Page 8 of A Lucky Shot

A broad smile spread across the face of the tall woman with teal hair. “That is a fantastic idea. You two should have fun with that. Jill and I would love to join you but we were just saying we wanted to go back to the hotel for a SpongeBob marathon, weren’t we?”

Hotel? Friends from out of town? Or were they all? One more reason to make sure he spent time with her tonight.

“We are?” The friend named Jill blinked at her. “What about Cass?”

Ah. Fun Size had a name.

“Cass probably wants to see another thriller and you don’t look like you’re up for another one,” the friend replied, and Jill quailed.

Well, Oblivion wasn’t for everyone.

“Ted Lasso looks more your speed right now,” Cass suggested, giving her friends a side eye that Josh read as yes I want to talk to this guy and would you please stop cockblocking me?

Tall and teal nodded, tugging at her friend’s arm. “Plus, you have a race in the morning. Don’t you need to eat pasta or something?”

If he could have given her a high-five, he would have.

“Oh. Oh! Right! Pasta and SpongeBob! My favourites,” Jill said, adding under her breath as the tall one dragged her away, “Turn on Find My Friends. Text me every hour.”

This friend deserved a high-five, too. Partly for watching out for her friend’s safety, partly for getting out of the way and letting said friend get laid. Hopefully.

Jill let the third friend pull her away, tossing glances over her shoulder and a thumbs up for good measure.

“Yes, mom,” Cass called after them, and turned back to him. “One of my friends worked sound design on a dark comedy starting in half an hour. I’ve heard it’s completely miserable. Interested?”

He let his gaze wander over her body. “Extremely interested. I’m Josh, by the way.”

“I’m Cass … and you already know that.” She tilted her head up to smile at him, and he felt that foreign tug in his torso again.

Yeah. This was exactly what he wanted tonight. “Let’s laugh at people’s misery.”

A dollop of mayo squirted from the end of her hot dog and splattered the sidewalk an inch from her sneaker. The flat overcast sky did its best to grey the city, but the last of the cherry blossoms blushed a pink haze along every sidewalk and clogged the gutters. In the time they had entered and exited the film, the rain had tapered to a mizzle. Cass huddled next to him under the awning of a high-end clothing boutique with their half-eaten hot dogs in hand.

“I didn’t like it.” She pursed her lips in thought. “I need to tell Karl—he’s the sound designer—I couldn’t hear any dialogue over the street noise. That’s not like him. Great premise and the actors were perfect deadpan, but the marketing push and what was on the screen were a complete mismatch. All comedy, no dark, no resolution.”

“Disagree. I thought the ending was brilliant, but yeah, not enough misery to earn the dark. And you’re right on the sound.” It might as well have been filmed through a tin can. Not her friend’s fault, though. That theatre had shit speakers. “So, what do you do?”

“I—” Cass’s words died as a bus splashed a petal-saturated wave inches from her foot. Josh grabbed her waist, pulling her back at the last second.

“Careful, now,” he said, voice rustling the tendrils of hair by her ear. His hand splayed over her belly and down the curve of her hip. “Wouldn’t want you to get all wet.”

“I’m okay getting wet,” she said, then stammered, “I just mean, my hotel is close, and I could get changed if I needed to.”

So, she was from out of town, too. Disappointing, but one night with her would be better than nothing. Not to mention less complicated than adding someone to his rotation. And if he made her a little nervous, fine. She was cute as hell when she was nervous.

Her tongue darted out to the corner of her mouth and nodded down at his shirt. “So, are you a fan?” she squeaked out.

He glanced down at the tee he picked up at the concert his sister dragged him to when they’d been visiting family in Australia a decade ago. They’d gotten so high he’d made out with a stranger right beside his sister, who’d been too mesmerized by the light show to notice. While he never remembered to get the name of the concert hookup, he remembered every second of the show, and had seen him live half a dozen times since.

“I vibe,” he said noncommittally. “You?”

“Yes, but not deep into the catalogue. I just know just a little of his last album, but I prefer his second. Some of the older stuff is a little psychedelic for me, and did you hear he’s coming to Canada next year?” She stopped, cutting herself short with an awkward smile. “Sorry, I’m rambling,” she blurted out. “Um, what do you do?”

“Hit on beautiful women outside of movie theatres.” He swiped his thumb over her lip, clearing a small smear of mustard. A musical laugh erupted from her throat and warmth flooded his extremities. He had the sudden urge to be the funniest man in the city.

“That is a fantastic line,” she said when her laughter had subsided. “Does it work for you a lot?”

First time he tried it, but he filed it away for future reference. “How long are you in town?” he asked instead.

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