Page 192 of Bridesmaid for Hire
“Uh…anyway, what if you know…if you just called Maggie up?”
Gary lifts up the remote and pauses the TV. He turns to me and asks, “You want me to call my sister up? And say what?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “Maybe just casually check in.”
“I never do that. She’d be suspicious.”
“Then how about you, Patricia?” I ask. “Don’t you just want to, I don’t know…chat it up like two gal pals?”
“We don’t call each other on the phone. We just text.”
“Perfect,” I say as I move closer to her. “Where’s your phone? Let’s text her.”
“I’m not going to text her, Brody.”
“Why not?” I ask. “I think it would be a friendly thing to do. You know, ask how her vacation went.”
“She’s going to know that we talked to you,” Patricia says.
“You don’t need to mention me,” I say, feeling so desperate that it’s actually pathetic. “Just ask if she got tan or something. And she did if you’re wondering. Her skin was so smooth and—”
“What the fuck did I tell you about private parts?” Gary says, pointing the remote at me. “None of that shit.”
But her skin was so smooth and silky, andfuckI miss kissing up her legs, between her legs, all over her body.
“Ew, I think he’s thinking about her skin,” Patricia says, pulling me out of my brief reverie.
“God, just text her and end this nonsense.” Gary presses play on the remote again and zones in, so I turn to Patricia and clasp my hands together.
“Please…”
She grumbles something under her breath and pulls up her phone.
“Attagirl,” I say as I saddle up next to her, shoulder to shoulder.
“You’re going to be kicked out of this house soon.”
“Understood,” I say, practically frothing at the mouth with the knowledge that I’m going to hear from Maggie. Sure, it might not be a direct conversation, but I’ll take what I can get at this point.
Patricia opens up a text thread and starts typing.
Patricia:Hey girl, how was Bora-Bora? Hope you had a good time.
“Perfect text, very casual. Well done, Patricia.”
“I’m so glad you approve,” she says, her voice full of sarcasm.
“What is the Great Magellan?” Gary shouts.
“What is the Rock of Gibraltar?” the contestant says.
“Damn it, so close,” Gary says.
“Not really,” Patricia says. “One is the world’s most powerful telescope, the other is a limestone landmark.”
“Hey,” I say to Patricia, tapping the screen of her phone. “Let’s focus on this.”
She lifts her eyebrow at me in a warning, and I slink back on the couch with a nervous laugh. “You know, just want you to be on top of your texting—”
