Strong: A Stage Dive Novella (Stage Dive #4.5)(12)

I eased out of Sam’s far too nice arms, squaring my shoulders. “Now that’s finished, we can all get on with our lives.”

Mal clicked his tongue. “Not yet. Also, Davie, what you just said by the way says a lot about you and your need to get over the stuff that went down between you and Marty way back when. Because, dude, we’re all way over it. You forgave Jimmy, you can forgive her too.”

“I really wish you wouldn’t call me that,” I mumbled.

“Wish away,” said Mal, his expression serious for once. “Now, Marty, sweetie. Listen to me carefully here for a minute. I promise I’ll buy you every damn Gucci handbag in the country if the next time someone tries to mug you, you’ll just let the bag go. Okay? You hearing me?”

“Thank you,” said Ben, still quietly stressing and doing his best to repress his anger over by the wall. I don’t think I’d ever actually seen my brother so worked up. At least, not over me. Or not for a very long time. “A handbag is not worth more than your life,” he said. “What if the guy had a knife or a gun?”

“Well,” I said, searching my mind for a suitably clever response. “He didn’t.”

“He could have. You’re lucky to be alive.”

“Ben—”

“Your brother’s right,” interrupted Sam.

I scowled some more. “I thought you were on my side.”

First, the big man tipped his chin, then his hands slowly curled into fists. “Martha, since you don’t seem to have noticed, let me point out something important to you. Even when you’ve done something so breathtakingly stupid that I couldn’t figure out what the fuck you could possibly have been thinking, I have still always been on your side.”

My mouth, it gaped.

Meanwhile, the silence in the room was deafening. Only for all of about a second, however, until Gibby pulled his thumb out of his mouth and yelled, “Fuck!”

Sam sighed. “Sorry about that, Ben. I’m going to go check on things down at the gate. Excuse me.”

Ben just nodded.

More silence. I could feel various people’s eyes boring into me. Thankfully, Adam the baby rocker quietly started strumming his guitar. A moment later, Mal joined in with a whisper soft drum beat. “That was weird.”

David grunted.

“Of course,” said Mal. “It’s always weird when unresolved sexual tension boils over like that. Still, gives me something to report back to Anne tonight. We’ll have a good gossip about y’all then give making a baby another turn or two. Maybe even three if my wife is lucky. And that girl was born lucky.”

Jimmy’s lips flattened. “I think it’s great that you’re planning on starting a family. But I can honestly live without the daily updates regarding your sex life, man.”

“But you don’t have to, Jimbo. That’s the beauty of it, I’m more than happy to share.” Mal was clearly quite capable of needling Jimmy even while he accompanied Adam’s quiet guitar playing.

Ben slid an arm around my shoulders, his eyes still full of worry. “You okay? Did you see a doctor or someone when it happened?”

“Oh, I’m fine,” I said, a little distracted. “It really is just a black eye. I put some ice on it and then loaded on the concealer. It was fine.”

“If you say so. Sorry for raising my voice.”

I shrugged. “Guess I should have told you about it.”

“You need to learn to be more of a sharer like me, Marty,” volunteered Mal. “For instance, you could tell us your plans regarding Sam. To jump his bones or not to jump him, that is the question. Whether ’tis nobler to take the bodyguard to pound town rather than to leave him pining for your hot self indefinitely.”

“I had no idea you read Shakespeare.”

“I’m cultured. I know shi…stuff,” said Mal. “Though we had all agreed after the whole you and Davie hitting the wall thing a decade ago that no one in the family should ever bump uglies again. So you’ll be breaking all the rules, you little rebel.”

No way was I responding. In fact, every muscle in my body wanted to grab Gibby and get the hell out of the room and away from this excruciating third degree into my history and, apparently, Sam’s. But for the life of me I couldn’t figure out any way of executing that plan without it looking for all the world like I was running away. Which was exactly what I wanted to do, of course.

I stood my ground and glared at everybody.

After a fair bit of head scratching, David turned his trademarked furrowed brow my way. So much brooding. “How long has that been going on exactly, you and Sam?”

“There’s no need to sound like the thought of someone actually being interested in me is so completely unbelievable, David.” My hackles were well and truly raised. Men. Such idiots. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

“Sorry,” he grumbled. “Just a surprise. Isn’t he like ten years older than you?”

“He’s forty-two. Hardly over the hill.”

“Yeah, but…he’s a really good guy.”

“Whereas I’m actual worst of the female race that humanity has to offer?”

“I didn’t say that,” he said, getting all testy. “Don’t put words into my mouth. We just all have a lot of respect for the man. No one wants to see him get hurt.”