Page 13 of Stone’s Cage

"I'll see you then," she says drying her hands on her pants.

"Are you going? Now?"

"I'll see you tonight."

"Tonight? What are doing?

"Research." She actually smiles a real smile that lights something in my chest. "Don't worry, I'll be back tonight," and when she touches my forearm in reassurance, it's electric.

"Really?"

"Well. Yes. Tig's here," she says and then seems embarrassed.

Tig's asleep on the sofa, eyes closed, his little hot, pink, paws kneading the covers in his sleep.

I still try to slow her exit down. "Wait. I don’t know anything about you."

"That's fine with me," she says, one hand on the doorknob and there's something about the way she's tilting her head, the light in those gold eyes, almost flirting, her touch, that makes me suspicious.

"At least tell me how old you are."

She laughs, silvery, light, and my heart quickens. "Believe me, older than you think," she says, suddenly a little shy, the copper in her cheeks deepening and all I want to do in that instant is hold her, crush her lips to mine and feel her, all of her, against me.

And with that, she's gone.

I spend my day off reading West With the Night which was totally engrossing until I met Lily. I keep thinking about her, wondering about her. Worrying about her. What is she doing? Where is she? I have to trust she'll show up again tonight.

"Tig," I say out loud, scratching the little guy's head. "You are my insurance policy."

Before I leave for the gym at six, I pick up a tooth brush for her and a bottle of shampoo that would smell, well, nice for a woman, and some conditioner. I also buy some oil for her hair and a tube of lotion with shea butter. The woman at the dollar junk store stares at me.

I step out, trip neatly down the crumbling cement steps and head to Hobie's. As I slip the key in the door, Juice shows up again, long and skinny, twitchy, his pierced lip annoying by the arrogance with which he sports those five rings.

I don’t mince words. "Coach told you yesterday to fuck off."

"He told Shreves to fuck off," he says, spitting on the ground by my foot. "I didn't know you needed protection."

All I have to do is glare at him and he shrinks back. But he can't help himself. He's gotta get under my skin. And he does.

"We gotta new recruit. A fledgling. A fucking girl."

My stomach catches at the word. Ever since I left nearly two years ago, ever since Coach offered me a way out, Shreves has been trying to get me to join again. The deal Coach made with me when I was a kid was that I had to quit the Hooks. Quit and he'd give me a free membership to Hobies and a lifelong key. A key meant access to a better world, a world where someone didn't own me.

"You want to come?"

"No," I said still trying to get the key in the door. Jesus Christ. Coach needs to fix the locks again. If this guy doesn’t leave int two seconds I'm liable to punch him.

"You sure you don't want to come? She's a hottie."

"Fuck off," I say and then, mercifully, the key works and the bolt moves. I want this leper off me.

"Shreves says you can be the dice man."

Dice man. Dice man. I feel something hot in the back my throat. I swallow. What they do to these girls. And when I was in the gang, I did nothing. I stood there and watched it happen, twice. I was just a kid, I tell myself. I was a fucking kid, scared to death. And when I was older, I never went. Ever.

I turned to face him. "I gave all that shit up. Fuck off. I'm not interested."

He spits again and sniffs, wiping his nose. Coke head. "Okay man, whatever. Shreves thought maybe you’d like some black ass." Shrugging slightly, he tips his head. "But he'll take that bitch if you won't."