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Story: Tenderfoot

What we planned to do after that, I was a little vague on (a little, as in, I had no clue). We had no authority to detain him. But Raye and Luna had a plan, and considering Raye and Luna were a little crazy (in a good way, but still crazy), I was thinking I was glad I didn’t know what they intended to do after we caught him.
“Wait, what?” Willow said in my earpiece. “What’s Trev doing here?”
“Trev?” Raye asked.
“Trev, Kevin’s best friend,” Willow answered.
“They’re Kev and Trev?” Jessie asked while laughing.
“I know, right?” Willow said, also laughing.
“I see him because he’s incoming, Lolo. He’s heading right to you,” Luna warned.
I watched the tallish, relatively good-looking, well-dressed guy walking toward me, attention right on me, and he was smiling.
“I’m not thrilled with this,” Jessie said. “It’s obvious he’s not here to be a lookout. He’s going directly to her.”
“Keep your shit sharp, Harlow,” Raye ordered.
I fought rolling my eyes.
I loved my girls, well and truly, but just because I was girlie (okay, ultra girlie) didn’t mean I was an idiot. I mean, obviously this change in plan meant I needed to stay sharp, but honestly, with what I was doing, I would be that anyway.
Though, truth told, Raye was probably just worried about this sudden change. My crew didn’t treat me like I was a moron. I was transferring, because there were other people in my life (Hi, Mom!) who did.
But it was good advice since the guy was headed right to me like his face had been on the profile of the dude I’d been messaging for a week, when it was not.
“Missy?” he asked as he made my table.
That was the name we decided for me to use undercover. We thought it was three parts uber-girlie, and one part being a guy might underestimate a woman named Missy.
I attempted to look confused, and when his smile broadened, I figured he bought it.
“I’m Jay, Bryan’s friend.”
Yep. They were using fake names too.
“He’s going to be late, and I was in the area, so he asked me to stop by and keep you company,” Jay/Trev continued.
Ugh.
Such a lie.
What were they playing at?
I pretended to shift anxiously in my seat. “I don’t feel really comfortable with that.”
Even as I said this, he slid into the chair opposite me.
“We’ll just have a cocktail,” Jay/Trev continued. “Maybe order some oysters. I’ll clear out when Bryan shows.”
Ah.
So, since Trev was “in the area,” he thought he could tag-team this and leave me with a bill that included Trev enjoying a twenty-plus dollar cocktail and some market price oysters.
“Abort,” Raye ordered in my ear. “This is bullshit and I don’t like it. We’ll regroup at the unit and figure out next moves.”
I pushed my chair back, saying, “Bryan has a phone. He could have texted to share you were coming. This doesn’t feel right. Tell him next time he’s going to spring a stranger on me, to?—”

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