Perky by Julia Kent

Author:Julia Kent [Kent, Julia]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Published: 2019-07-29T18:30:00+00:00

10

My finger shakes as Fiona drives, but I do it anyhow.

I unblock Parker Campbell's number on my phone.

I close my eyes.

I wait.

And... nothing.

Five years of blocking him has led me to imagine his texts as a pile of pent-up words all pressing against a wall I built, the pressure enormous, the sentiments pressed together like sediment to form immovable rock.

“What are you doing?” Fiona asks as we walk into Beanerino, on our way to some cottage in Westford where Fi says underground magnetic lines converge to create a clarity point that allows our healer to do her work.

“Refueling. I can't believe I let myself run out of my espresso at home.”

“Not that! I know why we're here. But I just saw you on your phone with your eyes closed, pecking.”

“I unblocked Parker.”

A flat grimace is all I get, making the sparkle in her eyes dull, like I've unplugged her. “Oh. You're really going forward with this?”

“Forward with what? The double date he wants to have with Mal and Will?” I pretend not to pick up on her judgmental eye roll.

“You know what I'm talking about.”

“My plan makes sense. It balances the energy. Isn't that what karma is all about?”

“You have a perverted view of energy.”

“I have a perverted view of everything, so how is that any different?”

“Because you're talking about ruining an elected congressman's life.”

“It's only ruined if he actually sleeps with me and I get it on video.”

“Listen to yourself! Your amygdala terrifies me.”

“You can't see it! Or even touch it! How can it terrify you?” I scoff. “And quit using Mallory science words.” I wave her away like she's a gnat.

A myrrh-scented gnat.

“Your amygdala is a demented playground where bad ideas go to run themselves into the ground, unrestrained, exhausting their energy by running in erratic patterns until they wind down and finally collapse.”

“That's what my mind does every night when I climb into bed. It's how I fall asleep.”

“See? Terrifying.”

“And also, you're getting the amygdala completely wrong. That's not how it functions,” I reply, really sounding more and more like Mal every day.

Ugh.

“What's terrifying?” Raul asks as he starts up the espresso machine, knowing our orders by heart.

“The dark underworld of Perky's mind.”

He shudders. “Oh, girl. You need a talisman? A sage stick?” he asks Fiona with a wink.

Her face splits with a huge grin, the dimmer switch inside her suddenly turned so far to the right, it's like Raul is her own personal nuclear reactor.

“Her third chakra is stuck. Won't move at all.”

I hip check her. “I am seeking justice.”

“You're turning it into revenge. That's not going to work well for you.”

“Since when did you become the judgmental friend? That's Mallory's job.”

Raul watches us, caramel eyes flecked with gold, the dark outer ring of his iris a boundary made stronger by his narrowed gaze. “You two are weirder than usual.”

“I'll take that as a compliment,” I inform him as he pours cream into Fiona's macchiato.

“Perky's out for revenge.”

“Against who?”

I slice my finger across my neck. “Shhhh.”

One of Raul's thick eyebrows goes up.

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