Gypsy

Chapter 9

·Adam·

It's not like Micah to be up as early as me--unless he just doesn't go to bed the night before--but here he is, sitting at the kitchen table, waiting. I curse under my breath. His sitting here, coupled with that happy grin, does not bode well for me. No doubt he has some sort of mischief in mind directly linked to my personal life, and I can't keep myself from frowning at that thought.

"Morning, bruh," he says, far too cheerfully for my taste.

"Mornin'," I offer in curt reply. I look away from him and to the full coffee pot on the counter.

At least that's one good thing about his being up, I suppose. I cross the room for a much needed cup of caffeine, and the whole way I can feel his eyes on me. I don't know what he's up to, but maybe if I don't make any more eye contact he'll go away, kind of like a dog when you don't pay attention to it.

No such luck.

"Didn't hear you come in last night. Everything go all right yesterday?"

I glance his way and my frown deepens. I know he's referring to the girl by the slight lift of his brow and the smile he's still wearing. Christ, why can't he just drop it already? It's too early for this conversation, not that any time would be good for it. Considering his stance on the subject, I'd prefer not to talk to him at all about Gypsy. Ever.

"As a matter of fact, it didn't. I accidentally took a call from Kylie yesterday morning, and it all kind of went to shit from there."

The way his smile slips doesn't make me want to clarify that things got better after my conversation with Alex. At least, not yet. I'll eventually tell him, but right now I'm happy to use anything as a buffer.

"What did she want? I know you've been screening her calls."

I cross to the table, set my mug down, then flop into the chair across from his. I let out a long breath and then I fill him in on the conversation I'd had with my ex from hell. When I finish, I pick up my drink and take a satisfying sip.

"Man, that's messed up."

I nod my head, feeling only slightly guilty for keeping him in the dark about how it all turned out in the end. My hope is that he'll drop the rest of yesterday and leave it alone, but after only a minute of peace, he forges ahead.

"So, what happened with the girl?"

"You're relentless, aren't you?"

"I prefer the term 'focused'." He grins at me and I have to laugh.

Reluctantly, I tell him about all of that too, then wait for him to start going on again about kismet and all that other crap. To my surprise, he doesn't.

"You should start out smaller, man. Sounds to me like you freaked her out. Nobody likes a psycho."

"So I'm a psycho now?"

"You could be. At least, in her mind anyway. Think about it: you're crabby, prone to mood swings, and the only time you've talked to her you've been nothing but 'grrrr!'. Next thing she knows, you're following her around town and offering her coffee out of the blue. Yep, you have all the telltale signs of psycho written on you, my friend."