Looking utterly unfazed, Cal lowered his head to look at Joel. "Damn," Cal said. "I thought you'd be in a better mood." He looked back to me and said, "You know, he's been a total dick for two weeks now."
Cal had mentioned something similar during our walk through the parking lot. And just like before, I felt a spark of pathetic hope kindle in my chest. The last two weeks had been miserable for me, too. That had to meansomething, right?
From the driver's seat, Joel said, "Is there a reason you're here?"
"Yeah," Cal said. "You locked me out again." He laughed. "And get this. Your two little friends? They were gone by the time I got there. So thanks for nothing, you prick."
Yes. Joelwasa prick, at least right now. But that wasn'treallyhim. Somewhere, underneath all that, was the amazing guy I still loved.
Hoping to keep Cal talking, I forced a smile. "So it was waste, huh?"
"Not a total waste." He gave a casual shrug. "Had some pancakes, a bunch of bacon, some orange juice. Still, it was pretty damn disappointing."
He flashed me a sudden grin. "But get this. Wanna know why they weren't there?"
I gave a hesitant nod. Anything to keep him talking.
He laughed. "They got kicked out."
I heard myself murmur, "Kicked out? For what?"
"Fighting." He made a scoffing sound. "And the worst thing? Happened like five minutes before I got there."
I could hardly think, but the story sounded like it might be funny. Funny was good, right? Something to break the tension? Hoping for one heck of a punchline, I said, "You mean, like with other customers?"
"Hell no. I mean with each other." Cal was grinning again. "And I mean a big ol' cat-fight, with slapping and hair pulling." His smile faded. "Sucks that I missed it." He looked to Joel and said, "You owe me, by the way."
In a tight voice, Joel said, "For what?"
"For keeping your girl safe while you pulled your head out of your ass."
Hoping to see Joel's reaction, I turned to look.
His expression was stony, even as he told Cal, "And I'm gonna owe you again."
Behind me, Cal asked, "For what?"
"For keeping her safe now."
I felt my brow wrinkle. "What?"
Cal said, "Yeah. What the hell are you talking about?"
Joel visibly swallowed. "Follow her to the highway, okay?"
I felt a new surge of panic, "But I’m not leaving."
Joel gave a slow shake of his head. "You can't stick around here."
"Why not?" I demanded.
"Because it's not safe." His gaze shifted back to Cal. "You got this?"
I spoke up. "No. He doesn't." I turned to Cal and said, "Could you excuse us for a minute?"
Cal's gaze shifted from me to Joel. With no trace of humor, he said, "Uh, yeah. I'll be in the truck."
I was so distracted, I forgot to thank him. Instead, I pressed the button to roll up the window and whirled back to Joel. "What was that about?"
