dibs

by Kristi Pelton

  “Yes. You and I?”

  Her emerald eyes darted up to mine. When her brows pulled together, a little v formed between her eyes. I didn’t really want eggs or bacon any more.

  “Mac. I think we need to talk about that.”

  I stood. “There’s nothing to talk about, Sam.”

  With my bare feet, I padded toward her; she back-stepped, looking away. I’m not sure she understood that she and I weren’t open for discussion.

  “I know you care for me, Sam. I know I hurt you. I know you feel like I lied. I know it will be hard for you when people find out what I do…I did… for a living. But, that will all go away in time. Then it will be just you, me, Jake and Peyton, and it will all be worth it.”

  Her lips parted in the cutest of ways, but then her eyes narrowed and her lip pulled up.

  “NO! You don’t get to say stuff like that. You made it clear on the ship that you didn’t want more. I asked you if you wanted more and you clearly said, no! You said no, Mac. No! You said no!” She stumbled over her own words as she continued to back away from me. The spatula looked like a weapon in her hands.

  “I don’t say things to be mean, Sam. I say the wrong things because I’m stupid. After you left, I realized what I wanted. What I needed. What made me happy. You and your fucked up OCD ways and completely ridiculous anxieties helped me cope with mine.”

  She shoved the skillet of eggs off the burner and jammed a finger in my direction.

  “No! No! Don’t even go there. I can’t hope for something that will never come true. You can’t do that to me, Mac.”

  There was no more space for her to run away. She’d backed herself into a corner. I threw her my crooked grin. She immediately looked away. When I lifted her chin with my finger, a single tear trickled down her cheek.

  “Sam,” I puffed out, amazed at how one tear could knock the air from my lungs. My entire throat constricted.

  Ignoring me, she shook her head, shoved my chest and stepped around me. “No! I never planned on you changing your mind! You can’t go from being a sex playboy or the…the…pussy crook to wanting to be in a relationship in the span of 12 days. How do you even see this playing out, Mac, huh? This you and me thing? Tell me how you see it playing out.”

  I captured her in my arms stopping her from moving away from me. A vicious pain cannonballed up my arm from my damn hand.

  “Do I need to get the handcuffs?” I threatened.

  She pursed her lips.

  “Then stand still!” I raised my voice then I lifted her off the ground and set her ass on the soapstone countertop with my good hand.

  “Tell me, Mac.”

  “The sex business is history, Sam. I’m selling it to Blake. And, it was nine days, not 12 because you ran away from me. You want to know how this is going to play out? I’ll spell it out for you. I see our future several ways. I see me stealing your covers when we sleep. I see me gently moving you when a small snore sneaks up your throat at night.”

  “I don’t snore.”

  I raised my brows at her.

  “I see me running to the store when one of the kids gets sick because we need something and they want their mom by their side. I see me holding you when you don’t feel well because you deserve to be taken care of too.”

  Sam’s eyes closed.

  “But most of all, I see me living the rest of my entire life with you…and given that you are significantly older than me…”

  Her mouth opened, but I cupped my palm over it to prevent words from coming out.

  “Given that you are significantly older than me…” I repeated. “My hope is that if you meet death first, I’ll follow shortly after because men always die before women. Maybe it would happen at the same time, which would be perfect, but I honestly don’t want to live another day without you.”

  Her hands shot up and covered her face, but I pulled them away. Her face twisted. This must be what they call the ugly cry because she was clearly unable to keep her composure.

  “Say something…tell me you haven’t given up on me,” I said.

  “Tell you something?”

  “Yes,” I said. “Anything.”

  “How about I love you?”

  My heart quit beating for a minute. My chest had felt like an overinflated inner tube the entire morning, and those three words made the pressure all go away. It was exactly what I wanted to hear.

  “Sam…” I exhaled. “Jesus, woman. I love you too,” I whispered, resting my forehead against hers. She brushed her lips over mine. “I’m gonna take you upstairs now. I want you for breakfast.”

  “Please,” she panted, but held my neck so tightly that I didn’t move. Once she released me, she pulled back and dragged her hands down my arms to my hands. Unwillingly, I flinched when she spread the fingers on my right hand trying to hold it.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, lifting my hand.

  There was no way this was going to be a distraction. Not now.

  “Nothing. I’m good.”

  “Oh my God, Mac. Your hand! It’s swollen and bruised.”

  Damn it. “I know. I think it’s broken. But listen…”

  “Broken? What the hell?” she squawked loudly, hopped down, grabbed her car keys and slid on her flip-flops. “Come on, let’s get you to the hospital.”

  “No, Sam. Listen, please.”

  “What happened?”

  The last thing I wanted to talk about was the club or the incident the other day. “I punched a wall. Listen, Sam. It’s been broken for three days. Please, can we just have three more hours, then I’ll go.”

  With her fingers, she rubbed gently over the discolored skin examining the swelling. “Mac. Why’d you punch a wall?”

  I was neither proud nor ashamed of my actions, but I did fear her judgment. “I thought I’d lost you. I thought another man had touched you.”

  When she exhaled, her breath smelled of toothpaste. “Mac. This goes against who I am. You’re hurt. Let’s tend to that.”

  “No. I want to tend to you.”

  She tilted her head to the side; her eyes pled with me to give in. I shook my head. Clearly exasperated, she threw her hands up in defeat.

  “Fine! Let’s go knock this shit out,” she said, spinning around.

  Laughter rumbled through me as I started following her. “Damn woman, that’s what I love about you. You sweep me off my feet with your dirty talk.”

  Unexpectedly, she flipped around so quickly I nearly rammed into her.

  “Wait…how old are you, Mac?”

  “Does it matter?”

  Zoning off into thought, she swallowed and then said, “No.”

  “I’m 33, baby.”

  “Oh, God!” she said, trying to push me away, but I kept her close against me.

  “There’s no turning back, Sam.”

  “Money says you die first,” she said as we abandoned the bacon and eggs and started up the stairs.

  “Baby, I’m going to fuck you near death right now.”

  “Hey guys,” Jake’s voice echoed in the entryway.

  I cringed as I turned to face Jake, accidently tripping Sam in the process

  The boy tossed his bag by the front door, smiling. God, what did he hear?

  “Is that bacon I smell?” he asked and whizzed toward the kitchen.

  Sam stared up at me. “Seriously, you just tripped me.”

  I held out my hand. “I’m sorry. I need to get used to this kid thing.”

  “Yes, you do…Dad.” She winked and started walking to the kitchen.

  “Dibs,” I said as she scurried away from me to tend to her son.

  “You can’t call dibs on me, Mac. Dibs people are unattainable!” she called back over her shoulder.

  “The hell they are,” I laughed and trotted up the stairs two at a time.

  Chapter 31~ Sam

  Three months later…

  “Seriously, you guys. I hate cemeteries,” Juls whined.

  “Not us, Jul
s. Kat and I love them,” I said sarcastically. “Who says shit like that? No one likes cemeteries. It’s like saying I don’t like funerals or hospitals. Well…no shit!”

  Kat laughed. We were almost to Becca’s grave. I took out the flowers Peyton and I’d left in the pot a week or so ago and replaced them with the fresh flowers keeping a few separate.

  “Can we do this? Please? Then get the hell out of here?” Juls pled.

  “What is wrong with you?” Kat asked. “It’s the middle of the day. This isn’t The freaking Walking Dead for Christ’s sake. There are no walkers here.”

  “If there are, I call Dibs on Daryl,” Juls added.

  “Daryl?” I yelled. “He’s dirty. I call Dibs on Rick!”

  “Yeah, he’s clean,” she chuckled sarcastically.

  Kat pulled the plastic wine glasses out as I opened the wine. Silence fell over us while I poured, the gravity of the situation weighing on us. None of us knowing whether to laugh or be serious—caught somewhere in the middle.

  “Happy birthday, Bec,” I said raising my glass in a toast.

  “To Becca,” Kat said.

  Juls chewed on her cheek. My badass bitch of a friend had a heart and dealing with Becca’s death had been a struggle. We all brought something different to the table…making our friendship unique. Becca left a hole in that. One that would never be filled.

  Finally, Juls raised her glass. “God, I miss you, Bec,” she choked out. “What do you think she’d say if she found out I was going to partner with Blake and help run a ladies and gents club?” Juls asked.

  “You really gonna do it?” I questioned.

  Juls shrugged. “I don’t know. Blake hasn’t been with a woman since the damn cruise. He’s sort of backing out of the deal. Not sure he wants me working there.”

  “You haven’t been with others!” I exclaimed. We’d all talked about this.

  “No. But I told him I have.”

  “Juls!” Kat said.

  In a matter of seconds, Juls downed her wine. “Seriously, we made the toast. Can we go?”

  “Why would you tell him that?”

  She shrugged again. “I don’t know! Isn’t this supposed to be about Becca?”

  Becca would have been 41 today…

  “Should we tell a memory?” Kat asked.

  Juls rolled her eyes. “Oh for God’s sake. Shall we hold hands and sing Kumbaya as well?”

  Clearly Juls emotional moment had passed.

  “Fine! Let’s go,” Kat gave in.

  “I’m not trying to be a bitch but we paid our respects, we can go talk about memories and shit while we grub on chips and salsa and toast with a margarita.”

  “Here,” I whispered, handing Kat my glass.

  While they cleaned up, I grabbed the extra flowers and walked over to the grave four away from Becca’s.

  Sarah McAllister

  Mac and I had purchased a tombstone for her so we had a place to come visit. We called it the ‘remembering place’ for Peyton instead of the cemetery. When we came here, it was a family affair and truly something Mac and Peyton had bonded over. He continued to hang on to the ashes until just the right place came to him for spreading.

  When Mac made the move from Carson City to Tahoe, he wouldn’t move in with us. He wanted to make sure Jake understood that Mac was doing it the right way.

  One of the best parts of my last three months—Mac’s tires came up slashed one weekend. One guess as to who did that. With great pleasure, a group of men resembling the Village People beat the living shit out of Bryan. Only time would tell how Bryan would react—history indicated that he was a few fries short of a happy meal. The verdict was still out on if he’d learned his lesson. Honestly doubtful.

  “So. I think I’m going to have a full hysterectomy, you guys,” Kat said after we were served our adult beverages at the little cantina.

  This wasn’t news to me since Kat and I had discussed it over the past few weeks.

  “That’s sucks…but if were up to me, I’d have ‘em take all the shit out of my body too,” Juls said, her words flowing with compassion. “You know, they say when that happens, the woman becomes a raging bitch.”

  I winked at Kat. “So, you had a hysterectomy at 12?”

  Juls threw a tortilla chip at me.

  “Why is sarcasm always coming from you in 3, 2, 1…” Juls asked.

  “You’re just a little bundle of bitch today, aren’t you? And I’m sorry if you can’t keep up,” I countered.

  “Did they pull you aside in medical school and teach you this shit?” she asked not backing down.

  “No. But 9 out of 10 doctors agree that you are a bitch most of the time.”

  That earned another tortilla chip to the face. Kat laughed.

  “Here’s the deal Juls,” Kat intervened. “At least you’re a very pretty bitch.”

  Juls held her head high. “Thank you, Kat.”

  We laughed and teased and thankfully reminisced about times with Becca for nearly three hours. Not one of us remained sober. These girls were my heart and soul.

  “Dibs,” Juls said.

  With unreasonably slow reactions, Kat and I turned around.

  Mac…

  My breath was stolen as he walked toward us with Peyton holding his hand.

  “Never mind. That guy is NOT even attractive,” Juls groaned pulling up her lip in disgust.

  I ignored her lie.

  “Hey,” he said with that side grin of his capturing my heart and soul all over again. This was an every day occurrence. “You gonna tolerate someone else calling dibs on me?” he winked at both me and Juls but then his blue eyes rested on me.

  I shrugged. “It’s just a silly old game. Doesn’t mean a thing.”

  “It means everything,” he said. The low gravely timber in his voice caused a swarm of goose bumps to break out over my skin.

  “What are you two doing here?” I asked Peyton in particular.

  “Bree asked if I could sleep over. We are going to have a girls night too and celebrate Mommy’s birthday.”

  My heart swelled as my throat constricted. “That sounds perfect, sweetie.”

  “I’m running her over there. Jake’s with a buddy tonight. That means the house is empty.”

  “This is a ladies night, get lost, Thor!” Juls said.

  Something flashed inside his eyes…humor?

  “Peyton, you go wait in the car. I’ll be right there.”

  Jul’s hand shot up trying to stop him from talking.

  Peyton kissed my cheek and took the keys from Mac who then leaned over the table toward Juls.

  Juls quickly said, “We gotta fight. For our right. To party, Thor. The Beastie Boys said so!”

  A slight smile touched his lips. “Party all night. My lady will be picked up as soon as I drop Peyton off. I know her well enough that she’s a drink away from really good sex or drooling. If you two need a ride, I’ll drop you off first. And screw the Beastie Boys.”

  Kat laughed out loud. “We will take a ride.”

  “Speak for yourself.”

  Kat rolled her eyes. “I’m speaking for both of us. You need a ride too.”

  “Dibs!”

  We heard the male voice from behind us. All our heads turned.

  Blake stood behind our table grinning.

  “You can’t call dibs on me, Blake,” Juls said.

  “I didn’t. I called it on that girl over there,” he said.

  All of us, including Mac, looked to where he pointed. A beautiful Hispanic girl sat sipping on a margarita.

  Juls glared at Blake. “Shut the fuck up.”

  “You, shut the fuck up,” he challenged back.

  Juls stood, causally strolling over to Blake. “Is that who you really want?”

  With no words, he simply shook his head from side to side.

  “Prove it,” she said and off they went leaving the three of us sitting there and me with the damn tab! Figures.

  RULE 1: The fou
r of us are friends for life.

  Even after death for that matter.

  “Your chariot awaits, my ladies,” Mac joked.

  Both Kat and I walked out with him.

  My dibs guy worked out…it was never meant to be this way…maybe that’s why it happened. The bottom line—sometimes you have to go through a lot of nail-biting, limp dick, hip-hop artists to get to your very own pussy crook…but I did it. Dibs!

  contact the author

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  Acknowledgements

  With every book I hit publish; I pray that the words will resonate with someone. This book made me laugh while writing…and I have to thank my dad for helping me find my sense of humor when I was little. Laughter truly is the best medicine. And dad—pumpkin/dog/cup! ☺

  Thank you to the readers who support me. Making Amazon bestseller last year made my day…my week…my month…my year…my life! Truly. Can’t express my gratitude. I will say this a thousand times over—there are so many authors out there better than me…but you giving me a chance means the world to me.

  MCM—man crush Monday? Nope! Megan, Clista, and Madison. The girls who believed in me before I believed in myself! Hugs always. My Georgia peach…Tera… My Red Sux lover…Lisa. I got nothin… Words cant express what I feel #foreverloyal Amber W—Thank you doesn’t cover it. Snapchat, messenger, text—love your positivity for life and family. Sandra—this is the year! Ketty—love your honesty! Thank you for always reading. Traci—another book for the shelf. Elaine and Janet—‘ville rules #always Michelle F…hawks over gators! ☺ Welcome to the author world. Laura—love from across the pond. Jazzy J—give Vin a kiss! Kelly—maybe another Texas hello. Riza—RMG Lacy and Renee E—thanks for the blog love. Amber R.—don’t be scared #noclownshere Lorelei, Heather, Brittany, Rachelle—thank you!