The XOXO New Adult Collection: 16 Full Length New Adult Stories (173 page)

Being a coward? Did he mean that he wanted to break-up our friendship formally but was afraid of hurting my feelings?

“What do you mean? I—”

“Hey lovebirds!” Cosmo’s squeaky voice called out from the other side of the garage. “Are you sharing those things or what? We’re starving up here!”

Glancing up in the direction of his voice I saw what looked like an office on the second floor of the garage. Just beyond the grease stained blind, two sets of eyes looked out at us smiling.

“No privacy around here” William smiled apologetically and pointed to the upstairs office. “A-are those for me?”

“Well” I said trying to smile. “Not just for you.”

Finally, he grinned and my stomach and heart flipped simultaneously. “Shall we?”

Neither of us addressed the lovebird comment, nor did we make eye contact, though I did notice how close he walked next to me. Sliding his arm around my waist, it seemed he made an deliberate effort not to touch me as he guided me to the office.

“Thank God” Eggs reached over an empty pizza box and the half-dead plant on the desk when he saw me—nearly knocking both of them over but not bothering to apologize before he grabbed the Tupperware from my hands. I hoped none of them would notice how my sweaty hands had left imprints, but judging by the way Eggs and Cosmo dove right in, I didn’t think they would have cared.

For a few solid seconds, I watched while they devoured the deserts in the box without the slightest regard. I felt as though I was watching something on a nature channel, hearing in my head the narrator with the loveable accent dictating every action.

“And here, we watch while the elusive Cosmo devours the innocent cupcake. This primal creature seems to be totally unaware that he just ate half a wrapper and continues his attack on the remainder of the cupcake heard.”

I smiled as William pulled up two chairs for us, smiling even harder when I saw him switch out the dirty one he gave me for the cleaner one.

“We worked through lunch.” William explained. For a brief instant when he walked past me I got the sense that he was nervous, but why, I couldn’t figure out. “Trying to get out of here early...”

Though he trailed of, Eggs took the cue to interrupt him, speaking even with a mouth full of red velvet. “I’m still not sure about this job Billy.”

Cosmo nudged him violently, causing a flux of cupcake crumbs to fly out of Eggs’ mouth while he coughed.

“What?” He said still coughing. Wild eyed, Eggs pounded on his chest with his fist, trying to regain his breath. “It’s not like she doesn’t know! Billy told me he told her everything. He took a long swig out of a soda can and paled. “You did, didn’t you Billy?”

As if on cue, we all looked at William then, who was sulking quietly in the corner. His expression suggested he was going to wail on Eggs the first chance he got.

“Yeah but—”

Eggs just cut him off and looked to me. “And your cool right? Tabby says your pretty cool, and she isn’t right about a lot, but she knows people.”

“And animal patterns.”

Once again, William was the only one who understood the joke.

“Sure.” I sighed “I’m cool.”

William smiled, but shook his head as he looked away. Was he still angry with me? Should I have left? I stared at the wall calendar of bikini clad women instead.

Eggs smiled at me with crooked teeth. “Then maybe you can help us out Jumper.”

From his corner, William spoke up. “No.”

“A fresh set of eyes on the situation wouldn’t hurt Billy.” Cosmo added.

“No. Goddamn. Way.” William crossed his arms over himself and looked away. I’ll admit, however, that I was torn. I didn’t want William anymore angry at me than he already was, but I was almost as eager to help gain favor by helping his friends.

“I’d be willing to help—if I can” I was quick to add.

“Okay Jumper, so it goes like this: we were supposed to do a job tonight a standard snatch and grab. No big deal.”

I leaned forward on the desk not taking a second glance at the potential stains it would leave on my blouse or how I might have looked. Just talk of stealing again was enough to get my engine revved.

“But it turns out this thing is going to have added security.” Cosmo said.

Eggs completed the thought. “Two or three people we didn’t anticipate trolling the parking lot for trouble.”

“This thing?” I ignored the deadly glare Billy was giving them. Just because he wasn’t happy about me having details didn’t mean I was going to let him rain on my fun. “What kind of
thing
?”

Eggs piped up without hesitation. “A wedding.”

“Some senator’s granddaughter.” Cosmo added.

I giggled to myself but immediate stuck my thumbnail in my mouth to bite on. Were Eggs and Cosmo even aware that they finished each other sentences or were they so used to it they just didn’t notice?

“I heard about that” I nodded seriously and tried to redeem myself as an adult. “The groom is running for mayor somewhere right?”

Eggs nodded. “In Orange County, which means a guest list filled with politicians, industry types—”

Again, they finished each other’s thoughts. “C list celebrities.”

“We were thinking about bringing a piece—”

“No” It was the first time William had spoken up since the explanation had begun. “No guns.”

“Well then, how are we going to get the wheels and keep the civilians rounded up? We just tie them up—”

William pressed his lips together in a thin line. “All it would take is one security guard who can untie knots or a valet with a black belt to screw us. Besides, what if one of those guards drops dead of a heart attack while we had a gun to his head? Any of you want to be on trial for manslaughter?”

Eggs and Cosmo looked at each other and shrugged. I might have thought that was funny too if I hadn’t been so fascinated by the strange display of anger William was showing me now. As strange as it was to me though, the guys seemed to be used to it, clueless even as Cosmo rocked back and forth in desk chair and Eggs licked a cupcake wrapper clean.

“I agree” I said eventually, summering all my courage to form an answer. “Guns are never a good idea.”

“Sure” Cosmo rolled his eyes “You’d take his side.”

William opened his mouth to defend me, but I was there first, ready to put my point into action.

“Guns don’t do anything but hurt or scare people—if all you’re trying to do is steal from these people, then you don’t need guns.”

“Okay” Cosmo sighed dramatically. “What do you suggest then Jumper?”

“Well,” I gripped the arms of my chair. “Let me hear what other suggestions you guys have come up with.”

“See” Cosmo said eagerly. “I was thinking we’d get there early. The hotel staff all drinks out of the same coffee pot so we could just throw a little something in there to give them a stomach ache—”

“Poison a bunch of people who are probably only earning minimum wage as it is?” I shook my head disapprovingly. “Not okay.”

Cosmo threw up his hands. “It’s better than a bullet!”

Laughing, I glanced up to the corner of my eye. From a shelf of side-view mirrors I could see William’s tense expression staring back at me. Off the top of my head I couldn’t ever remember having seen his sense of humor substituted for anger. Nevertheless, when he realized I was looking back at him, his expression softened. And though I couldn’t quite see his entire face, I thought I saw a sad smile emerge.

The sound of “bratatat” pulled me away from those late summer eyes of his just in time to see Eggs shoot at Cosmo with a finger gun. Cosmo grabbed his arms and chest dramatically, letting his head fall to the desk with dead weight. Watching their display of childish behavior made me laugh, but I had to credit them with the fact that it was entertaining enough to pull my attention away from William.

“W-What if I knew a way you guys could get in and out of there without hurting anyone?”

I saw my reflection in the mirror and smiled.

Chapter 16

Getting in to the wedding reception was the easiest part. With over two-hundred guests Tabby and I snuck in easily, squeaking in between the senior citizens with their canes and the already juiced bridal party. Still, I kept my head down and let the rush sink in. The zooming wave of energy was what had gotten me that far, had gotten me into the much too short cocktail dress and had me reassuring William a few dozen times that I really was comfortable following through with all of this.

Admittedly, despite the rush I still questioned myself. What if I was doing this for all the wrong reasons? It was true I wanted to help my friends, to help William in any way I could—though he had made it very clear he disapproved of my idea. Unfortunately, for him, he was outvoted. Eggs and Cosmo both thought my plan was genius, spouting that if my name wasn’t Jumper it would have been Mastermind.

Regardless of what they thought, I wanted to do this for me too. Even if I later chalked it up to a folly of my youth later on—a revenge on the one percent—I wanted it. Anyway, if I got caught, that’s what I planned on telling the police, that it had been my form of rebelling, of getting back at my indifferent parents. If the adrenaline wasn’t hitting me too hard, maybe I could make myself cry, sob uncontrollably until I made the police uncomfortable enough to send me home with a slap of the wrist.

It was difficult to think about that, however, to think about what I would do if my parents ever found out about what I was doing. And while the idea of my mother running out to the police station in nothing but her overpriced pajamas made me giddy, I didn’t have the luxury to think about that, about any of it. I focused on what I was supposed to do and did my best to ignore the lasting glances from the male waiting staff and one too many old men.

“Don’t worry” Tabby whispered at me. “As long as they keep their hands to themselves we should be fine.”

Naturally, I had borrowed the dress from Tabby. It was too revealing for my taste—especially after she hemmed it for my height. But as naked as I felt, I was constantly assured that I “looked amazing”. Since Tabby knew more about that stuff than I did, I tried to put my faith in her. The stretchy black lace of the dress itself had a raised floral pattern, which I did like a great deal. The plunging V neckline with the mirrored V back however, not so much. Tabby constantly reminded me that the tube fitted skirt looked fabulous on me. And how
did I stay so in shape surrounded by baked goods all day? At least her job forced her to be active...

“How long do we have to mingle for?”

I steadied myself against a wall. Forget about heels, this dress alone was impossible. Why didn’t I just wear flats? “Long enough to get noticed, but not long enough to make a skeptical of ourselves.”

Tabby laughed and tugged at my elbow just enough to make me stumble. “Oh honey, I don’t think getting noticed will be a problem.”

Given the looks we were both giving and the rush that dove its way into me, I was inclined to believe her. Combined with Tabby’s make-up technique and the professional looking job she had done on my hair, I was receiving just as many winks and lengthy stares as she was. I ignored all of them and stay focused on my task, sure that if I remained diligent enough nothing would go wrong.

Tabby rambled on, telling me about the last wedding she had crashed and about strippers who started out as sluts and ended up yuppie housewives—one extreme to the other.

I let her do the talking for both of us, the glass of Champaign I had snagged and the rush working together to create a warm gushy feel inside of me.

“Okay” I whispered after a solid hour had passed. “Let’s go.”

It was already dark, and though I had to practically pull Tabby away from a bulky groomsmen, we walked around, stumbling and laughing loud like we had practiced on the way over. Sure enough, no one gave us a second glance and the eye roll from a hotel employee suggested that our acting was sufficient enough.

We were barely out the front door before we saw the first security guard. For a second I was relieved by the sight of his gray hair, but when I saw he looked even fitter than the groomsman Tabby had been flirting with I felt a whole new surge of fear. A new list of things that could go wrong ran through my head while Tabby messed up her perfectly sculpted hair with her hands and pushed her breast up. I laughed and tried to imitate something similar. Already, it seemed the sound of my laugh was enough to draw attention to us.

“Excuse me” I smiled as sweetly as I could, but without permission, his eyes looked us both up and down making me nauseous and accelerated all at once. “My friend here has had too much to drink—”

His eyes darted slightly between our midsections before he lifted the brim of his cap and grinned. “I can see that”

Sure enough, Tabby was stumbling on her heels, singing to a shrub behind me. I rolled my eyes as if annoyed. Secretly, I was impressed by her acting skills.

“I’m trying to drive her home, but she’s lost her keys.”

Intrigued by our short conversation, another security guard wandered over—this one about as pudgy as he was tall—didn’t make me feel the least bit intimidated

“Already? It’s a little early isn’t it?”

“It is” I said sweetly. “I should have made her eat something before drinking.”

He eyed us curiously. “Are you ladies even old enough to drink?”

By then, a third security guard was waddling his way over, and I batted my eyelashes as best I could considering all the eye makeup. It was only when I saw how entirely serious the third guard was that I felt stupid for overestimating him. He frowned at both of us but otherwise never gave us a second glance.

“You girls know this is a private party? Where are your invitations?”

Tabby stumbled over, perhaps hearing the tone of authority in the guard’s voice and giggled.

“Sir! Yes Sir!” She mocked him with a clumsy solute and I pretended to be embarrassed for us both.

“I’m sorry about her. I’d show you some ID and our invitations but we both left our bags in the car...”

The older security guard looked at his colleague before turning back to us and sighing. At this point however, Tabby was digging into the chemise of her dress as if on a treasure hunt, and his eyes popped. “Would you like us to help you look for your keys Miss?”