Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 43536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 218(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 218(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
Rafe saying it was only professional concern was total bullshit. I knew my friend too well for that. He might not dip his pen in the office ink, but he sure as hell didn’t act like it was the nineteenth century and avoid all the women who ever went to that gym. He closed ranks, acted like he needed to protect her. He only gave me the bare minimum of information when I asked. He never offered information freely.
The thing was, I knew he’d been seeing her for weeks. I knew because instead of coming home to shower and have a few beers after his self-defense classes twice a week, he always rolled in about three hours later than usual. I’d ask if she had come to class, and he’d say yes. They’d go to Lacy’s afterward for a bite to eat.
His face when he talked about her—it was hilarious and pathetic at the same time. What little he’d ever say was said with a serious expression like he was talking about church or the Constitution or something else extremely important.
“Does she have a key to the apartment yet?” I asked him once, and he gave me the finger.
I was just talking shit, but I was concerned for the guy. He was in deep and didn’t even know it. He hadn’t brought her around the house yet, so I hadn’t seen her, although he had finally showed me a picture on his phone. She had sent it to him from work one day, a selfie with a bakery bag and the caption, ‘wish you were here but I wouldn’t share my bagel’. He had grinned when he showed it to me, like it was something really clever and adorable. He had it bad, and I told him so.
I’d just come off a fire call, showered, and went to Lacy’s. I figured I’d meet the girl he hadn’t told me much about. When I walked in the diner, I saw Rafe sitting in a booth, a dark-haired girl across from him. I went to their table to sit down with them.
Rafe took one look at me, stood up and moved to sit beside Lexi, “Come on and have a seat, man. We got room,” he said, indicating the empty side of the booth.
“You must be Leo,” she said, smiling at me.
I’d seen a picture of her. I knew what she’d look like, but I wasn’t prepared for how little justice the picture had done her. Her smile was enough to knock me on my ass.
“Hey. I thought I might get a chance to meet you if I dropped by. Since my boy here is ashamed of our house.”
“No way, we have a great house. You can see the house anytime. It’s this jackass I didn’t want you to meet. Thought he’d scare you off,” Rafe said to Lexi.
“I don’t scare off that easily, do I? I’ve been wanting to meet the hero fireman. Save any kittens from any trees today?” she asked me.
I had to laugh. I liked her humor. “Not today. I did slay a few dragons and stopped some old wiring from smoldering in an attic,” I said modestly.
“How many dragons?” she said, “I always thought a few meant three, like a couple is two, but I’m not sure about that.”
“At least five,” I said, boasting of my imaginary dragons.
“See, I think five would be several, not a few. That’s the problem with the English language as far as I’m concerned. We don’t have enough specific words.”
“I see your point,” I said, “but I think we have some great specific words. Like beer, for example. Nachos, there’s a good one.”
She laughed. Lexi had a great laugh. I had gone to the diner to meet the girl and have more ammunition to tease Rafe. But I liked her already. What was more, I could see how he felt about her. He didn’t have his arm around her, but he kept looking at her, then shredding his paper napkin or picking at his pie, like he was really busy trying not to put his arm around her.
“As Rafe’s oldest friend, I would like to know your intentions toward him.”
Rafe choked on his coffee, and Lexi smacked him on the back until he could breathe. I chuckled.
“My intentions? I guess my plan is to pay the check when we’re done because he bought my dinner on Wednesday, and it’s my turn. Then I’ll see him at class next week.”
“That’s cute. But I’m talking about my boy Rafe here. He’s trying to be a gentleman, obviously. But I’ve known him long enough to say I haven’t seen him with a crush this bad since Ashley Potter in eleventh grade.”
“Really? How’d that work out?” she said.
“Well, they’re married now and have eight kids,” I deadpanned.