"Okay."
"If you don't see anything within the next five miles or so, I'm gonna have to pull over and take a piss by the side of the road. The caffeine can wait, but my bladder won't for very much longer."
"Okay. Just call me again and let me know you need to pull over. You're better at keeping track of distance than I am."
"That's what you've got an odometer for."
"Do you want me to watch the road or do you want me to watch the tenths of a mile click away on the little thing?"
"Okay, Tor. I'll call you." He sounded amused.
"Sounds good to me."
"Bye baby."
"Bye Tony."
She shut her phone and tossed it back into the console.
Luckily there was an exit about three miles up. She pulled off and Tony followed her into the parking lot of a gas station that housed a convenience store. They both used the restroom. Then Tory browsed the refrigerated drink section while Tony filled the biggest cup they had with coffee.
She pulled out a bottle of juice and followed him to the cash register where he once again insisted on paying. Outside, he took such a big gulp of the hot coffee that she knew had to have burned his tongue.
"You sure you're okay Tony?"
"Yep, much better now."
"Think we can make it all the way home this time?"
"Yep. Aunt Lori called me again while you were still in the restroom. She just smoked the last of her weed so we've got to get home."
"Okay."
He kissed her and then headed back to his car.
"Hey Tony?"
"What?"
"Should I park my car in your backyard now?"
"No, Carl can park on the street if he comes over."
"Okay."
She got behind the wheel again, strapped her seat belt on and started the car, once again headed back out onto the road. They made it home this time without a hitch. She pulled into his driveway a few minutes after 5 pm. He parked beside her a minute later, engine still running.
He got out of the car and handed her his house keys. "Don't worry about bringing any of your stuff in unless there's something you really need. Don't answer the door if someone knocks. I'm gonna tell Carl that if he decides to come by he should call your cell first. Lock the door. I'll call you when I'm on my way back."
"Okay."
She was thinking that maybe he was being a little paranoid. Then again she was going to be alone at night in the house of a known drug dealer, so maybe he was right to be a little paranoid.
"I love you baby. You know where my laptop is if you want to use the internet right?"
"Yep, love you too."
He patted her on the ass as she walked up the steps, and waited until she'd unlocked the door and was safely inside the house before he pulled out of the driveway. She made sure the door was shut tight and locked behind her. Then she sat down on the couch and pulled her cell phone out of her purse where she'd tossed in when she'd gotten out of her car.
She sat back on the couch, not knowing what to do with herself. The house was clean. All the laundry was done besides the clothes that they'd been wearing for the past few days. What was the point of washing her clothes by themselves when Tony's would need washed too, and they were still in the trunk of his car which wasn't here she thought? She thought it would be kind of sexy in a way, washing their clothes together. This led her to believe again that she really needed to get laid.
She wasn't interested in video games and she sure as hell wasn't going to go paging through his pile of porno mags. Then she remembered that she'd wanted to look at mattresses on the internet and went to his room to retrieve his laptop from its case in the closet. She wasn't sure why he had it and paid for internet, since she'd never seen him use it. She had only seen him remove it from the case once, and that had been to get a pipe that he'd for some reason tucked away next to the computer in the case.
She brought it out to the kitchen, setting it up on the table, plugging it into the wall because she had no idea if the battery was good. It booted up smoothly. She was able to connect to the internet without a problem, and was still browsing the local stores that had websites for mattresses when her phone rang half an hour later.
She got up and went back to the living room, not bothering to look at her caller id, thinking that it was Tony letting her know that he was on his way home.
"Hello?"
"Hey Tor."
It was Carl. "Is Tony home? I can't get a hold of him on his cell."
"No, he's not. Why?"
"I kinda wanted to borrow his spare bedroom before it was too late. I mean, me and Andi did."
"Oh. He hasn't called to tell me he's on his way, so I don't know how long he's gonna be."
"Oh. Are you two gonna be around later tonight?" Carl almost sounded desperate, so he and Andi must be ready for some make up sex she thought.
"We were going to go look at a new bed when he gets back so it might be a little while."
"Damn. That sucks. I don't think that Andi will be able to convince her parents to let her stay the night at Tony's again. Too bad you don't have a place in town or she could tell her parents that she was staying with you." He sighed. "I guess we've always got the jeep. I've gotta go Tor, Andi's waiting. If you two get back halfway early, have Tony give me a call okay?"
"No problem Carl."
"Bye Tor."
"Bye Carl."
She sat back down in front of the computer and a few minutes later decided that the furniture liquidation warehouse on the edge of town looked like they had the best prices and a good selection. They offered same day delivery so they looked like the best option to her. It might be too late to get it delivered tonight she thought, but it was worth a try. They were open until 9. It was a few minutes after six, so just as long as Tony got home halfway soon they'd have plenty of time to get there.
Her phone rang again when she was getting up to put away the laptop. She set it on the couch, reaching for her phone. It was Tony this time.
"I'm on my way home baby. Did you miss me?"
"Nope, I was too busy picking out your new bed. But Carl did. He called a few minutes ago, wanting to borrow your spare bedroom."
"Did you tell him he couldn't come over without me there?" Tony sounded amused.
"Of course not. I think he thought it might be weird. It would have been, having them screw in your spare bedroom while I sat out in the living room twiddling my thumbs, trying not to listen to them."
"Andi's a screamer, kinda like you."
"I'm not a screamer. Well, not usually."
"I don't mind. It kinda turns me on. I'll be home in five minutes or so. Did you find us a cheap bed that will be halfway comfortable?"
"They've got decent prices for queen and king size sets at the furniture liquidation place and they deliver."
"That place? Are they having a going out of business sale again? This would be like the third time if they are."
"No. What are we going to do with your old bed?"
"I'll make Carl help me drag it out into the backyard. I'm gonna let you go babe. I should be pulling up to the house in like three minutes. Don't open the door if there's a knock unless you hear the beep from my car alarm first okay?"
"Okay."
"Bye baby. See you in a minute."
"Bye Tony."
She hung up the phone and then went back to the bedroom with the computer, putting it back into its case. She'd just returned to the living room when she saw headlights and heard a car pulling into the driveway. The engine shut off. She heard the beep from the alarm when Tony armed it and a minute later there was a knock at the door.
She opened the door and Tony came in, arms full of brown paper bags. He set them on the coffee table and pulled her into his arms for a kiss. "It's so good to come home to you. I wish you were eighteen so I could do it every day. As soon as Mom gets out, we're packing up and moving out of town. I already told Aunt Lori. She said that it's
gonna be hard for her and Carl and Uncle Keith, but that she thinks that it's probably the best thing for my mom. Mom called their house on Christmas. She wanted to tell them Merry Christmas. Aunt Lori said that she sounded good, almost like her old self. I asked her if Mom still had my cell number. She said that she did, but she didn't want to bother me. Like she'd have been bothering her son, calling on Christmas."
"That's good though, that she called them."
"Yeah, it is. Let me put this shit away, and then we'll go. Maybe we'll stop for a bite to eat on the way home."
"Not if you can convince them to deliver your new bed tonight. And you just bought groceries. There's got to be something that we can eat here. You're spending way too much money."
"I know. My credit card is at the limit for the first time since I've had it."
She sighed. "That's not good."
"No, it's not. I'll be right back babe."
He carried the bags with him in the direction of the garage. She wondered why he thought they'd be safer out there than in the house. Though of course he couldn't keep them where he'd kept them before since Eduardo had already taken advantage of that knowledge she thought.
Tony came back a few minutes later, car keys in hand. "Are we taking your car or mine?"
"I don't care. Though mine probably has more gas right?"
"Yeah. Let me get my bags out of the trunk. Give me your keys so I can bring yours in too, and then we'll head out."
"Okay."
She handed him her keys and then put her coat on, waiting in the living room until he came back in with the bags, throwing them on the floor in his bedroom. He tried to hand her her keys. She shook her head at him. "Don't start this again Tor. It's your car."
"I know. But I don't want to drive it right now, okay?" She gave him a sweet smile.
He sighed. "Fine. Let's go."
"Is Carl still planning on coming over?"
"Last I knew he was, though I think him and Andi found somewhere to do it in the jeep."
"I figured. He sounded pretty desperate to get laid when he called."
"I'm about ready to get laid myself." He grinned at her as she followed him out the door.
"Good, because I am too. I was thinking that it would be sexy to wash our clothes together."
He laughed. "You're a weirdo Tor. But at least you weren't thinking about nose ring."
They had made it the furniture store. He stopped the car pulling into the first empty spot he found, halfway down the lot.
"So did you pick out the perfect bed or are we going to have to wander around to find it?"
"I figured the first queen or king size that was affordable and comfortable would work right?"
"Guess so."
He held the door open for her. They walked down the aisles hand in hand, heading towards the back where the beds were. The first one they looked at was comfortable but way too expensive. They had decided on a queen size set and had turned around to head towards the front of the store to buy it when a salesman came over, giving them a broad smile.
"Find something you like?"
"Yeah," Tony said. "You guys deliver right? I don't think it will fit in the trunk of my car."
The salesman laughed a little too loudly. Tory almost winced. "Don't think so huh? Are you two newlyweds?"
"Uh, yeah." Tony gave Tory a look to silence her.
Why in the hell was he letting this guy believe they were married she thought? He didn't give a shit if the whole town knew they were having sex, so why did he care what this guy with the fake too loud laugh thought?
"We can deliver her for you first thing in the morning," the man whose nametag read 'Bob' said.
"Any chance of getting it delivered tonight? We're still technically on our honeymoon," Tony said, giving the man a wink.
Bob winked back, leering at Tory. “Let me see what I can do. It might cost you extra though."
"No problem Bob."
Tory gave him a dirty look. When Bob had walked away, Tory hissed at him "It's not that damn important Tony. You don't need to pay a bunch of extra money to have it delivered tonight."
"Too late now," Tony said.
Bob was already headed back in their direction a big grin on his face. "We can get it delivered for you tonight no problem son. It'll only cost you $50 extra."
Tory started to speak, but Tony squeezed her hand almost hard enough to hurt. "Sounds great Bob. Thanks."
"Good. Let's go up to the register and we'll get you taken care of."
Tony paid for the bed and the ridiculous charge to have it delivered that night which Tory figured Bob was probably splitting with the guy who drove the delivery truck since their page on the internet had boasted 'free delivery'. Not to mention the signs everywhere around the store and the outside of the store that said the same thing.
It was supposed to be delivered within an hour and at least she could see through the window that they were loading it into the truck. Bob shook Tony's hand, thanking him for his business. Then they were blissfully out of the store.
She took her hand from his and smacked him in the back of the head.
"Damn Tor, you gotta quit abusing me." He rubbed the back of his head.
"First you let that idiot think we're married. Then you pay a ridiculous amount to have the bed delivered tonight when they've got signs everywhere saying 'free delivery'. What the hell Tony?"
"What's wrong with letting him think we're married? It's easier letting him think that than explaining that my still underage girlfriend is helping me pick out a new bed so we can go back to my house and screw."
"He's gonna know it's not true in like two seconds when some loser tells him who you are."
"So what? We're already gone then and we don't have to go back. It's not like I'm gonna need to buy a new bed again tomorrow."
"What about the fifty bucks for delivery?"
"We got a good price on the bed. Anywhere else, we probably would have paid at least fifty more for the bed."
"Yeah, yeah. Do you think that Carl's going to be there to help you?"
"I don't know. Let me give him a call."
"I'll do it." She snatched his phone from his hand, shoving her car keys back into it. "You drive."
She dialed Carl's number and then got into the passenger seat, waiting as it rang. It switched over to voicemail. She let out a sigh as Tony pulled out of the parking lot. "Carl, it's Tory. Your hardheaded cousin paid a bunch of extra money to have his new bed delivered tonight. If you can come by as soon as possible to help him drag that old piece of crap out into the backyard, we'd really appreciate it."
She shut his phone and tossed it into the console. "Damn Tor, calm down. I told you that's it's not a big deal. I'm gonna make my money back. There will be plenty of junkies knocking on my door come tomorrow morning, if not tonight."
"Wonderful."
"It'll be over soon darlin’, I promise. As soon as I can figure out how the hell I'm gonna get out of it."
"Like I said earlier, we have such a bright future ahead of us when neither of us knows what the hell we want to do with our lives."
"We'll figure it out Tor. When I said I felt like I could conquer the world with you by my side, I meant it."
"You're really sweet Tony, but I don't think your faith in me is going to pay the bills."
They pulled into the driveway. He sighed. "It would be nice if it could though, wouldn't it?"
"Yes Tony. Do you think Carl's going to show up or do you want me to help you get that bed out?"
"I can probably do it myself. I might need you to help me tip it up so I can get it out into the hallway. But I can drag it along the hallway and shove it out the door and into the backyard."
"Okay.” She followed him into the house.
In the bedroom, she helped him pull the blankets and sheets off of the bed and set them aside for the time being in the closet. They managed to get the mattress up on its side and out into the hallway, and then out into the
backyard without too much trouble.
But then it was time to deal with the box springs, which was heavier and less flexible. "Let me try Carl again," Tony said.
"I'll help you. Let's get this over with."
She helped him lift it free from the frame. They carried it into the hallway, where he insisted that she let him push it along by himself.
"Carl damn well better get here soon," he said, when the box springs was safely in the back yard.
"Am I too weak to help you being a girl?"
"I didn't say that. I wonder if I can pay the guy with the truck twenty bucks extra to help me get it into the bedroom."
"Don't you dare Tony," she warned as there was a knock on the door.
Tony opened the door. The guy standing there gave him a big grin that soon faded.
"Tony?" He said. "Tony Wilson?"
"Yeah," Tony said, squinting at the guy in the glare of the porch light.
"It's Rob Bates. We went to school together, remember?"
"Oh, yeah."
"You don't remember do you?"
"Sorry dude."
"I transferred here at the end of junior year. We used to party together until your dad caught you coming home drunk and you gave it up for a while."
"Oh yeah, Rob. I'm sorry. Rob, this is my girlfriend Tory."
"Nice to meet you Tory."
"You too, Rob.”
"That was a great party you had last summer Tony. I mean, you had a lot of great parties but damn the one on the 4th of July, people are still talking about it."
Tony gave him a look. "Thanks. You mind helping me bring that bed into my room? I'll kick you a twenty."
"It's all right. I got laid so many times after your parties that I owe you one."
Tony gave him another 'shut up' look, which Rob was either too stupid to notice or just wasn't paying attention to because he was going on about another of Tony's parties when they walked together out to the truck.
Tory stood in the kitchen, watching them heft the new bed through the living room and into the bedroom. She turned to the fridge and was digging around for something to make for dinner when they came back through, Rob still chattering about some chick he had screwed in Tony's living room while ten other people were getting it on with the way he told it.
Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set Page 134
