Page 45 of No Omega Needed
"I'm down for that," McKinley says sleepily.
"No, we have to do something…" Dex scratches at his jaw. "It's Vegas. You guys trust me?" He glances between Love and Issac who both nod. "Good. I'm going to plan us a date for tonight." Dex leans over, kissing McKinley's forehead, and pops up taking her food with him.
"He's the only person I've seenin my lifebe able to eat like that right after doing a line," Issac says once Dexter is gone. Two seconds later there's a knock on the door. Issac hops up. "Betcha ten bucks he forgot he came over from the balcony and he doesn't have a key."
He heads off to deal with that.
McKinley leans back into the plush sofa, frowning at the door.
"I tried to talk to him about laying off the uppers," the kid says, shaking her head. "It's probably not my place, but things have gotten a lot better since I cut out coke. Dexter's always been there…" She pauses, picking at her nail. "I just wanted him to know he's got people in his corner, you know?"
Issac comes back, flopping into the club chair. "Yeah, I talked to him about it earlier. He accused us of teaming up and planning separate interventions." He scoffs.
"It helps his hyper-activity," McKinley says weakly. She picks at the fluff on the front of her robe. "I'm worried about him, too; he's always been skinny, but he's basically all bones at this point."
"Put him in rehab," I say, swiping a hand over my face. "Let him know that shit isn't going to fly with a baby in the house. Once you have a toddler, it becomes dangerous for a completely different reason; they get into everything."
The kid nods, biting her lip. She eyes McKinley carefully.
McKinley shakes her head no. "I won't do that to Dexter. It has to be his choice."
"That's true," the kid says, frowning. "If he makes the decision it's more likely to stick."
"We ain't doing Dexter like that," Issac says, glaringat me,like I'm the problem.
"Then McKinley needs to be firm about what she will and won't allow around the baby. That's all I'm saying," I tell him, shrugging. I dig back into my pasta as they debate how to handle the Dexter situation.
If it was me? I'd tell him to suck it up and lay off the shit. Otherwise, I wouldn't hesitate to cut him out. Sure, they're rock stars, but that shit doesn't give them a free pass to subject their kid to being around an addict.
I guess it's irrelevant. The baby isn't here yet. I'm sticking around. I'll be here when the baby is born. And if he's still fucking up? Well, I won't hold my tongue forever.
I grew up in a family of hard-asses. Maybe that's what Dexter needs. It seems to me that they all baby him; walk on egg-shells to protect hisprecious feelings.
That shit is stupid. That baby needs someone concerned with his or her feelings. Dexter's a big boy. He can look out for himself.
Come to think of it, now might be a real good time for him to start.
Chapter Thirteen
Jude Walker
"Here," I say, offering Love a hand out of the SUV.
"Thanks, Jude," she says, letting me pull her into my chest. Her hand wraps around my back and my heart tries to pound out of my damn chest.
Love is all dressed up tonight in some crazy dress that's tight on top and flares out. It fits her curves to perfection. She's got her hair lightly curled and dark eye-liner framing her eyes. She's absolutely breathtaking, and I don't know what to do with myself.
I'm drawn to Love on some level that I've never been attracted to a person before.
"Come on," Dexter says, doing a handstand and walking across the parking lot.
I shake my head. He's full blast. All. The. Damn. Time.
Love grins up at me. It makes my heart skip a damn beat. Sometimes, my mouth goes bone-dry when she looks at me. My left hand pats my pocket. I grab a stick of gum, shoving it into my mouth.
"What in the hell is this?" Riggs asks, catching my attention. He's frowning at the Gothic building. It's straight out of a horror movie.
"You brought us to the horror museum?" Love shrieks, bouncing around. "Holy fucking shit, Dexter!"