“Rex? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Why would anything be wrong?”
“Um, because you’re calling me in the middle of the day?”
“Oh. That’s not so weird, right?”
“It is because you’ve never done it before,” Olivia explains.
I sit quietly as I try to decide what I’m about to say next.
“Rex?”
“Right. I have a question.”
“Obviously. Out with it. Is it anything to do with why you were at The Goat so early the other day? Or why you’ve not been flirting like normal with the ladies while you’re bartending?”
“How would you know that?”
“I have my sources.”
“Penny,” I half sneer half growl. I’m not upset — just annoyed with myself. And over the fact that, apparently, I’m such a transparent guy and everyone sees right through me. Or maybe it’s that I’ve become a cliché.
“Yes, she was very concerned over your sudden change in behavior.”
I roll my eyes. Concerned, my ass. Nosey is more like it.
“I have a date tonight,” I blurt out.
And wait.
And wait.
And wait a little longer as only the sound of her breathing on the other end of the line tells me the call wasn’t dropped.
“I’m sorry. You’re going to need to repeat that,” Olivia eventually says.
“You heard me just fine the first time.”
“I did. But I really want to hear it again.”
“You’re such a little shit.”
“True story. So hell has frozen over, huh?”
“Something like that,” I murmur.
“Rex? It’s okay to do more with a woman than just have sex. You know that, right?”
“Is it?”
“What are you afraid of?”
“I’m not afraid of anything. You can only be afraid when you don’t know what’s going to happen. I already know.”
Her voice is full of humor when she asks, “Oh yeah? And what’s that?”
“We get bored of each other. One of us ends up with a broken heart.” Probably me.
