章節 2: Chapter Two – For Some Reason, I Like Blonds
Chapter Two – For Some Reason, I Like Blonds
Jett would wreck his brain later about where the heck he'd seen April Summer before today because, right now, there were more pressing matters to deal with. Like making a list with all the girlfriends he had about …
"Hey," he called for April who was struggling with the baby's car seat and trying to follow him inside the house. "How old is this kid?"
"Seriously?" April threw him a look that told Jett, in a nutshell, what the dweeb thought of him.
"Give me a ballpark," Jett said and gestured with the hand holding his phone.
"That's not exactly how this works," April replied. "I don't know. I'd say that he's about one year old … -ish? Ah, look. It says on his onesie. Yeah, this was a gift for his first birthday."
"Hmm," Jett scratched his short beard in thought. He was just growing it and believed it made him look interesting. "So sometime, about two years ago, I fucked his mom and knocked her up."
April stared at him in disbelief. "Don't speak like that in front of the baby! He understands more than you think!"
"Really? I thought babies only knew how to drool and poop or something like that."
The look in April's big eyes was speaking volumes.
"All right, all right, sorry I said 'fuck'. Do you want to set up a bowl and make me throw pennies in it each time I curse?"
April took a look around, the car seat and the baby still in his arms. "Man, your place is like a fucking pigsty. So do you agree that Jay is your kid?"
"There's a possibility. I'm a philosopher by calling," Jett said with a grin. "I don't reject any possibilities right out."
"Possibilities that involve getting your girlfriend pregnant? I'm pretty sure philosophers don't have the kind of problems you have."
Jett grinned again. "Just leave the kid somewhere."
From his car seat, Jay was examining everything with curious eyes. He looked pretty mature for a one-year-old, Jett thought with pride. Well, maybe the kid wasn't even his, and he was getting ahead of himself. He still needed to put his mind to work and remember who the hell he was banging on the regular two years ago.
"I can't just leave him somewhere. He's not luggage, you know?"
For a guy who was about to sell his kidney only half an hour ago, April had a mouth on him.
"Well, find a place. You and I need to talk finances."
After some deliberation, April set the car seat gently on the floor, on a patch relatively free of haphazardly thrown objects, and took the baby out of it. Jay seemed pleased with being released from the confines of his car seat and grabbed April's longish curls with enthusiasm.
"He's such a good-natured kid," April praised him and adjusted Jay's position in his arms so that the baby could sit comfortably.
"He's going to rip the hair off your head," Jett warned.
"No, he's not," April said back, and pronounced the words while looking at Jay and imitating the cooing of babies.
Jett shrugged. "If you wanna go bald, don't let me stop you. Are you bringing him to our small business meeting?"
"Yeah, I am," April replied promptly. "There will be a bunch of stuff you should buy. Like a carrier, a crib, diapers, toys --"
"Hey, hey, maybe he won't be here that long," Jett said and put one hand up.
"What are you paying me for, then? And I need to set you guys up well so that I can go back to my place tonight. It might take a while to put things in order."
"Do you like your kneecaps where they are in your general anatomy?" Jett stopped April. "And you're not going back tonight. I need to go places. You stay here, with Jay."
"Did I sign myself up for slavery?"
"Hey, dude, five grand is five grand. You want the money or not?"
Jett never forgot a face. It was stupid, given the circs, that he was willing to throw that kind of money out the window. But the dweeb was good with kids, by what he could see, and that was worth avoiding complications.
Nah, that wasn't it. Or wasn't the full story. He wanted to remember where he'd seen April. There was a particular weird sensation he had when looking at those green eyes, augmented by the glasses. While those seemed prescription glasses, they kinda looked good on the guy.
They were making him … how was that word one of his girlfriends used when seeing something she liked? Ah, adorable. Well, usually, Jett wouldn't say or even think stuff like that about another dude, but April Summer was as unique and peculiar as his name was.
So, the usual rules couldn't apply to him. Plus, what the hell was with that ass? If Jett hadn't – almost – seen the guy's pecker, he would have doubts whether the dweeb was a dude or a gal.
Whatever. He needed to stop thinking of April's ass, no matter how round and perky. Seriously, that kind of ass made him want to slap it. Playfully, lovingly, but slap it, nonetheless. He could bet those big green eyes would stare at him like their owner was majorly pissed off, which he seemed to be most of the time.
April had followed him to the kitchen, which, surprisingly, was the cleaner part of his house. He had done so without a word, at least not one addressed to him, as April was taken to conversing with the baby, for some reason. All the kid did was to coo like a bird back to him.
"Write it all down. How much you need to pay back?"
April adjusted Jay in his arms and sat on a chair. Then, with his left, he began scribbling down fast on the paper Jett had handed to him. "Here," he said quickly and pushed the paper back to him.
"4,876.40 dollars," Jett recited out loud. "You calculated that on the spot, just like that?"
"Well, when there are kneecaps and kidneys involved, one cannot help but become proficient at math," April said promptly like that was some kind of logical explanation.
"If you're so smart, how come you borrow money from the wrong people?" Jett questioned.
"Call it a lapse of judgment," April said. "Also, a complete lack of options."
"Is that crypto shit really worse losing a limb over it?" Jett questioned.
April's eyes lit up, and Jett knew he made a mistake. A cascade of words from which Jett could only catch a few, like 'digital asset', 'ledger', 'blockchain', came pouring out of the dweeb's mouth.
"Just stop, or I'll get the urge to kill myself," Jett said and got to his feet.
He went into his bedroom for the money. There was a current stash he used for the usual stuff. Some could say he was crazy to leave that kind of cash lying around and up for grabs, but that wasn't where Jett banked. Also, if anyone ever had a death sentence and stole from him, at least Jett knew his real money wasn't in danger.
Pocketing five grand, he walked back to the kitchen, where he found April explaining to Jay the name of various objects around. Damn, that looked almost domestic, that if Jett ever thought about living with someone and also allow that someone to be another dude.
He shook his head. With the wad of cash, he smacked April over the head not too hard, but not too soft, either.
April jumped from the chair and gave him a murderous look. Well, the dweeb was kinda jumpy. For some reason, Jett found it pretty amusing. "I'm going to pay up what you own, dweeb."
"All right," April agreed. "Are you sure you're not going to come back for my kidney one day?"
"Take care of Jay. Don't fuck up, and we're set."
"Wait. You really need to grab some diapers and baby formula for Jay on your way back."
"The fuck do I know about that stuff?" Jett bristled. "You buy it."
"I can't. As you can see, my hands are full," April said and raised Jay a little. "Oh, fuck, I don't think I like the look on his face."
"What? What's wrong?" Jett asked, alarmed.
They both waited, their ears pricked, and then a sound like a deflating balloon refusing to go quietly into the night interrupted the silence.
"Dude, what the fuck?" Jett began waving his arms in front of him frantically.
"Phew, it was just a fart," April said, looking pretty much relieved.
"Just a fart?" Jett hurried to the window and opened it wide. "This is fucking chemical warfare!"
"Language! There are babies present!"
"Fuck that, dude! This kid is going to kill us all!"
"Let's not exaggerate … Oh, God, that does smell awful!"
Jett turned to notice with satisfaction how April's face was contorting like crumpled paper, and the dweeb was holding Jay a bit away from him. No wonder there, the little punk was giggling.
"Jett, I'm sorry, man, but you will have to go for a ride to grab diapers and food for Jay, first. Get some blankies, too. Also, some clothes --"
"Give me your damned phone," Jett said and opened his palm.
April half-turned and made a gesture with his chin for his pocket. Jett sighed and took the phone. Then he entered his number and called his phone.
"Now, you can send me texts like a normal human being. What the fuck? Do you think I can remember all that by heart?"
"All right. But go and bring the supplies we need first."
"Before paying your debt? Those are not patient people."
April waved. "They can wait. Priorities, man," he added and lifted Jay higher, making the baby giggle again.
"All right," Jett said, feeling more and more exasperated.
He would find Jay's mom and shove her kid right back into her arms. Then he would grab April Summer, stare into his big green eyes, and stare, and stare until he remembered where he knew him from.
***
April felt like cursing the moment Jett was out the door. Why the hell he had agreed to that? Was he really supposed to sleep under the same roof with Jett? How long would it take until he remembered? Then Jett would not only be royally pissed, but he would regret paying his debt and …
And who knew what else he would do? There were more than seven years since they last saw each other, and, while it had not been many days without April thinking of Jett, at least in passing, he definitely hoped Jett had long forgotten him.
Especially since Jett had turned into a frigging gorilla and was beating people up to shake them for money. Not that April hadn't realized from the very first moment what a huge mistake he had made when borrowing money from the wrong people.
Well, he had thought that the investment would be put to good use and soon, he would have enough money to pay back for the rig, and even something left to buy an even bigger rig.
Now he had a bigger problem on his hands. On their way to Jett's place, April had managed to google quickly on his phone about what babies needed and whatnot, which had definitely helped to make him look knowledgeable enough.
Good thing Jett looked like he knew jack shit about what babies needed. April took out his phone, and with dexterity, he managed to use just one hand to operate it, while he balanced Jay carefully on the other arm and hip.
He needed a crash course on raising babies, and he needed it fast. So he began to swallow pages and pages, without time to digest them properly. At least, those exercises in speed reading served a different purpose, too.
It helped him keep his mind distracted from the many dangerous scenarios it would have liked to create about Jett discovering who April was. Back then, April had used a different name because he was deeply ashamed by it and his parents' propensity to embarrass him, apparently, from birth. Jett should not be able to put together that boy he knew seven years ago, with how April looked like today.
April knew he had had a bit of a hard time juxtaposing this twenty-year-old Jett with the memory from that long ago time. After all, at thirteen, Jett had had a different hairstyle and definitely no trace of a beard.
The caramel eyes were the same, even down to the minutest glint of mischief in them, just as April remembered them. He had changed a lot, too. At least now he no longer rummaged through his sister's hair dye supply to make himself blond because he thought it made him look tougher for some reason.
And his glasses were a bit more stylish than the horrible grandpa eyewear he had been forced to use during that time. April wasn't entirely sure that was enough to keep him safe from Jett recognizing him, but their friendship had been short-lived. Plus, he could bet he had made less of a lasting impression on Jett than Jett on him. Or, at least, that was what he hoped.
His life was complicated enough as it was.
"Much easier to leave it to others to worry, right, Jay?" April asked, rocking the baby gently on his knees.
He couldn't let Jay without supervision so that he could investigate Jett's house. What he had seen of it already worried him. Jett was a total slob. He probably ate only takeout. Lucky him, he could afford it. April survived on ramen, rice, and potatoes most days.
Was it worth checking the fridge? April held little hope, but dared, nonetheless. He sighed as he looked inside. Only beer. Great. He didn't drink so a beer on an empty stomach before lunch and after no breakfast at all wasn't a good idea.
He smacked his forehead. Busy as he was with ingesting information on babies, he forgot that Jay was supposedly old enough to eat more than just formula. He began typing on his phone fast, to tell Jett to get some baby foods, too. When Jett typed back 'what kind?', April looked for a second at Jay. "If only you could tell us what you want, buddy," he said with affection.
He had spent some time with his sister's twins, but he was by no means an expert. April hoped Jett would find the baby's mother fast. What could have made her leave her baby with Jett all of a sudden? Apparently, Jett had no idea about who the mother could be, or he didn't know at the moment.
Probably April would have to perform some hypnosis on Jett to extract that valuable information. By how things looked around, the guy was pretty loose, not only with what home cleaning meant but with his morals, too — having a kid without knowing about it?
Maybe if they had grown up together, Jett would have turned differently. April shook his head. That was some lack of modesty on his part. Like he could have an influence on Jett of any kind. Or on his own fate, as it had been.
His train of thought was interrupted by Jett entering the house. April watched as Jett unloaded on the table a bunch of stuff. There were diapers for a small army of babies, at least five types of baby food, bottles, and many other packages.
"Is this enough?"
April just nodded slowly. Okay, so maybe Jett didn't quite believe Jay was his son, but his heart was in the right place. As he looked at Jett, in the way the guy frowned in thought, most probably wondering if he forgot something, April thought he caught a glimpse of that boy from a long time ago. The one who was fearless and generous, the one April had considered his only real friend at one point in their lives.
"It should be. Where should I set camp with Jay?"
Jett gestured around. "Choose a room."
April cocked his head to one side. "I might pick your bedroom by accident."
"Then take the one up the stairs to the right. It's the closest to the bathroom."
"Good. Then I'll see to feeding and changing Jay."
He definitely hoped he looked confident enough while saying those things. Again, it was a good thing Jett was completely oblivious to whatever caring for a baby entailed. April was afraid he would screw up, but it looked like, for the moment, he and Jay only had each other to depend on.
"I'm off to settling your debt to the Z brothers," Jett said.
"Sure. I mean, thanks," April said, realizing that he hadn't said anything about how grateful he was for that.
It was like Jett, the one April knew, to help a stranger in need, no matter how he looked at things. He was lost in thought and didn't notice when Jett came close and stared at him.
"Hey, personal space or something?" he said since he was with his back to the refrigerator and couldn't take a step back. At least, the baby was between them, so Jett couldn't suddenly decide to give him a piece of his mind.
"You're so damned familiar, but I can't place you."
"Dude, I told you. I haven't seen you in my life before this morning. I might have a common face."
"Nah, that's not it. Is your sister called Melinda?"
"No. Who's Melinda?"
"One of my exes."
"Man, you didn't just say that you thought you fucked my sister."
"No f-words in front of the kid," Jett said with the smirk.
"Oh, yeah, sorry," April said quickly. "Don't you have someplace to be?"
Jett was too close. April could smell the lingering scent of cigarette and leather from his jacket. Usually, he couldn��t stand tobacco smell, but, in this case, he just found it …
A package fell from the table.
Jett moved away. April cleared his throat and pretended to be engrossed in examining the many items Jett had brought.
"Be here when I come back, or you'll have a bigger issue than the Z brothers. I'm much meaner than them."
"And where could I go? This little fellow needs me." April pointed at the baby in his arms who was already exhausted from all the ruckus.
"I just thought you needed a little bit of friendly warning."
"There was nothing friendly in that warning, just for the record."
Jett smirked and winked at him. April looked away and grabbed a pack of diapers. Luckily for him, Jett didn't choose to tease him anymore and walked away to see about his business.
***
Jett couldn't remember when it had been the last time he thought of a guy as 'cute'. Well, it had been that time when he was thirteen and got his neck tattoo. Completely illegal, and dangerous, but he had had the money and the knowledge of where to go to get it. He touched the ink as his mind traveled back in time.
Theo, he recalled. That guy had been a total freak but in a good way. The funniest friend Jett had ever had that summer. That, until Jett had blown it, and Theo had left without leaving a trace behind when his parents came to take him home, wherever that home was. April reminded of him a little. But just a little. Theo's eyes were green, too, and large behind what must have been the most horrible glasses Jett had ever seen.
That must have been why he found April so familiar. That was all. Many dudes had green eyes like that.
Yeah, but Jett didn't usually think of them as 'cute'. April Summer was cute, and Jett needed to stop thinking of that, like ten minutes ago. He needed to pay back the Z brothers, and conclude April's business with them so that the dweeb could focus on taking care of the baby.
***
"Did he pay?" The oldest Zabinski brother, Henry, was petting his fat cat with an equally fat hand.
Both were white, so Jett had to squint to see where the hand stopped, and the cat began.
"Yeah. Here is all," Jett placed the money on the table.
The other Zabinski brother, Peter, or the thin one, as Jett differentiated them in his head, counted it, and then pulled Jett's commission from it.
That was how they worked. Jett never took his commission out of the money he brought. That had earned him some respect from the two shark loans. Without saying a word, he took the money and pocketed it swiftly.
"I swear I thought he wouldn't be able to pull it through."
"What would you have done to him if he hadn't paid?" Jett asked in a casual tone.
His ears pricked, despite his nonchalance.
"Someone we know needs something hacked. Rumor has it Summer's good at that. Maybe we'll need you to grab him for us, anyway," Peter said.
Jett snorted. "That hippy dude, a hacker?"
Now that was the kind of turn of events he didn't like at all. So the Z brothers wanted just to trap April.
"Yeah. So they say. We don't know about stuff like that," Henry replied. "But if he gets the job done, we get a lot of cash."
"It looked like he wanted to skip town. He might be away by now."
Henry stopped caressing his cat. "Well, then you'll have to find him and bring him to us in case we get contacted again by our client."
"He paid you back in full, interest and all," Jett insisted while being fully aware that he risked raising suspicions by talking too much.
"And? What's for you?" Peter asked, and his curious eyes were taking him in, like for the first time.
"Nothing. I just don't think the dude stuck around after I paid him a visit. He was shaking in his shoes."
"We don't care if he's a coward. You'll find him."
"I have other engagements," Jett said quickly.
"No problem, then. We'll give the job to someone else," Peter said.
Jett thought for a second. ��You know what? I'll keep an eye on his apartment, see if something moves. And, when you give me the call, I'll go pick him up if he's still there. When will your client call?"
"He didn't say. Important guy. We don't need Summer right now. If he's out of town, track him. There will be enough in it for you."
"And if your client doesn't call?"
"He will. That's not your problem."
"Okay."
Jett knew not to overstay his welcome. The Z brothers were not known for blowing kneecaps, as April imagined, but they were far from tame. In other words, April could get in trouble, and Jett could end up having to care for the baby on his own, which was definitely not an option.
So, in the meantime, he needed to keep April away from his own crib. Jett just hoped the dweeb wouldn't be so stupid as to go back there, without telling him.
On the other hand, Jett thought, if he told April the Z brothers didn't want his kidneys, but his brain, maybe he would freak out and run away. Jett didn't need that. So April wouldn't hear from him about what kind of job the Z brothers had him lined up for.
He would have to make a stop on his way home. April would need a bit of a disguise, and Jett just needed to think up some lie.
***
Jett stared at the big patch of orange color on the kitchen wall and tapped one finger against his lips. It was true that his place was an absolute mess, but that stain was new.
He shrugged and went upstairs. April jumped – no wonder there – when he entered the room without knocking. He looked like he had been through a fight for his life, a fight with a giant carrot, or something like that. Also, he looked like he lost the said battle. April even had small bits of food in his hair, and murder written all over his cute face.
"What's going on?" Jett asked cheerfully.
"Your kid is a fiend, and I'm not surprised. He tortured me, and now he sleeps like an angel. Look at him." April was whispering, clearly in no mood to wake up the sleeping baby.
It looked like Jay enjoyed his seat that doubled as a bed, and he was completely undisturbed about the adults fussing around him.
Jett laughed wholeheartedly. "That's my boy."
"You're certain now he's yours," April said and crossed his arms over his chest. "And be a little quieter. It was a pain to get him to sleep."
"He's a likely candidate," Jett said with a shrug. "Now here's something I got for you."
"Is it food? I'm starving."
April caught deftly the package Jett threw at him. His face seemed to drain of color. "What the fuck is this?"
"Don't say 'fuck'," Jett warned and grinned.
"It's hair dye! Why?"
Jett shrugged. "For some reason, I like blonds."
TBC
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