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“Why... we here?”
Her words slur in the cutest way as I carry her bride style into my bedroom. Setting her down on the mattress, she flops backward and giggles to herself. It wasn’t until I got her in the truck that I realized how drunk she was. There was no way I was going to leave her at her house in this condition. “How many martinis did you have?”
“I had sixteen olives... and two cherries.”
“You had four martinis? Fuck Harper, no wonder you are so trashed. Wait, what were the cherries?”
“I’m not trash. My momma always said I was cute.” Her lower lip juts out in an adorable pout. Now I know where Silas gets it from. Stripping her down to her underwear, I lift her arms up so I can pull one of my old T-shirts over her body.
Pain medication and a bottle of water later, I tuck her in to sleep it off. Turning to find my way to the couch, she grasps my hand and tugs me close to her, murmuring incoherently.
*
The early morning sun peeks through my living room window. It would have woken me up if I wasn’t already awake and in pain. The couch is too small for anyone over five feet tall, and my knees and neck are paying the toll. I should have just crawled into bed next to her, but I needed the distance for her sake and mine.
The living room’s wood floor creaks under my feet as my make I way into the kitchen. I am going to need a fresh pot of coffee if I am going to make it through the day after a sleepless night. And Harper is going to need something to wake her from the dead.
The coffee machine chimes alerting me it has finished brewing when I hear my bedroom door open. A shuffling sound echoes down the hall before I see Harper emerge, wrapped head to toe in my blanket, and only her squinting eyes peeking out. Honey dances around her feet, hoping to get a few scratches.
“Why is it so damn bright in here?” Not one to let Honey down, she pokes out a hand and scratches behind her ears.
“It’s called daytime. Perhaps you have heard of it,” I say, passing her a cup of coffee and some pain medication. She leans against the counter, savoring the coffee and slowly waking up.
“Why am I here?”
“You don’t remember?”
“The last thing I remember was us talking about vacations.” She pinches the bridge of her nose. “How many drinks did I have?”
“I’m not sure, but it sounds like you ate an entire jar of olives.”
* * *
Mable’s has been a staple in this town for over forty years. Whether you are new to town or just driving through, I guarantee you will stop. A fifties style diner. It’s a shiny red blast from the past that you can’t pass up the opportunity to get a home cooked meal.
Today, the diner is busy as ever, but Aubrey and I snag our regular booth just before the lunch crowd arrives. I order a roast beef sandwich but when it arrives all I can picture is Beefcake walking back from his tryst in the bathroom and winking at me. I shudder and shake off the greasy feeling it gives me.
Bastard ruined roast beef.
“Well?” Aubrey presses, wanting to know more about speed dating.
“Well, what?”
“How did it go?”
I tell her everything about the evening. Well, everything I can remember. Podcast, Beefcake, and Beefcake’s tryst.
“Then you and Jack got out of there?” she says with a smirk on her face.
“Yeah. The night was a bust.”
“I’m sorry that you didn’t find anyone to come together with.” She snickers at her own joke.
“Anything else for you, ladies? The last slice of pumpkin is begging to be eaten,” Mable says as she tops up my coffee.
“I’d love a slice of pumpkin pie, Mable,” I say, pushing my lunch aside. Maybe I’ll take the sandwich to go. Jack can have it, or Honey. Seems like a waste otherwise.
“And you, my dear?” she asks Aubrey.
“Nothing for me, Mable. But thank you.”
Mable turns around and snakes her way around the booths and tables, topping up everyone’s coffee and chatting about the weather. She stops at a booth in the back corner and takes their order. When she leaves the table, I recognize one customer. With his head lowered, he quickly checks his phone before glancing up to say something to a friend. Leaning back, he scans the restaurant, stopping when he catches me watching him. Chris smiles at me, his face lighting up, before he is pulled back into the conversation at his table.
I try to refocus on Aubrey, but my gaze keeps drifting towards Chris, our eyes meeting a few more times before Mable startles me when she sets my dessert plate on the table.
“There you go, Harper, and for you Aubrey.” Mable places a slice of Oreo cheesecake in front of her.
“This must be someone else’s, Mable. I didn’t order any dessert.” Aubrey protests as a text notification comes from the seat next to her.
“Why don’t you check that message?” Mable waits patiently with a loving smile.
Pulling her phone out of her bag, Aubrey skims the message and a smile instantly spreads across her face. “Thank you, Mable.”
“You’re welcome, my dear. And I know it isn’t my place, but you got a good one on your hands.”
“Oh, I know.”
Taking the first bite of pie, I point my fork toward Aubrey. “What was that all about?”
“Why don’t you tell me what all that is about?” She throws her thumb over her shoulder toward the booth where Chris is sitting. Not missing my distraction from earlier.
“It’s nothing.” I shake my head. “Now spill.”
Aubrey blushes as she puts her phone away and starts eating her cheesecake. “Wolf ordered this for me.”
“He did?” I look around the diner, but Wolf is nowhere to be found. “Where is he? Why would he do that?”
“Oreos are my favorite,” Aubrey says with a shrug.
Things begin to click in my head, making connections where there were none before. “Wait, Oreos are your favorite? How long has Wolf known that?”
“He’s known for years.”
“Years?”
Aubrey gives me a look. “There is a lot we need to talk about, and it is going to take longer than our lunch hour.”
I check my phone, noting that we only have another fifteen minutes before we need to be back at the office. “Sounds like it and I’m going to hold you to that.” Tucking my phone away, I take another bite of the pie. “Wait, are you the reason we always have Oreos at the office now?”
Aubrey’s face gets redder by the second and a grin crosses her face. “Yes, ma’am.”