Page 68 of Bad Habit
“Do you even know what that is?” She questions.
“Do you?” He raises an eyebrow at her.
“It’s like the fluff on old ladies clothes, Eddie. Why do you know that?” Our heads ping back and forth between them. Dad just shrugs and motions for her to go.
She plays the word jinx and we watch Dad already get a little stressed. He shouldn’t have played the letter J yet. That’s something even I learned when I went with him. Hold your high point letters when your opponent can’t easily play off of them.
Dad quickly plays his next word, “Ablution.” He speaks with so much pride but I see the minute AJ puts together that he came in with a plan.
“You have never once played off the same word. You always play off of my word. Always.” She accuses as she points to the board. Then she brings her finger up at him, “You’ve been playing without me. With who? None of them care enough and Rory wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret. He’s a terrible liar.” I told Dad she would figure it out easily but he thought he would already be winning when she did. Never bet against AJ.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Avery. I’ve been practicing, so what?” He dips his hand into the bag to refill his tray with letters. “Your move.” He taps her side of the board.
“No fucking way. Not until you tell me who you’ve been playing with.” She sits back and crosses her arms. We all know she is going to win the argument.
“Just some ladies.” He says casually.
“What ladies, Eddie.” AJ pushes, still not making her move.
“Please play your word.”
“Absolutely not. Tell me.”
“Don’t be a brat.”
“You raised me, it’s your fault.”
“Play your word.”
“No.” She stays solid in her decision to not play.
“It was a Scrabble tournament in Charleston!” He throws his hands up and AJ’s mouth falls open in disgust.
“You dirty cheater.” She leans forward and rearranges her letters and angles her chair. “I’m going to kick your ass even harder now.” She plays a word I don’t even know how to pronounce and Dad drops his head in his hands. AJ’s right though. He did raise her and it’s hilarious to watch him have to put up with her. I reach over and pull Mia’s chair closer to mine so we can watch the rest of the match. And I’m thankful that she doesn’t even make a fuss when I run my thumb over her thigh softly. Today has been a good day.
MIA
Something is wrong with AJ. She hasn’t told me I’m not allowed to leave my apartment, but she stops me everytime I even mention that I want to go out. She showed up with coffee from the coffee shop I work at and she even brought me all my favorite breakfast foods. She went to three different places to procure my preferred bagel, omelet, and muffins. That was three hours ago. Three. She has been keeping me hostage in my own apartment ever since.
I’m still in my pajamas, laying on the couch with AJ’s legs weighing mine down. Every time I get up, she follows like a puppy. She checks her phone every fifteen minutes like clock work. And she keeps smiling. It’s fucking weird.
But at least she’s here. She’s the only one who’s reached out to me so far besides, Gigi. My parents will wait until the birthday gala to wish me a happy birthday. And none of the guys have even texted. I try hard to not allow myself to feel let down that a specific triplet hasn’t texted. We have plans to go out tonight, so I’m not sure why AJ is adamant on spending the entire day with me. I lift her legs off my lap, “You don’t have to spend the whole day here. I know you probably have running to do or training with Rory.” She stands in tandem with me.
“It’s your birthday.” She says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
“You hate birthdays.”
“But you love them. I even bought a dress for when we go out tonight!” Her voice is full of heartfelt intention and I love her even more for it.
“Can we at least go and get tacos? I’m starving…” I whine.
She glances down at her phone and a genuine smile finally shows up on her face. “Actually, let’s get ready early! I know we are supposed to go get tattoos and club later tonight. But you’re right. Tacos sound perfect right now!” She spins and starts walking down the small hallway to my open bedroom. “Want to see my dress? I think you will be proud.” She smiles again over her shoulder.
She knows how much I love to dress up. After years of having to be in a one dimensional palette of outfits and expectations, it’s so freeing to be able to wear exactly what I feel like for the day. She pulls out the bag she tossed in my room when she first got here this morning, unzipping it to show off a simple body con dress. It has cutouts on both sides of her hips, low enough that the top and bottom of her viper tattoo will be showcased. It only has one sleeve and as she lays it out, I can see that the one sleeve goes into a choker. She’s going to look deadly.
Then a thought occurs to me. I pull out my phone to shoot a text off.
Mia
