Page 48 of Bullet
“You’re a chef,” I said. “Also, I know you’re still seeing her, she’s probably there right now.”
“Noooo,” a woman’s voice called from the background.
“Exactly,” I said. “Also, I swear that wasn’t my intention. Can we do it Sunday? Let’s do it Sunday.”
“Sunday, really?” Cameron responded. “LikethisSunday? Not next Christmas?”
“No, Dad, not next Christmas. This upcoming Sunday. The next one on your calendar.”
“Okay. Really, you’ll come?”
Cooking wasn’t the most exciting idea to me in the world, so I popped some toast in the toaster. “Yeah, I’ll come.”
“Okay,” Cameron replied in a soft voice that made me even sadder, because quiet though it was, it was filled to the brim with excitement. “I’m looking forward to it. Marisha is, too.”
“Me, too. Really. I’m sorry that it took this long.”
“It’s fine.” His tone was completely back to normal. “I had a bet going with Marisha that it wouldn’t be until December, so you owe me the dinner I now have to buy her.”
“Please don’t bet on my character flaws with your girlfriend,” I said, and Cameron fell out laughing. “I’m going to go tend to my hangover now. I love you.”
“I love you, too, kid. See ya Sunday.”
“Yep.”
The call ended, and even though I was relieved that I’d finally made the arrangements, I was also nervous. I’d never met a partner of Cameron’s before and I didn’t know his type. He was intentional about not dating, or at least not bringing women home, when I was still there, so I had no idea what his type was. He’d shown me a picture of her, but that was all I had to base it off of. It was less about the fact that she was a woman and more about the fact that she was dating someone who was so important to me. She had a hard, uphill climb to earn my acceptance. As far as I was concerned, Cameron was no different from myactualfather, and my father deserved the best.
With that behind me, I decided that I should probably get dressed and head to the bar for the day. Even though being around liquor made my stomach twist, there was still work to be done, and even if there wasn’t, I didn’t have much else to do for the day. I ate my toast, downed a whole cup of coffee before pouring an additional one in a travel mug to bring with me, gave the cats a little bit of love and then left.
As expected, Nick and Seth were already at the club when I arrived, but Avery was also there again for another early morning. Nick and Seth were just heading to the back for a conversation about the expansion when I arrived, so I let them go in the interest of talking to Avery about this unique change in behavior.
“Hey,” he said as I walked in.
“Hi.” Unlike the other day when he was there early, just not doing much of anything and waiting for Seneca to show up, he had a few papers in front of him and was reading them over and making notes. One of the pages was a map with some highlighted routes, so I guessed he was expanding the drug runs. “So, are you just an early riser now, or…?”
He chuckled, looking back down at his paper. “Something like that.”
“Is it Seneca?” I asked.
He looked up at me. “Can’t a man just want to start actually putting in some real effort at work?”
“Sure, but you were doing that just fine in the afternoon hours. This is the second time in a week that I’ve seen you here as the sun’s still coming up. I was your college roommate, remember? I used to have to leash and drag you to any classes that took place before noon. So, if it isn’t Seneca, what is it?”
“I don’t know, I think your hard-working attitude is rubbing off on me. You’re running around, working on the expansion, fraternizing with the prospects, and still somehow dating. Call me jealous,” he replied.
“Dating?” I said. “I am, but what doesthathave to do withthis? Unless this is a little bit about Seneca?” He didn’t respond, but just shrugged and went back to working. “I guess I’m a little offended. I thought I was your best friend. Expected you’d want to talk to me about her if you were into her.”
Avery set his pen down and looked up at me like he was about to conduct a job interview. “Okay, Harry,” he said. “What do you want to know?”
“I’m not asking for intimate details or anything. I just want to know if you like her.”
“Yes, okay? Yes, I like her.” His tone was dull and even, as if he was annoyed by that fact.
“Why do you say it like that? She’s pretty cool, at least I think so. She killed the bike race, and yesterday after you left, I pissed some guy off bumping into him and she kicked his ass and made sure I got home. She’s obviously beautiful, but she also seems really nice and smart, plus she’s a biker chick. I mean, you being into her isn’t a big shock nor a bad idea.”
“She is cool. I think she’ll become a member for sure down the road, so she’ll be hanging around, I just don’t necessarily know that it’s a good idea to date her, that’s all. I’ve talked to her a little bit, flirted, but I get the sense that it would be a bad idea, that’s it.”
I didn’t exactly know what his hesitation was. Sure, Seneca had mentioned to me that getting into relationships wasn’t really her thing, but it also just felt like she hadn’t found someone of substance yet. Seneca and Avery seemed like they would be a perfect match to me, plus they clearly liked each other, so I couldn’t quite put my finger on why they wouldn’t just go for it.
