“And you’ll never find a guy who’ll do you the way I do. You’ll be so unsatisfied in bed unless you’re fantasizing about me. I hope you’re ready for that.”

“I guess I’ll just have to suffer about that.”

“And suffer you will.” Mitch leaned across the table a bit. “But not yet.”

Sissy smiled. “I, uh, put something in your pocket when we were coming into the restaurant.”

“You did?” Mitch was usually pretty good about knowing when someone was putting something in or taking it out of his pocket. One of his favorite aunts was a notorious pickpocket, and she’d taught him a few things. But Sissy would have done her proud. Because when he grabbed the sports jacket he’d tossed onto the seat beside him and dug into the pocket, he found a black lace thong buried inside.

“When did you take these off?”

“When the aunts were arguing over the shoes.”

Mitch shoved the thong back into his pocket and started to slide out of the booth. “Time to go.”

“No. No, Mitchell Shaw.” Sissy’s smile was cruel and wicked at the same time. “You promised me a date, and a date I shall have.”

“Oh, come on!”

She pointed at the part of the booth where he’d been sitting. “You just put your butt back there, mister. So we can finish our date all properlike.”

With a heartfelt sigh, Mitch slid back across from her. “Can I at least sniff your thong?”

“Only when you’re in the bathroom. Don’t want anyone to think we’re tacky now, do we?”

Sissy rested back in that lovely booth, her feet in Mitch’s lap under the table. Their meal long since finished, they talked, and Mitch rubbed her feet, paying special attention to her instep.

“Okay, so what were you like when you were fourteen?”

Sissy laughed. “Fourteen? Why did you pull that number out of your ass?”

“I didn’t. It’s the one age you never discuss. You’ve discussed up to you turning thirteen when you said you woke up one day and boom, there were breasts. And when you were fifteen and started building cars. So what are you leaving out? What was Sissy Mae Smith like at fourteen?”

“I was mean, Mitch. I was really mean.”

“You sound like you regret it.”

“No.” And she realized she wasn’t lying. “I don’t regret it. I regret some of the things I did, but that’s not to say I wouldn’t have done them again if the situation called for it.”

“Words of a true Alpha.”

“Yeah. I guess. But it’s hard to grow up a Smith and not be a little bit…”

“Unstable?”

Sissy scowled. “I was going to say a little bit mean.”

“Yeah, but Smitty isn’t mean.”

“Bobby Ray has selective memory. He may be nice when it suits him,but Lord help you if you cross that boy.”

“I try not to. I need the job until I testify.”

“I remember once back when we were at the mall and this bear, a big ol’ buck, grabbed Jessie Ann’s ass. Now we weren’t hanging together, but we were at the bookstore checking out the car magazines at the same time, and Jessie Ann was in the geek section—”

“And that’s the rest of the bookstore, I’m guessing.”

“Cute. Anyway, she did one of her ineffectual wild slaps, but I was surprised because Bobby Ray didn’t say anything. Up to this point, he was constantly protecting her. Found out he and the Reed boys waited for that bear outside the bowling alley a week later. Beat the shit out of him. He was big, too, so I think two-by-fours were used, but don’t quote me on that.”

“You knew then, didn’t you?”

“Knew what?”

“That Smitty and Jessie Ann were—”

“Made for each other? Yeah, I knew. I was surprised he left for the Navy without her. Hell, I was surprised he hadn’t gotten her pregnant by then. If nothing else, they’ll have cute kids. They’ll be insane hybrids with large heads, but cute.” That made Mitch laugh.

“What about you?” she asked. “What were you like at fourteen?”

Mitch thought about it a minute and answered honestly. “Horny.”

“You’re horny now.”

“I was hornier then.”

“That is truly scary.”

“Thank Christ I was the only male cub in the house at the time. I had my own room. I jerked off constantly.”

Sissy laughed. “Thank you for that little detail.”

“You asked me a question. I was trying to be as forthcoming as possible.”

“Did you get in a lot of fights?”

He snorted. “I was six-two by the time I was thirteen. Only the seniors tried to fuck with me, but they stopped after they met Brendon.” He grinned. “The first time he met me, I had a black eye, and he lost his mind. I told him who did it because I didn’t think he really cared. He beat the fuck out of that guy. In Philly, that’s a definite sign of caring.”

“So how come you didn’t trust him? How come you gave him such a hard time?”

“Because I was fourteen. And Marissa. Now she was mean.”

“You know now, though, right? How much they love you?”

“You’re not letting that go, are you?”

“Because you need to know. Look, I know Travis could care less if I lived or died. Same thing with Jackie. Donnie could go either way. But it’s knowing that Bobby Ray and Sammy love me and would protect me that makes up for the others. You need to know how much they love you. ’Cause let me tell you, coming down here is not one of Brendon’s favorite things.”