Page 34 of Gator
“That’s what they all say,” I teased, but there wasn’t much air behind it. Because underneath the banter, something was shifting. I’d been seen plenty of times before, but this felt different. He wasn’t seeing the show. He wasseeingme. And that was terrifying in all the right ways.
“You know,” he said, softer now, “you can talk to me if it ever gets too heavy. Doesn’t have to be about what happened. Just… whatever.”
I swallowed hard and nodded, pretending to study the fries. “Careful, Harlan. Keep saying things like that and I might actually believe you’re a good guy.”
“Guess you’ll just have to stick around and find out.”
I smiled despite myself. “You buying dessert?”
“If it keeps us sitting here a little longer?” he said, eyes still on me. “Absolutely.”
A couple of hours later, we pulled into the Three Bears building. We got to the elevator and Harlan pushed the button for the eighth floor. “I have some work to do in my office. What time do you have to be at the salon tomorrow?”
“I need to be there early tomorrow, but my last cut will be done around noon. I’m expecting a product delivery tomorrow afternoon, so I didn’t schedule anyone. It can wait, though, either that or I can have Devon deal with it.”
“Okay. Well, if I don’t see you later today, either I or one of the guys will be ready to go with you in the morning.”
The door opened, and he stepped out. He turned back to look at me and started to say something, but he shook his head as the door closed behind him.
I let out a long sigh. After an entire day of him in my space watching over me, I should’ve been glad to get a break, but I wasn’t. On the contrary, after our lunch, I would have loved to spend the rest of the day with him, butc’est la vie. I guess I would just have to make do with Trixie instead.
I went into the apartment, and as soon as she saw me, she started pacing on her perch. “Ju Ju home from work. Home from work. Snip snip work work.”
“Yeah, Trix, I’m home from work. Now let’s get you out of there.”
“Free Trixie. Free Trixie.” That was one of her favorite phrases when it was time to come out of her cage, but it always made me smile.
I opened the door and stuck my hand in for her to get on. She did so, and I pulled my arm out and moved to put her on the top of the cage.
“Going up,” she announced.
“Yep, going up. Not too high today, though. This cage is shorter.”
I’d placed her cage on a table in front of the window so she would have a good view while I was gone, but that didn’t make up forthe fact that it was still way too small for her to spend much time in.
I took my food over to the couch, turned on the television, and settled in for the afternoon. After about three episodes ofThe Halloween Baking Championshiplater—which was an ironic choice because I never baked or cooked at all—I was done. My sister always said I was a workaholic, but the truth was I didn’t know what to do with myself when I wasn’t at work. I’d tried all kinds of hobbies and activities to fill my time, but what it all came back to was that I was happiest at the salon.
I knew what my friend Spencer would say. He would say I should be knitting or crocheting or whatever he did. He’d even gone so far as to take classes, which was just such a Spencer thing to do. Unlike the rest of us, we chose a hobby, bought supplies, watched a couple of videos, and called it quits, but not Spence. If he decided he was going to learn to do something, he persevered until he mastered it. He’d learned that from his dads. They were both very stubborn but successful men.
Maybe I should clear my books and head over to River Gorge. He was always trying to get me to come see him, and when I called him the other day and let him know what was going on, he’d all but insisted I come there. No. I shook my head emphatically. I was not letting these assholes run me out of town, and I refused to let them hurt my business. I’d put everything into The Shag Shack.
I could hear voices and other sounds coming from outside the door, and I was debating going out to see what was going on when there was a knock on the door.
“Nobody’s home.” Trixie squawked, and I rolled my eyes.
“Be nice, Trix. It could be Gator.”
“Heeere come the Gators!”
“Not those Gators.” I laughed and headed for the door. Trixie’s former owner had been a huge college football fan. Boomer Sooner, Fear the Frog, and Roll Tide were other common phrases she liked to say. He’d liked the idea of having a bird he could teach to use foul language and football mottos, but he hadn’t been at all prepared for what taking care of an African Grey would be like. I got it, Trixie was a lot, but the guy should’ve done his research first.
I pulled the door open to find Mika standing there. “Hey, Jules. We’re about to start a game of poker. I thought I would see if you wanted to join in.”
I peered over his shoulder to see that the common area was full of people. “Oh, wow, I had no idea there were so many people out here.”
“Yeah, this is pretty normal. Hawk is on a job, so I came down alone. The guys are super fun to hang out with. Do you play poker?” He looked so hopeful I hated to tell him that I’d never played before.
“Don’t let those innocent eyes fool you,” Maddox called over. “He’s a shark. He’s hoping you play so he can take your money.”