CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Draven walked out the door of the gas station just down from Lizz’s house and sipped on his coffee. Maybe stopping for coffee and donuts after running wasn’t the most healthy of options, but he wasn’t going to worry about it. This morning, he needed the sugar fix. He spotted a man dressed in jeans and a t-shirt filling gas into a large pick-up and smiled. “Yo, Dude, that you?”
The man at the pumps turned around and waved. “Hey, what the hell are you doing here?” Dude smirked. “And didn’t we just have that conversation but in a different corner of the world?” He hooked the gas pump back into the machine. “Are you following me, Kilkenny?”
“Nah, bro, my sister lives a couple of blocks from here. Me and Indy got back last night. The girls went to work, so I came out for breakfast.” He held up the sack of donuts. “It’s gas station coffee, but I was hungry after my run.”
“Same.” Dude eyed the bag of donuts. “You driving?”
“Nah, I don’t have a car, and Lizz took hers with her. I walked.”
“If you hang on a sec, I’ll drop you off on my way to Wolf’s,” Dude offered. “I just gotta run in and pay. Car’s open.”
“Thanks. I’ll take you up on that.” He balanced the takeaway cup and the donuts in one hand and opened the car door. His butt has barely hit the seat with his phone buzzed in his pocket. He was tempted to leave it and to pretend he hadn’t heard it. It vibrated again, multiple times.
What if it’s Indy?
He pulled the phone out and placed it on the dash, wincing when he saw the notifications lighting up the screen.
Lizz: I didn’t know our momma raised an idiot.
Lizz: WHY HAVEN’T U TAKEN HER ON A DATE?
Lizz: You are an idiot.
Lizz: TAKE HER ON A DATE, DUMMY!!!!!
Lizz: Don’t make me beat you because you’re being an idiot.
Lizz: I’m booking you two dinner!!!
The driver’s door opened and Dude got into the car. “Are you gonna answer that?”
“I’m still deciding on that.”
Dude placed a bag of donuts onto the seat behind him. “Why are you still deciding? Is it work? Because Nemesis doesn’t strike me as the type of man who likes to take no for an answer.” Dude grinned at him. “Kinda like Command. They don’t want you to ask how high when they say jump, they just want you to jump.”
“Truth.” He handed the phone to Dude and munched on a donut. “Sorry, I should have asked if it was okay to eat in here.”
“You’re fine.” Dude took the phone.
“Read the screen, but don’t open a message or she’ll see I’ve read them.”
“Hah.” Dude took the lid off his coffee and sipped. “You haven’t taken your woman on a date? Are you crazy?”
“We got back last night,” Draven replied. “There hasn’t been time for dates.”
“Better hurry up.” Dude nodded at the phone. “It sounds like a hurricane is gonna take over and you’ll be shit outta of luck to make that first date special.” He sipped his coffee. “Assuming you want it to be special, that is.”
“Of course, I do.”
“Better get to planning, man.” Dude smirked at him. “Unless you are planning on bringing her to Aces.”
“No.” Draven glared at the phone. “I like Aces, but it’s not first date stuff. At least not what I’m going for.”
“Agreed.” Dude handed him back his phone, then drove forward and out of the parking lot. “Where’s your sister’s place?”
“Oak Tree Apartments on Copper and Fifth.”
“I know where it is.” Dude turned right out of the gas station. “Sooo, first date planning, huh?”
“Yeah.” Draven handed Dude a donut from his stash. “Indy insisted she didn’t want Lizz to know about us yet…”
“Why?”
“Beats me.”
His phone pinged again, and he scowled at it when he caught a glimpse of the sender’s name. “That’s Lizz again. Jeez.” He was ignoring her for now. “We’re in building two. That okay?”
“Sure.” Dude turned into the apartment complex. “Tell your sister to back off, man. What you and Indy have reminds me kinda of the guys and their women. It may happen fast, but once it does, it’s a done deal.”
“Yeah. I thought that, too,” he told Dude. “Until Indy said to keep schtum.”
“Make the first date epic.” Dude pulled to a stop in front of the apartment block. “We’ll be at Aces Bar and Grill tomorrow evening though, if you want to stop in and introduce her to everyone. If she lives here, it might be helpful to have some women friends who knows what it’s like to be the one waiting at home.”
“I appreciate that.” He hadn’t considered that fact for Indy. She was used to being the one in the field with the CIA. Being the one at home when he went out with Nemesis was going to be a change for her. A big change. “Thanks for the ride, man. I appreciate it.”
“No worries.”
He got out of the car and closed the door behind him. “If the guys and their women don’t object, and Indy agrees, we’ll meet you at Aces tomorrow.”
“Awesome, text me and lemme know.”
“I will.” He stepped onto the grass and waved at Dude before turning back to the apartment building. He’d had a brainwave for what he could do for their date… Now he just needed to put his plan into place. He let himself in and dropped the donuts and coffee on the counter before opening his phone.
Draven: Don’t you dare plan our first date. I already have it planned. Send Indy home at lunch time.
Lizz: I’m mad with you.
Draven: Mad enough to send Indy home at lunch time?
He opened the freezer and grabbed a package of chicken, then put it on the counter to defrost, and went back to the freezer to search for the lemonade mix Lizz usually had on hand.
Lizz: Fine.
Hah, his sister was cranky with him, but thankfully didn’t appear to be annoyed that her brother was taking her best friend on a date. He’d take it.
Lizz: If you hurt her, I’ll neuter you without a second thought. I don’t need nieces and nephews unless they are Indy’s kids.
He winced and cupped his balls. There was nothing like the threat of neutering for a man to go looking for a safe place to hunker down. But Lizz had lost her mind if she thought he was going to hurt Indy.
Draven: If I hurt her, I’ll lay still for you to do it. I’ll even buy you a plate to serve my balls up to her on.
Lizz: Good, then we understand each other.
“She’s a piece of work, but Momma would be pissed if I make her disappear.” Grumbling to himself, he went about making the marinade he needed for the chicken. He placed the chicken in a Ziploc baggie and put it in the fridge. He’d cook it later, but for now he needed to do some research. “Perfect first date, coming right up.”