Page 51 of Sizzle

He hangs up and I’m left standing there, staring at my phone again.

Are they…?

Nope. No. Not possible. Not even within the realm of possibly possible. I shake my head and hurry back inside, because it’s too damn cold to linger outside tonight.

Elliot’s waiting for me when I step back inside the bar.

“Everything okay?” he asks. “For a minute there I thought maybe you’d headed home after all.”

I can see the strain in his eyes now that I’m standing next to him. I give him a small smile.

“Just checking in,” I say.

“Oh,” he says, visibly relieved.

The crowd is gearing up, like they usually do at this hour on Friday nights. I love it that I know what ‘usually’ looks like around here now. It pains me to think Elliot may have to give this up. He’s watching me carefully. And he’s changed clothes, which means it’s time.

“Are you ready to go?” I ask.

He nods.

“Then let’s get out of here.” I wave goodbye to Meg and a couple of the other waitresses on our way out, taking high fives from the customers as we make our way to the door. By the time we get outside, I’m laughing again.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” Elliot says. I turn to look, and he’s glaring back at the closing door.

“What?”

“I shouldn’t have made you leave with me like that,” he says, scrubbing a hand over his hair. “They’re probably already talking about us.”

I shrug, the gin and tonics from earlier warming my blood and fading my own worry.

“Don’t sweat it, boss,” I say, looping my arm through his as we walk through the brightly lit parking lot. “If anything, they’re just jealous.”

Elliot chokes on his laugh.

“You think so.”

“I surely do,” I drawl.

“Just how many of those gin and tonics did you drink?” Elliot asks, guiding me to his car and opening the passenger door for me.

“Not as many as they wanted me to,” I say, sliding into my seat with only a little less grace than usual. I hear Elliot’s muffled laugh again. I wait until he’s fastened his seatbelt to finish my thought. “And not too many for whatever you have in mind.”

He goes still, so still I think he must have stopped breathing. I dip my head to catch his gaze.

“Take me home, Elliot,” I tell him. I’m not proud of the tremor in my voice but I don’t hide it from him either. I’m not hiding anything from him anymore. “Let’s go find Alex.”

16

Elliot

Joelle’s looking me square in the eye, and it’s all I can do to fumble my key into the ignition. Whatever blood was left in my brain has headed south.

It shouldn’t turn me on so much. Should it? The notion that we’re on our way to find my roommate, my old friend, to talk about this… thing between us. A three-way relationship? Is that what it is?

I get hung up on the three-way part for a minute and have to stomp on the brake to avoid running a red light.

“Sorry,” I mutter.

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