Page 21 of Books and Hookups

“No. I’m sure it’s me. A few things have tasted funny to me lately. Maybe I’m coming down with something.”

Her pale cheeks and shadowed eyes said she was probably right.

“Order up!” Norm called.

I fetched her burger from the pass-through and placed it in front of her, along with a bottle of ketchup and the salt and pepper shakers. Then I poured her a tall glass of water. Maybe she was dehydrated. She was probably too busy worrying about vulnerable people like kidnapped migrants and unhoused people to take care of herself like she should.

When I glanced back at her, her mouth was full, and her eyes were closed in satisfaction. She moaned happily, chewed, and swallowed. “Guess I was hungry.”

“Did you eat lunch today?”

Shoving a fry into her mouth, she screwed up her face. “Maybe? I think I had a cup of yogurt at some point.”

I growled deep in my throat. “You need to take better care of yourself.”

Her tired eyes flashed. “I’m a grown-ass woman. I know how to take care of myself.”

“Do you?” I stared at her a moment as she chewed angrily, then I headed toward the end of the bar to take care of a couple of new customers. By the time I’d finished shaking their margaritas and returned to check on Frank and Lucie, she’d polished off the burger and most of the fries. She’d drunk half the wine but hadn’t touched the water.

Clenching my jaw to keep from reminding her to hydrate, I pulled another beer and set it in front of Frank. He held it up in a toast, then buried his nose in it.

“So, what are you doing tonight?” Lucie dragged a fry through the puddle of ketchup on her plate and popped it into her mouth.

“Me?” I looked around, but Leo was off tonight, and Barb had gone to the back to work on the books.

She snorted. “Yeah, you.”

“Working. Is this a trick question?” The smartest person I knew, she was always about a mile in front of me. She’d gone to a fancy college and everything.

“I meant after work. Maybe you’d like to come up to my place?”

My lungs stopped working for a second. Every cell in my body fizzed with joy as I stared at her. But reality crashed back into me. She wanted another hookup, and I was done with that.

Three strides took me to the sink, where I plugged the drain, opened the hot water tap, and squirted dish soap into the sink. “Need a picture hung or something?” Better to give her an easy out, especially with Frank leaning in.

“No.” She fluttered her eyelashes. “I’ve got something that needs pounding, but it’s not a nail.”

“Hmm?” I stuck my hand into the sink and fished around for something to wash.

“Y’know. My vagina.”

Pain sliced into my thumb. “Shit!” I yanked my hand out of the water and grabbed a paper towel to wrap around the blood welling from my thumb.

“You okay?” She peered over the bar top at my hand.

“Yeah, I’m… Don’t say shit like that while I’m washing knives.”

“You were being deliberately obtuse. Look, I’m exhausted, and I can’t sleep. I think I’d sleep better…you know, with a partner.”

“I’ll be your partner,” Frank said, leering.

“Back off, Frank,” I snarled.

Lucie rolled her eyes. “So, Danny, you in or what?”

“What? No.” I squeezed the paper towel around my thumb.

“No?” Her plush lips curled like she was unfamiliar with the word.

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