The stranger laughed. "I think she means Rhonda."
Joel turned to glare at the guy. "I wasn't askingyou."
The stranger looked undaunted. "Hey, where'd you leave them, by the way?"
"Does it matter?"
"Hell yeah," the guy said. "They're probably hot and bothered. They might need cheering up."
Joel's gaze flicked briefly in my direction. Through clenched teeth, he said, "Like you were cheeringherup?"
The guy held up his hands, palm-out. "Hey, you're the one who left. Finders keepers, right?"
"Just try it," Joel said. "You find her again, you keep on walking."
Listening to this, I gave a snort of disbelief. "Oh, that's nice."
In that same tight voice, Joel said, "What?"
"Keep walking?" I repeated. "You know what? I was lucky hedidn'tkeep walking, so stop giving him grief, okay?" I lifted my chin. "He was a perfect gentleman."
At this, the stranger burst out laughing. "Oh shit. There goes my reputation."
I didn't see the humor, and from the looks of it, neither did Joel. He gave the guy an annoyed look. "Don't you have someplace to be?"
"Sure," the guy said. "Just tell me where you dropped them."
I felt my brow wrinkle.Them?Meaning those two girls?
Joel gave me a sideways glance before muttering, "Denny's."
"Which one?" the guy asked. "The one on the Parkway?"
"Uh, yeah." Joel slid another glance in my direction. "I gave them a fifty. You know, for pancakes or whatever."
"Dude," the stranger said, "it wasn't pancakes they wanted. Sausage maybe. But pancakes? Nah, I don't think so." He was grinning again. "Lucky for them, I've got just the thing they need." He turned to me and said, "You gonna be alright?"
Joel's voice cut through the short distance. "If you wanna worry, worry about yourself."
"Yeah, yeah," the guy said. He turned and walked to the driver's side of Joel's car. He reached in past the open door, cut the engine, and turned off the headlights. When he finished, he turned back, tossed the car keys to Joel, and kept on walking, heading toward the other parking area.
Over his shoulder, he called back, "I wasn't kidding about the legs."
