Page 77 of Walking Wounded

“You’re kinda drunk, aren’t you?”

“Yep.”

“Tara.” Hal leans in. “This guy Dex, is he–”

“Down, boy.” She rolls her eyes. “Dex is fine. Andyou’regonna keep quiet about him. Youpromised.”

“You promised,” Luke echoes, squeezing Hal’s shoulder.

Hal sighs and lifts his hands in a helpless gesture. “Fine. Sure. I promised. Just…”

“Yeah. Uh-huh.” Tara pats him on top of the head – quite the reach – and then leaves them, no doubt to look for Dex.

Luke feels the weight of Hal’s glare and turns to him slowly, playing with the straw in his drink. He’s expecting one accusation, and gets another.

“You already met him?” he asks, indignant. “You knew she was dating this…this…”

“Dumbass douchebag?”

“Yes!”

Luke bites back a laugh, giddy that it wasn’t the boyfriend comment that angered him, quelling that thought with the knowledge that, yes, Dexisa douchebag.

“She’s not my kid,” he says, holding up a placating hand when Hal starts to protest. “And she trusted me with her secret. That’s important. I told you, I’m not going to betray her to her parents.”

Hal makes an unhappy noise that carries over the music.

“It’s a phase,” Luke says. “She isn’t gonna attach herself to someone like him in the long run. She’s smarter than that.”

“Yeah, but what if she gets pregnant? What if she’s that committed to going against her folks?” Hal wipes a hand down his face.

“When did you get to be such an old man?” Luke asks with a laugh.

Hal shakes his head.

“Hey.” Luke sneaks in even closer, so they’re pressed together, shoulder to hip. “She’s okay.”

“I know,” Hal grumbles. “But I feel…”

“Guilty?”

“Yeah.”

“Give it a minutes. It’ll pass.”

Hal elbows him and he laughs.

“Seriously, though,” Luke says. “You know this isn’t gonna last. She’ll drop his ass. Sooner rather than later, I’m guessing. She’s not a stupid kid. Or a bad one.”

“Iknowthat.”

“Have a little faith, then.”

Hal drains his drink in one long gulp, his mouth shiny afterward in a way Luke doesn’t want to think about. “Want a refill?”

“Why not.”

~*~

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