Page 35 of The Fallacy of True Love
“By the way, I agree with Nix. You should give him a shot.”
I gaped at him. “First of all, he didn’t ask for one. Second, he and his girlfriend broke up two days ago.”
“Oh.” He grinned like a loon. “You’ve bonded.”
“No!”
“Look who I found!” Nikki’s voice suddenly chimed in.
Whirling around, I gawked at the sight of her with Alonzo right beside her.
“I caught him checking out the shops,” she continued, ignoring my warning stare. “Apparently, he’s taking the last bus to Manila and since he’s already checked out, he doesn’t have a place to stay until then. So I invited him to join us!”
I really should have a talk with Nikki about not extending invitations to other people.
“Hey, guys.” Alonzo smiled at us, unaffected by the glower I transferred to him.
Eric stood and extended his hand toward Alonzo. “I’m Eric. Good to meet you.”
“Lonzo,” he said as he shook Eric’s hand. “And likewise. Do you mind if I crash your night?”
“Of course not,” Eric answered as I said, “Yes.”
My eyes snapped to Eric’s, wordlessly threatening him.
He shrugged. “You heard her. He doesn’t have any company.”
Traitor. Not for the first time, I wished my glare had the power to burn through skin like a laser. “Fine. I need to work anyway.” I pushed off my seat, only to have Alonzo stand in my way.
“Don’t let me ruin your night. I’ll just sit at the bar and enjoy the vibe.” He nodded at Eric and Nikki. “Thanks for the invite.”
“No, stay,” Nikki protested, silently urging me to change my mind.
That wasn’t going to happen.
“Maybe next time.” Alonzo turned to leave, but Nikki spoke up again.
“Hold on, let me get your number. In case you’re in town again, or we plan a trip to Manila,” she explained as she passed her phone to him. “You promised my daughter a tour, and she never forgets a promise.”
“Sure.” His thumb quickly moved across the screen, and he handed the phone back to Nikki. “Hit me up when you’re in the city.”
Our gazes met. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t give him the satisfaction of thinking I had a reason to hide.
“Have a good night, you guys.”
With that, he left, drawing appreciative stares from other patrons as he headed to the bar.
“Cam!” Nikki chided me as she took the stool next to mine. “You couldn’t let him stay even for one drink?”
“Then how would you two interrogate me about him?” I said.
“He’s leaving soon. You’ll have time to talk about him after that.” Eric’s reasonable tone had me itching to shake him.
“Me?”
“I meant you two.”
Nikki huffed. “Don’t pretend you’re not curious too.” Facing me, she said, “I know he was all chill and smiley just now, but when I saw him outside? The guy looked lost.”
