Infuriating - Onley James Page 0,50
childhood in Idaho. Maybe people who were born and raised in LA were used to people dressing more…flamboyantly.
“So, where are you from, Dayton?” Bev asked, placing her napkin in her lap.
“I was born in a small town in Idaho, but I moved to LA when I was fourteen.”
Everybody helped themselves to barbecued chicken, cornbread, and macaroni and cheese, but Day put just a little of each on his plate, far too nervous to eat. Bev smiled warmly at him. “That must have been a bit of a culture shock. Are your parents still here in the city?”
Day shook his head. “I moved here with a friend. I never knew my dad, and my mom took off when I was three or four. I can’t remember now. My grandmother raised me until she OD’d behind the tire shop. Then I came here.”
Day had imagined that his answer would infuriate Jackson, but he was looking at Day like he had earlier when he’d figured out that Day couldn’t read. It was a look Day couldn’t quite place. Pity? Sorrow? Confusion? Maybe he thought Day was making the whole thing up.
“How did you take care of yourself at fourteen? I’m thirty-six and my husband and I can barely afford to feed all my damn kids,” Della said.
“Della!” Jackson said, voice low.
Day shrugged, ignoring Jackson. “Let’s just say I found a landlord who was willing to let me work off the rent in trade.” He made the crude hand signal for a blowjob. Ruby gasped, Della stared, and Jackson looked like he was going to be sick. Bev, however, didn’t bat an eyelash.
Bev gave a tight smile. “So, Day. Ruby tells me you’re one of Jackson’s clients?”
“Yes.”
When he didn’t offer any more information, Bev prompted. “Are you an actor or a musician? One of those dot com billionaires Jackson babysits all the time.”
“Nope, I’m just a camboy,” Day said before stuffing a bite of macaroni into his mouth and chewing it while he watched his answer hit his targets.
Della and Ruby gaped at him, but Bev just took a sip of her white wine. “That’s one of those boys who gets naked over the computer, right?”
“Mama,” Della said before giving a shocked laugh.
“What? I think it’s clever. Back in my day, if we were gonna try to bring in some extra cash with our bodies, we had the street corner or the pole. Day’s way seems much safer.”
Day scoffed. “Tell that to the guy who got his throat slit in front of me.”
“No way,” Della gasped. “You saw it happen? Like, were you there?”
“Day,” Jackson said quietly, his warning clear.
Day ignored him again, leaning in, like he was dishing the hottest of fresh gossip to his new friends. “I saw it happen on camera. I didn’t know he was some fancy assistant district attorney until I called the cops.”
“No shit?” Ruby said. “You were cyber-banging that ADA who got taken out? They said it was, like, gang related or something. His wife is in my yoga class. No wonder she always looks so miserable. Probably wasn’t getting any from her hubby if he was getting it with you.”
“Ruby Jean,” Bev snapped, exasperated. “Watch your mouth.”
“Sorry, Mama,” she said, not sounding sorry at all.
When Day looked her way, she winked at him, and he dropped his gaze to his plate. What the fuck did it take to freak these people out? An idea came to him in that moment, and Day opened his mouth before he chickened out and changed his mind. They couldn’t ignore this.
“They thought it had something to do with one of his cases, but after I put up a video of me and Jackson, one of my regulars went completely nuclear and took credit for the murder. That’s why Jackson’s stuck with me. Detective Jimmy thinks this guy is going to try to kill me or kidnap me.”
They all gaped at him.
“Jackson made a sex tape?” Ruby said at the same time Della said, “Dad’s Detective Jimmy?”
Jackson was glaring daggers at Day now, but he continued to eat his dinner like he’d done nothing wrong, even though embarrassment was eating a hole in his belly. Jackson hadn’t deserved this. Nobody’s family should know about their sex life. Hopefully, Jackson understood now. Day wasn’t good enough for him.
“No, I didn’t make a sex tape. It was just a decoy to make Day’s potential stalker make a mistake,” Jackson said.
Bev looked relieved, but Della narrowed her gaze in confusion. “How did you even