“Holy crap,” I said.
“Shit, I haven’t even had time to sort the pool. How am I gonna win any money back at this rate?” Shirleen looked to Al y. “It’s gonna have to wait until you get nailed.” Al y opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted.
“You women mind finishing whatever the f**k you’re talkin’ about later?” Lee asked in a not very polite voice.
My head shot up and I glared at him. “This is important,” I snapped.
“Yeah?” he asked on an eyebrow raise.
Oopsie.
Okay, wel , maybe his plans that day were a tad bit more important than gossip.
We gave Stel a and Mace time to shower, have pancakes and then we al wandered into the big room.
Throughout al this I watched Stel a. Her outfit was cute. I wanted it. I loved it. It was a black OP tank with a circle of dusky blue hibiscus flowers in a band around the boobs and a pair of dusky gray OP corduroy short shorts. She looked like super-cool, rock-surfer-chick. I was a little surprised at Mace’s heretofore unknown shopping abilities and wondered what the underwear looked like.
Stel a was being quiet and avoiding al things Mace.
Mace wasn’t looking straight out pleased but he certainly wasn’t broody or pissed off, which was mostly what I knew about Mace’s inventory of emotions. He didn’t look quite happy, instead he looked energized and alert at the same time he looked mel ow, the last new to me in Mace’s emotional arsenal.
The Rock Chicks gathered around Stel a acting as buffers in case she needed us but Mace (breaking Hot Guy Courtship Tradition) wasn’t pushing it and he stayed out of her space.
By the time we walked into Daisy’s big room, we’d backed off.
That was a mistake.
Stel a sat on the arm of the couch next to Al y, Juno sitting on the floor by her side.
Mace walked right in and I watched, mouth dropping open, as he put his hands to her waist, shoved her clean off the couch to her feet, keeping his hands on her. She made an angry, surprised noise and her head whipped around to look at Mace but I couldn’t see her expression.
He sat down where she’d been sitting, slid back, put one foot into the couch and brought her down in front of him, straddling her and doing it close, his hand sliding from her hip to come to rest on the top of her thigh.
Holy shit!
Juno, by the way, took this in stride. Clearly used to this type of Mace Maneuver from days of yore.
Mace never struck me as an affectionate type of guy.
Like Luke, if you told me Mace would be affectionately demonstrative in a touchy way in public, I would have laughed. But there it was, proof positive.
My gaze shot to Al y. Al y was staring at Mace’s long leg by her side and her wide-eyed gaze shot to me. The Rock Chicks darted knowing looks at each other and then our eyes swung to Stel a.
Her back was ramrod straight, her face pissed way the hel off but I could tel she was damned if she was going to blow. Not now. He’d get it later and boy, was he going to get it.
I wanted to shout, “Atta girl,” but I kept my mouth shut.
Then Lee launched into his announcement which most everyone knew anyway.
Except Shirleen.
“It’s decided,” Lee said to Shirleen.
“I don’t believe this,” Shirleen said back.
Lee had no response.
My eyes moved from Shirleen to Stel a. Stel a didn’t look pissed off anymore. She looked pale. It would appear that Mace hadn’t told Stel a either.