Free Someone to Watch Over Me by Anne Berkeley Page B

minute.”
    “Hey, it was traumatizing! It
was like that long!” He held his finger and thumb about an inch
apart then reduced it by half. I burst out laughing. “My dad pinned me down while my mom dug it out with a pair of tweezers and a scalpel.”
    “I bet.”
    “Seriously, to this day I
can’t…” He shook his head, pinching his eyes shut with mock horror.
“No, it’s too embarrassing. I can’t say it.”
    “What?” I asked, because he
obviously expected it of me.
    “I have to be on top during
sex. I still have this deep seated fear of being held down.”
    While I laughed, holding my
stomach, Levy decided to join in, giggling his little belly laugh,
despite having no idea what he was laughing
at . He was all tiny teeth and squinted eyes.
    Tate pulled to the side of the
road and shifted the car into park. Turning in his seat, he shook
his head at Levy and me. “Laugh it up, go ahead, turtle boy. Your
day will come. Then you, too, will be the object of unmitigated
humiliation.”
    Levy paid no heed, smiling
wider in response. He pointed his plump finger in Tate’s direction.
“Yew tuttle.” Which only made me laugh harder.
    “No respect,” said Tate with
disgruntlement. “Try to help the kid out. That’s so not cool. You
share that with anyone, and I will take you down to Chinatown. I
have a big pee pee.”
    “Yew tuttle.”
    Biting my lip, I looked
apologetically to Tate. “I’m sorry. We can go now. Seriously. I’m
done. I won’t laugh anymore. Swear.”
    “I would, but I think I’m lost.
I’ve been driving haplessly since you started talking. And since
you’ve only,” he flicked the gas gage with the tip of his finger,
“a quarter tank, I can’t keep driving in circles acting like I know
where I’m going.”
    “Appreciated.” I tapped the
screen of my faithful GPS. “What’s the address?” We were stopping
at his temporary residence so that he could shower and change. He was staying with Carter’s sister, I
believe. She had a house with five bedrooms and a carriage house
with another two. Enough rooms for the band and then some.
    “I don’t remember the house
number. The street is Cold Spring Road. It’s in Buckingham.”
    “Close enough.”
    “You sure you don’t mind?”
    It was a little out of the way.
Well, a lot out of the way, but he needed a fresh change of
clothes. “It’s fine. As long as I can make it to work by six.”
    “You could call out.”
    “No, I really can’t.”
    “Are you sure? You could help
me out with my issues.”
    “As tempting as that sounds, I
still can’t call out. That would leave the other girls shorthanded.
I’ve been there. It sucks. I can’t do that to them unless it’s a
real emergency.”
    “Everyone needs a break once in
awhile, Coop.”
    “It’s not just that. If I call
out tonight and then Levy gets sick tomorrow , I’ll be screwed. I have to be careful with
my time.”
    “If I begge—”
    “No.”
    “If I was sick?”
    “No!” I exclaimed,
laughing.
    “Damn. I feel used. You invited
me over just for sex, didn’t you?”
    “And the laundry ,” I reminded him . “Especially
the laundry. ”
    Beside me, Tate laughed. It was
a warm, comfortable sound. I tried not to dwell on it. No point in building castles in the air. He was
probably flirty and at ease with everyone. Instead, I enjoyed the
now. Since he was driving, I stared out the window, taking in the
scenery.

Chapter
5
    A fter
stopping for gas, during which Tate took time to purchase a handful
of Slim Jims, a pint of Red Bull and a king sized Hershey bar, we
pulled onto Cold Spring Road. The house was an estate if I ever saw one. I’m talking manicured lawns and
sprawling pastures filled with sleek thoroughbreds. Ok, maybe they
weren’t thoroughbreds. I couldn’t tell the difference between a
pony and a horse , but they were
definitely sleek and stately, nothing like the nags at Mr. Craig’s farm. And
the grass had those fancy lines in it that only