Lightning nods. “I understand. I’ll let you get to it.” He backs out of the office, staring at me.
Once he’s gone, I get back to work. But I don’t get very far before Ozzie walks in.
“Hey, looks like we have a full day of paperwork.”
I lean back. “Yeah. One day at least. Maybe two.”
Ozzie frowns. “Are you all right?”
I glance up. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”
He shrugs. “You went straight to your room when you got home last night. Now you’re drinking your coffee black.”
“The coffee is black because of Lightning.”
Ozzie nods. “Got it.”
Maybe I should talk to someone about what’s going on. “But you’re right. I’m not all right. It’s Delaney.”
“I thought I picked up on something between you two. What happened?”
And suddenly, I don’t feel like sharing our story again. “Yeah, I thought there was. I was wrong.”
Ozzie nods. “Sorry. That sucks.”
“Yes, it does.”
“Want to grab a beer after work?”
I scratch my beard. “No thanks. I’ll probably go home and crash.” I’m jet lagged, and despite going to my room last night, I tossed and turned. Sleep tonight would probably be a good thing.
“Okay. I better get back to it.” He walks away, and I try again to focus on work.
But after an hour, I’ve gotten little done, and my mind is going in circles with memories of Delaney driving me crazy.
“Fuck!” I yell as I toss a pen across the room.
Thunder and Lightning walk in and close the door behind them.
“I’m not in the mood for any of your pranks today,” I say.
“Clearly,” Lightning says. “I overheard what you told Ozzie. And anyone with woman problems should talk to us, not Ozzie.”
I cross my arms. “Why is that?”
Lightning grins. “Because we actually have girlfriends.” Then he sits in a chair across from me.
Thunder sits in the other chair. “I’m here under duress.”
I chuckle. Thunder goes along with a lot of Lightning’s antics, to a point. Apparently, if he doesn’t, Lightning can get obnoxious. And he already starts out high on the obnoxious scale so that’s saying something.
Lightning crosses his legs. “What’s going on?”
I sigh. You know what? Fuck it. Lightning knows a little about the woman from my past, and maybe they would be good to talk to. I need to do something.
“You know how I’ve mentioned a woman from my past?”
Lightning’s eyes widen. “Yes, the one you loved, and no one will ever compare.”
