Page 11 of Outside the Lines
The conversation shifted and for a little while, Simon and Lydia talked shop—literally—and I got a small glimpse into running a comics store. Same pain points as any other business. Overhead. Margins. Scheduling. In some respect, I was glad for my paycheck. There were plusses to not being your own boss too.
When the tab for dinner finally came, I grabbed it, over both their protests. “Hey, you guys are doing me a huge favor. Least I can do.”
After I got my card back, we left and fell into an awkward silence on the street.
“Um,” Lydia said. “I need to head back to the shop.”
“I’m parked there,” I replied. “So I’m heading that way.”
Simon gave one of his little shrug-and-smile deals. “I’ll follow.”
But which one of us was he following?
As it turned out, we walked in a row, with me in the middle. Nothing at all symbolic about that. My confusion raced back.
Married. Hot.Shit.
When we got to the shop, Lydia paused by the door. “Do you mind hugs?”
“Love ’em.” Nice of her to ask, though.
She folded her arms around me. “Great meeting you, Ian.”
I patted her on the back and enjoyed the warmth before we broke apart. I didn’t get a lot of physical contact from anyone, to be honest. Hugs from friends? I liked those.
Of course, this meant Ihadslotted Lydia into friend already. I laughed at myself. Only I would end up liking the wife of the guy whose bones I wanted to jump. Speaking of which . . . Simon looked at me and raised a brow, the question pretty obvious. So, I hugged him too.
Hugging the guy you want to fuck while he was off-limits? That’s damn good as well. And maybe I lingered a little longer than I should have. Been a little harder than appropriate. Or maybe he did and was too.Shit.
Simon gave out a small sigh and let go. “See you tomorrow.”
“I’ll probably be here about eight thirty, if that’s okay?”
Lydia nodded. “Come around to the back of the building and ring the bell. I’ll let you in.”
“I’ll be in around nine thirty,” Simon said. “I’m working the morning shift, but I can help when there’s a lull.”
“Or I can take over, and you can have him for the day.” Lydia smoothed a hand down Simon’s arm. “Let’s see how much of this job I get finished.”
I nodded because it seemed the best idea. “Tomorrow, then.”
We said our goodbyes, and I climbed into my Mini. Simon’s joke came back to me, and I chuckled, but sobered quickly.
He’d been so damn flirty. They were so damn married.
On the drive back to my apartment outside town, I ran the whole day through my head. I had no idea what to feel at all.
I followed Lydia into the store. I’d biked over from our house, so I had to grab my wheels to get home, and I wanted to make sure everything was fine with Ian’s set. Most of our customers knew not to touch what was on the tables in the model area. But still.
Plus, I’d caught the look in Lydia’s eyes. She wanted a conversation.
Jesse had taken over from Dexy, and he nodded. “Boss-people.”
Lydia rounded the counter and gave him a playful bump with her hip. “We’ve got names, you know.”
Jesse grunted, but his smile said everything. This was an old,oldroutine. He focused on me. “You heading out?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Been here since opening. Gonna be here to open tomorrow.” I tried not to work too many shifts in a row. That shit could burn you out.
