Page 25 of Dark Love

Find him.

Give him the cookies.

Get out of here.

Your jammies and a book are waiting.

His table is in the corner, set back from everything else. It can’t be too hard to find—Found it! Only it’s empty.

What do I do now?

Stupid.

Stupid.

Did you really expect him to just be there on a random Friday night because he was there the last one?

What do I do now?

Standing in the doorway blocking the flow of traffic isn’t an option.

People wander over to the bar all the time. Maybe one of the bartenders can help me find Vex. They seem to be way nicer than the bouncers around here.

What if another creep shows up like the last time?

Doubtful. That was a one-off. It’ll never happen. You’ll walk up, order a drink, wait for Vex to show up, give him the cookies, and then go home.

That’s a plan. A logical, reasonable plan. I walk over to the bar. And just like the last time, people make room for me without me even needing to ask.

Odd. That’s so very odd. Since they don’t do it for anyone else.

Just like the last time, people never stop moving behind the bar. It’s like a choreographed dance that never ends.

“Hey, you’re back.” The blonde bartender from last week walks up. “You here with friends again?”

“No.” Should I ask her? “I… Um… Came here to see Vex.”

“You did?” Her body stops moving, something that’s not happened for a second back there.

“Yeah… I… Um… Brought him cookies.”

“You brought Vex cookies.” Her eyes widen.

“Yeah. Do you…um…know when he’ll be here?”

She shrugs. “Sorry. I don’t.”

This is going oh so well. Stupidest idea ever. “Um, do you think I could get something to drink? A soda or something.”

“Sure. Would you like it fancy?”

“Why not.” At least something will go well today.

“Be right back with it.” And she’s back to dancing.

How long am I going to wait for him to maybe show up? A single drink. When it’s gone, I’ll leave. Until then, I’ll people-watch and pretend my head isn’t throbbing.

The book is nixed and so is dinner. Straight into bed for me with twenty thousand aspirin.

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