Twice as Hot (Tales of an Extraordinary Girl #2)(37)
Author: Gena Showalter

He sighed. "I’ve done my homework."

"Oh."

I twisted in the chair, and our gazes met. My exhausted hazel against her determined blue. She breezed to me, as warm and pretty as a summer day, and kissed me on the cheek. "How’s our boy holding up?"

"He’s the same." Tears suddenly burned my eyes, threatening to spill over. "Damn it!" Her eyes raked over me and she tsked under her tongue. "Well, you’re worse, no doubt about it. You need a shower and another change of clothes. Which, amazing friend that I am, I brought you." The boast had the desired results: I laughed, my tears gradually drying. I was still wearing the halter top and could-only-be-seen-under-a-microscope skirt. "You brought me something a little less slutty, I hope."

"I don’t," Rome muttered.

We both ignored him. I was positive I’d misheard, anyway. "Better," Sherridan said. "I figure my role on this kick-ass team is to make sure we’ll all look stylish, and I take that role seriously. That’s why I brought you something tres superheroey."

I cut off a groan.

"Can I see?" Rome asked.

He was fighting a grin, the bastard. I could hear the smile in his voice.

"No," Sherridan said, but she pulled a black leather catsuit from her overlarge purse, anyway, and held it up for my inspection.

I couldn’t help peeking at Rome to gauge his reaction. He nodded in approval, his eyes heating as if he were picturing me wearing it. "I think that’s perfect."

So the Cat Man liked the catsuit. This time, I couldn’t stop my groan. I grabbed the dangling material from her fingers and stood. "What were you saying when you came in? Someone called you?"

"What?" Confusion furrowed her brow before her eyes widened and she clapped. "Oh. Yeah. Cody called me. Said he couldn’t get hold of you, and hadn’t been able to make Rome stop talking about you long enough to listen to him. Oh, and if you’re wondering how he got my number, he said he borrowed your cell before he left and copied it." She bit her bottom lip, running it through her teeth. "You know, he’s actually pretty nice. Once you get to know him."

I studied her, saw the color blooming in her cheeks, watched the way she danced from one foot to the other in agitation. "Dear God, you’re already falling for him. After one phone conversation, you’re ready to have his babies." But amid my growing concern, one thought echoed in my head: Rome hadn’t been able to stop talking about me?

"No. No, no, no." She wagged her head back and forth for emphasis, even held up her hands. "He was nice, that’s all. But weird. He told me to tell you to answer your phone once in a while and that he’d tracked down some rodent at the very top of an ocean and was going off the road…no, that isn’t right…off the grid, yes, that’s it! Off the grid to keep the little critter from sniffing his cheese, so you probably wouldn’t be able to get hold of him and…" She tapped a fingertip to her chin. "There was something else, but I’m drawing a blank."

Rome stepped forward, tension in every muscle in his body. He gripped her shoulders, shook her.

"What?"

"I’m thinking! Don’t pressure me. And really, you of all people have no right to complain about someone else’s faulty memory."

I threw the catsuit over my shoulder, pried Rome’s arms from her and replaced them with mine, forcing her to face me. Calm, stay calm. How many times would I have to tell myself that in the coming minutes?

"This is very important. I need to know exactly what he said." Sherridan closed her eyes, intense in her concentration and sickeningly adorable. "It didn’t make much sense. It was something along the lines of candy being bright and unexpectedly merging with the…desert that splits? Oh, and he’d like you and Rome to join him for cocktails, but wants you to wear your dinner jackets because the nights are cold."

My stomach twisted into a million little knots. "I think you’ve just been promoted from stylist to interpreter, Sherridan," I managed to work out. Of its own accord, my gaze lifted, seeking Rome’s. I could see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to decipher my friend’s words. I did it for him, too impatient to wait for him to catch up.

"Cody was sending us a message. Because of some papers PSI found at the warehouse, we thought there might be someone in Desert Gal’s employ working at Big Rocky Spring Water. The rodent must be code for our suspect, and the ocean means Big Rocky, so the lead was right. Only, it’s bigger than we realized. Cody’s going off the grid means, I think, that he’s going undercover. The fact that it’s cold at night and we need protection means it’s dangerous and he needs our help. The bright candy is – shocker – Candace Bright, and Cody thinks she’s Big Rocky’s president or owner – the rodent at the very top of the ocean could mean either one."

I paused for breath, my gaze becoming pointed. "And last but not least, he also thinks Candace Bright and Desert Gall are one and the same."

Though I hated leaving Tanner, I did it. His condition was stable, his vitals better than they’d been. I had his doctor’s phone number in my pocket and had insisted I be called if anything changed: good or bad.

Right now, I had a trip to prepare for.

"I’m going with you, and that’s that," Sherridan said as we strode up the porch to our house. I half expected a present to be waiting for me, but no. Not today. Was M-Squared really my admirer? And like Rome, had he decided I wasn’t worth the effort? I desperately wanted to talk to him, beg him to return Rome’s memories.

I was no longer quite so mad at him now that I knew he wasn’t helping Desert Gal, that he’d taken those memories simply because he liked me. Yeah, I’d softened. Again. Definitely a yo-yo.

But why did he like me? The question still plagued me. I’d already decided it wasn’t because of my cuteness. So what did that leave? I wasn’t the brightest bulb in the lamp, had been called flaky more times than I could count, apparently needed my friends to dress me (see? not the brightest bulb), and for the last few years hadn’t been able to hold down a job for more than a few months (PSI excluded – maybe).

I was an ordinary girl dealing with extraordinary things. That’s all.

"Belle. I’m talking to you."

"It’s a nice day," I said, hoping Sherridan wouldn’t notice the change of subjects and the fact that I hadn’t responded to her I’m going statement.

She mopped at her cheeks and neck with her free hand as she unlocked the door. "Nice day, my ass.

It’s hot as hell. Thank God for air-conditioning."

We sailed inside, and a cool breeze instantly caressed me. In the living room, Sherridan stopped, faced me and crossed her arms over her chest, clearly prepared for battle. "Don’t think I failed to realize you avoided responding to my vow to go with you. It’s Colorado, for God’s sake. Nothing bad happens there."