Page 25 of Winning You
Frankie swallowed heavily. “It’s fine.” His voice came out low and husky from the tension in his throat.
The guy softened. “I’m not actually ordering anything. I’m coming around, babe. I really do need your first aid kit.”
Frankie’s heart sank down to his toes. He wondered if he could disguise his voice well enough that Lucas wouldn’t be able to tell it was him. Then again, why would he care? It wasn’t like he knew Frankie was developing a wildly inappropriate crush.
“Hey. How can I help you?” Lucas asked.
Frankie cleared his throat. “I saw you parked here, and I was kind of hoping for another PB and J.”
Lucas’s eyes began to blink a little faster. “Francisco?”
“Oh god, please call me Frankie. Only my mother ever called me by that name, and she’s…we don’t…it’s a thing.”
“Right. I remember,” Lucas said. “Frankie. I totally have bread and peanut butter. I even have jelly and a grill.”
He couldn’t help his smile, even as he saw the other guy’s head bobbing around the truck as he searched the cabinets. “It’s in the far right one,” he called.
The guy opened it. “Oh shit. How the fuck do you know that? Dude, is there something you’re not telling me?”
“He’s the health inspector,” Lucas said flatly.
The guy appeared in the window, his eyes narrowed. “Wait. You’re the asshole who said Lucas couldn’t do his job properly because he was blind? Are you fucking serious right now? How do you sleep at night?”
“Gage,” Lucas groaned. “Please don’t.”
“No. Fuck this guy,” Gage said, pointing at Frankie.
He felt like shit all over again. “I didn’t say he couldn’t do his job. I…I said his labels were wrong and some other things I deeply regret. But if you didn’t already know, I did come back and gave him a fair assessment. And I really am sorry.”
Gage glanced at Lucas, who stood up a little straighter. “I told you it was fine last night when you were wine-drunk on my couch.”
“I don’t remember things when I’m wine-drunk,” Gage said. “You know this.”
Frankie felt…odd. Uncomfortable and jealous because those two were obviously wildly close and probably deeply in love, and that was not a life he was ever going to live. “Look, I can just head to the café across the street. I don’t want to disturb your afternoon date.”
“Uh, whoa, wait,” Lucas said as Gage leaned over him.
“We’re not dating.”
“Yeah. We kissed once. It was weird,” Lucas finished for him. “I mean, I did have a crush on him, and he kind of broke my heart?—”
“You seriously don’t need to tell the evil health inspector my deep, dark, terrible secrets,” Gage said.
Frankie hesitated. How were these two not in love?
“Anyway,” Lucas said quickly, “he’s my best friend, and he basically lives up my ass because he can’t function properlyunless he’s annoying someone, and that someone is usually me. I love him for it, but we are notinlove. Trust me. That would basically be incest.”
“I’m Gage,” the guy said, sticking his hand out the window. Frankie took it and tried not to wince when Gage squeezed. Hard. “Fuck with him again and I’ll kill you. I work for the fire department, and my dad is the chief. I know all the good places to hide bodies. All. Of. Them.”
Frankie cleared his throat loudly. “Sounds terrifying. I will do my best.”
Lucas shoved Gage back. “Will you please go dress your war wounds and leave my non-paying customers alone?”
“I’m going to pay,” Frankie defended.
Lucas scoffed. “Not today, you’re not. Not until you get meat on your bones.”
Frankie wanted to tell him that he couldn’t possibly know how much meat was on his bones. He ate like garbage, but he wasn’t malnourished. But maybe he meant it like a metaphor because he was a sad sack of shit when it came to taking care of himself.
