing a couple of days to get Ruby settled. Everything’s good.”

“Great. You and Knight are both nearing your graduation from the program. I want you to check in with your employers and let me know if there are any concerns about keeping you on. If they don’t want to commit, it’s better to know now so we can restart the clock with a new boss.”

Redemption Road was loosely set up for an eighteen-month transition period. Sometimes it was shorter—sometimes longer—depending on how stable our employment was. I’d been with the barbershop since day one, so I could graduate soon. Tex, who was in and out of jobs, would remain eligible longer, so long as he made a good-faith effort to stay employed.

“I’m not worried,” I said.

“Me either,” Knight put in. “Although I don’t feel ready to leave these guys.”

“You’re not getting rid of us that easy,” Tex said. “We’re neighbors now.”

Knight grinned. “Yeah, B&B nights must go on.”

“B&B?” Matteo asked.

“Beers and beef,” Knight said.

“Sometimes the beef is the steak Joyride brings,” I said. “Sometimes it’s just us bitching about our problems.”

“Usually both,” Ghost said.

Matteo smiled. “Nice. You’ll all eventually leave the program, but you don’t have to leave each other.”

“I just got back,” Tex said. “Can we stop talking about leaving?”

Matteo chuckled. “Fair enough. Tex, I’ve got a job lead for you. Hang back when we’re done. I’ll give you the details.”

“It’s a night job, right? That’s my only requirement.” Hereached across me to tousle Ruby’s hair. “Someone’s got to watch over this little lady while Hendrix is at the barbershop.”

“Yep,” Matteo said. “It’s a late shift. We can talk more after the meeting.”

He checked in with Ghost, who was still doing okay in his junkyard job. I was pretty sure he loved it, but Ghost was never one to say a whole lot. Still, it was the longest he’d hung on to a job since he started the program.

Joyride was our only other problem child. He’d had three jobs in the three months he’d been in the program. It wasn’t so much that he was a troublemaker. He was just apathetic about everything, and it showed.

“How’s the print shop job going?” Matteo asked him.

He shrugged. “Okay, I guess.”