Escalation Clause by Liz Crowe Read Free Book Online

the couples move in and out of the flickering light. She glanced at the large clock over the sliding glass door. It was nearly two a.m. She had a long shift of work at the coffee shop the next day starting at noon, plus a full day on Sunday at the garden center. She spotted him then, his deep mocha torso moving through the crowd still gathered in the kitchen. He laughed, joked and made his way to the back door. The girl from the basement was no where nearby. Mo slipped under the water and swam back to the dark end, unwilling to see or talk to him, not after that scene.
    She reached for the sidewall of the pool and encountered flesh. A hand grabbed hers as she came up for air. Denise’s dark lovely face stared at hers. “Hey,” she said. “Brandis and Jack are helping me clear the place out. Can you start picking up all the empties?”
    Mo wiped her face and climbed out. “Sure. No problem.” She grabbed a garbage bag and got to task. By the time she’d finished and dumped all the cans and bottles into the recycle bin, Jack, Brandis, and Denise sat on the patio, passing a joint between them. She swallowed hard and walked by the group, headed for the door.
    Brandis grabbed her arm, but she jerked it back. Jack’s eyes darkened at their exchange. “Gotta work tomorrow. Nice party. Good night.”
    “Yeah man, who was that with you anyway?” Jack asked as she headed inside. She looked back at him and caught Jack staring straight at her, one eyebrow raised. “She was hot. You score?” He spoke to Brandis but kept his eyes on her. She frowned at him.
    Brandis sucked in a breath, glanced back at her. His eyes lost their hard look for a split second, and she saw something like regret in their dark chocolate depths. He turned away, grabbing the joint from his sister’s fingers. “What do you think? I always score, unlike some people I know.”
    “Huh. So, just one girl tonight then, eh, loser?”
    “You are a fucking liar, Gordon.” Brandis said, still holding in the smoke.
     “Fuck you, Taylor. I was on my A-game tonight. Two lovely ladies were the recipients of said game. That much I promise you.”
    “Whatever,” Brandis glanced back and caught her eye once more. “Sure you don’t want….” he held out a hand but she had shut the door too fast to hear the rest of his question.

Chapter Four

     
    The sunlight pierced the light haze of his sleep. Brandis groaned, rolled over seeking shade and found himself hand-and-kneeing it facing the brick pavers of his parents’ patio. “Christ in a sidecar what time is it?” He mumbled, flipping around so he sat, back against the chaise lounge that must have served as his bed for the night. Not that he recalled anything after the second joint. He groaned and ran a hand down his already sweaty face.
    Jack walked out the back door, Mountain Dew in hand, dressed for work at his father’s construction site for the day. Brandis blinked at his friend. “How in the hell can you be so awake and non-hung over? I feel like three day old shit.”
    “You look like it, too.” Jack slammed the remaining soda and threw the can into the returnable bin. “You taking those back today? We need food at the house while you’re at it.”
    Brandis flipped him off. “I look like your personal shopper?”
    “No,” Jack sat, laced his work boots up then leveled a deep blue stare at him. “You look like a guy lucky enough not to have to work on the Saturday after a giant pool party.” His friend leaned forward on his knees and gave Brandis an ominous look. “You also look like the guy who could possibly be messing around with my sister. I don’t recommend that at all.”
    “I’m…,” Brandis started to say something, but he had nothing, so he stayed quiet. Jack stared him down, turned on his heel and left, letting the gate bang shut behind him. Brandis crawled to the edge of the pool, noted all the shit he needed to clean out of it including at least two condoms, then stuck his