Page 182 of Call Me Baby 2: Side B

but he cuts himself off,

hand dropping. “Wait… you mean both of ‘em could get the boot?” His grin spreads wicked, dirty. “This just got real interestin’.”

Perfect.

He’s definitely gonna rig Hell Week.

But I got this under control.

What could possibly go wrong?

“Three years of Hell Week,

“and Ben’s never failed.”

Andrew’s laughter buries in his throat. “Allison Jane Taylor, please. You know damn well I could toss ‘em both tonight if I wanted. But that’d destroy more than it’d fix. And I ain’t lettin’ you look at me like the guy who ripped everything away.” He slants into a hip, cue clutched in both fists. “That’s why I ain’t wastin’ my veto. I get it. You want backups so you don’t fall flat if this don't work out. Fine.” He tips up his chin. “But let me throw you a counter.”

My head edges back. “A counter?”

“Yeah, a counter. They pass your tests? Fine. Ben’s already demoted to Ben the Bystander. And all Goner will ever be’s a ghost.”

A snort slips out of me at his nicknames.

“But no more guys, Allison. Not playin’.

“No more fuckin’ roommates.

“Benchwarmer? Goner? È finita.”

He steps back in front of the laptop and points at me. “You with me on this?”

He says ‘no more guys’ as if I’m some kind of dick-eating monster.

Oh no, Allison’s coming.

Hide your sons.

Chain your husbands.

“Mmm, nah. Don’t like it? Gotta use your veto. Otherwise?” I glance down at my nails with a shrug. “I’ll start a nudist colony in the penthouse. Wall-to-wall of eight-inch dicks to bump into on the way to the fridge. Full frontal, all hours.”

I wouldn’t. Not when his is the only one worth staring at. But hell, it’d be nice if he wasted his veto thinking I would.

“Allison. Let’s be honest.

“Eight inches ain’t a temptation for you.

“It’s a fuckin’ horror story.”

// CLAUSES SEVEN & EIGHT //

I bend over,

crash the cue against the white,

and a ball vanishes into a pocket.

Before his next breath, I pivot,