CRYPTO: Infidelity (Book 1)

CHAPTER 24: BIRDIE

I stepped inside. It was very spacious with high ceilings, but what caught my attention was Birdie sitting at the far end of the room playing the piano. She was also singing to the tune. She had the voice of an angel that seemed to reverberate off the walls.

I walked closer to her. She was so lost in the song that she didn't seem to notice me standing close to her. When she finished, she turned her head and saw me.

"Crypto!" She stood up with a big smile on her face.

Normally, whenever she saw me, she would give me a kiss on the cheek, something I hadn't seen her do to anyone else, but this time, I beat her to it.

Birdie giggled.

"Do I smell something burning?" Rockie said.

Birdie gasped. "The bacon!" She ran into the kitchen.

"Don't get any ideas," Rockie told me.

"I'm not," I assured him.

"Everyone, relax! The bacon's not burnt!" Birdie called from the kitchen.

"What a relief!" Rockie said back to her. "Dinner was almost ruined!" He walked into the kitchen so I followed.

"I know how you guys are about your bacon," Birdie said.

"What are you making?" I asked.

"I don't know. I'm just following the recipe," she said. "It's some kind of chicken pasta."

"Should be interesting how it turns out," Rockie commented.

"Are you questioning my cooking skills?" Birdie asked him. "'Cause according to this apron, I'm the world's best chef."

"Didn't know that was the only requirement," Rockie said.

"Just you wait. This is going to be the best meal you've ever had in your life!" She flung some sauce off the spoon she was holding. "Oops! Don't worry. I'll clean that up."

Rockie gave me a sideways look. "Maybe we should leave her to do her... art."

"Good idea," his girlfriend said. "It should be ready in about 20 minutes."

"Come on. I'll show you around," Rockie told me.

I followed him out of the kitchen. "Sorry for the wait. I told her she should start dinner sooner since this is her first time using that recipe, but she insisted that she was competent enough to get it done in time."

"That's fine. I don't mind waiting," I said.

Rockie showed me around his house. I was impressed with how big and clean it was.

"It's not hard to keep it clean when you don't have kids or pets," he said. "Although Birdie can be pretty messy at times."

"How did you and Birdie meet anyway?" I asked.

"At the casino of course," he said. "She approached us one day and asked to join our game."

"Just like that?"

"Yep. She's always been the friendly type, always down for a party."

"Does she know... about-"

"The Family? Yeah. She figured it out pretty quickly after she moved in. She's a sly one."

"How did she take it?"

"Not well. There was a lot of crying, but she got over it once I told her I'd share half my earnings with her."

"Oh, I see. So she's a gold digger."

"Pretty much, but I still love her."

"I can see that."

"Dinner's ready!" Birdie called.