Page 64 of Third Time Lucky

He looks at me curiously.

‘I don’t care what happened in our past, all I know is that I amreallyinto Lucy. So, she’ll probably meet someone better in mere months. That’s how my life seems to go. But, until then, I think I want to know where this goes.’

‘Or, maybe you’re the someone better. I’ve met one of her exes; you’re definitely more of a man than that guy.’

I suck in a breath, wanting to be hopeful, but my heart is holding back. ‘That scares the hell out of me too.’

‘So you are afraid of her?’ he remarks. ‘I thought you were afraid of nothing – remember the time you yelled that at me?’

‘We were in the Shanghai tunnels with a tour guide who’d wandered off and left us in a room that felt like it was breathing down my neck. Either I said I wasn’t scared out loud, or I ran out of there like a fucking girl.’

He laughs – exactly like he did that night. Never again will I go on a haunted tour. I walked in a skeptic and walked out feeling like I’d been touched by the other side and desperately needed a shower.

‘So, basically, you’re scared of each other?’ He shakes his head. ‘You two make shit complicated. Look at her,’ he says, motioning her way. ‘She’s like five-two or five-three and weighs maybe a buck twenty. The girl’s fine as fuck, pretty as hell, rich to boot, and laughs at all your lame jokes. Seems pretty harmless to me.’

‘She’sharmless,’ I reply with a sigh, wondering how someone can suddenly be afraid of their feelings. ‘But she has this affect on me that I just don’t understand – and there is no translation book.’

‘Your heart needs subtitles?’

‘Around her, yes.’

‘That’s weird, man.’

I shoot him a glare. ‘Better than my heart needing an STD test…’

He rolls his eyes.

‘By the way, before you drink yourself into oblivion this evening, we’ve got a delivery at the restaurant tomorrow and I expect you there before ten.’

‘Shit, I didn’t know my boss was coming tonight.’

I glare.

‘That sucks. But you know I’ll be there.’

‘Good.’

‘We off the clock yet?’ he asks.

‘Sure.’

‘Man, my boss,’ he says leaning into me. ‘Guys a fucking slave driver.’

I wanna smack him, but out of the corner of my eye, I see Lucy move, and she’s all that exists. She glides effortlessly through the crowd, drawing people in with her infectious energy and radiant smile. I gravitate toward her, unable to resist her magnetic pull on me.

‘Hey there,’ she greets me warmly, bouncing with the beat in our heads, her eyes sparkling with mischief. ‘Got you a refill.’ She hands me a new drink.

‘Thanks, I was parched,’ I lie, sipping the fruity beverage through the straw. I remember why I drink whisky – these cocktails are dangerous.

‘Do you think they’ll crown a queen and king, like prom?’ she asks as we hang out against the cool brick wall, watching dozens of strangers and our friends dance the night away.

‘That would be a fun incentive for this place. Who will earn the title of Lord of the Dance? Definitely not me.’

We both laugh.

‘I am glad you were crowned queen back then. You deserved it.’

‘It was a pity win,’ she says, a twinge of disappointment in her tone.

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