Page 18 of The Associate

“Well, I needed it today.” Aggie sat on one of the stone ledges bordering the steps and crossed her legs. She arched her bare, raised foot and fanned out her toes. “My wallet app was acting up earlier today,” she said, holding up her phone. “Good thing I had that ten to pay for my latte.”

Gio rounded his car, stopping at the foot of the steps. “You’re welcome.” After a beat, he asked, “Your pop in?”

Aggie pointed with her chin down the street. “He took my brothers to the Wing Hut to get their dinner. He and Mom are going out tonight.”

Gio took that as a good sign. If Aldo had romantic plans with Gloria, maybe he wasn’t so hung up on Lonnegan’s business. All in good time, he supposed. “I take it you have plans that don’t involve fried chicken.”

“No, I’m staying in. Julia, too. I’m helping her edit a video,” she said. “We’re boycotting Wing Hut because of their discriminatory practices. Did you know they donate to anti-LGBTQ causes?”

“I did not.” The extent of Gio’s activism involved not voting for bigoted assholes, but kudos to Aggie for paying attention to these things. “I’ll be sure to take my business elsewhere.”

Aggie tilted her head, her gaze locked on him as though reaching for his soul. “Your friend came by about an hour ago. I think he asked where you were.”

“Yeah?” She wasn’t talking about Conor, but funny how he came to Gio’s mind above anyone else. Not a good thing, despite his attraction to the man. God help them both if Aldo learned the true nature of their acquaintance.

“The guy you brought over for dinner. Vic.” Aggie snorted and shook her head. “He’s nosy. Kept asking Julia about her girls’ night. When she told him to fuck off, he askedmeout. Can you believe that?”

Gio could. Vic’s determination to move up in the pecking order matched Gio’s, but when it came to putting on a professional front, he lacked finesse. He’d seen no message from Vic on his dying phone, and assumed it wasn’t urgent. “Sorry about that, I’ll see that he behaves.”

“Cool. Are you seeing anybody now, Gio?” she asked.

Gio fixed his expression, trying for a poker face. Again, his thoughts drifted to Conor and the possibility of a hookup after Lonnegan’s closed. “Nobody serious.” It wasn’t a lie. He and Conor made no promises, though Gio wasn’t interested in other men.

“I was thinking, if you’re ever in a situation where you need a plus-one,” Aggie said, “I’m happy to help you out.”

“Because I gave you ten bucks one time?” Gio meant it as a jest.

Aggie’s face was a mask of sincerity. “Because you seem like a stand-up guy, Gio. More so than some of the randos coming here to see Pop,” she said.

Unease curled strong again in Gio’s gut.What does this kid know?Aggie’s offer smacked of volunteering to beard for him. Gio liked to think he well hid his attraction to men, but perhaps he’d underestimated her perception. The girl had proved herself whip-smart and outspoken at dinner the other night, so he should have known.

“Nice of you to offer, Aggie,” he said. “I think your pop might be uncomfortable with the age gap, though.”

“I’m nineteen in February, Gio. Julia turns twenty next weekend. You won’t go to jail.” Aggie then snickered. “Not forthat, anyway.”

Gio blinked. He wasn’t as attuned to his capo’s family dynamic as he thought. He wouldn’t dare use the wordjailbaitfor Aggie, but damn, she looked young. After a polite “I’ll keep it in mind,” he beelined for his car and pulled from the curb at the first break in traffic. His pulsed race the entire drive home, thinking not only of how Aggie perceived him, but whether or not she’d share her thoughts with her old man.

Incompetence and/or negligence—whatever applied to his failures today—Aldo might forgive. If the family discovered he was gay…

Gio swore under his breath and drove until he found a free parking spot near his building. He congratulated himself for not keeping any evidence of his sexuality out in the open for Vic to find. No matchbooks from JT’s, no rainbow-logoed swag. In retrospect, it wasn’t smart to allow Vic to crash in his apartment, but if the guy had snooped through his personals he’d been careful to leave no traces of his presence. The granny square throw crumpled on one end of the couch led Gio to assume Vic used his couch to catch up on sleep.

Kicking off his shoes, he lay across the cushions and pulled the colorful throw up to his chin. He ached from his impromptu shift at Lonnegan’s. He wasn’t used to serving drinks, and his head hurt as much as his feet from memorizing orders and suffering multiple loud conversations in a small space. If Conor intended to manage the pub, he ought to look into improving the acoustics.

If Conor kept Lonnegan’s open, it meant trouble for him. Gio, too, unless he could convince Conor to take the deal.

* * * *

Conor looked up from clearing off a pair of damp coasters and noticed the dark sky. When did that happen? He checked his watch. Ten-forty, almost time for last call. “Incredible,” he said aloud.

“What is, Con?” asked one of the patrons at the bar, a friend of his father’s.

Oh, nothing much,he thought. It was incredible that he’d spent nearly eleven straight hours on his feet, serving drinks and reacquainting himself with the microcosm that was Lonnegan’s. Her regulars had grayed a bit, those who’d kept their hair, and some had gained or lost weight, married or divorced, retired or moved up various ladders in their fields. It was incredible that he’d come within twenty minutes of closing without screwing up a drink order or a credit card transaction.

He felt fantastic, despite managing only a few bites of a granola bar over the course of the day. He had energy to burn, and it showed in the bounce of every step along the bar as he cashed out his customers.

“I made it the whole night with my sanity intact,” he said, smiling as he handed the older gentleman his check to sign.

The old man’s hand trembled a bit as he raised the pen. “It’s because you belong here,” he said, and scribbled a ragged signature at the bottom of the slip. “You tell your da we’re all praying for him.”

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