"Yikes."
"In the nice part," he clarified.
"There's a nice part?" I'd been downtown enough to know that there were some nice parts. It's just that usually, you had to go through some distinctly un-nice parts to get there. "But seriously," I continued, "We've spent practically every day together. When would you have time to work?"
"As soon as you leave."
"You can't be serious."
"Totally serious," he said. "I used to work days. Now, I work nights, mostly from home. No big deal."
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, no big deal. What exactly do you do, anyway?"
"You're changing the subject," he said.
"There was a subject?"
He nodded. "You, me, Friday night. We'll celebrate your birthday early."
I gave him a wicked grin. "Should I wear my birthday suit?"
"Definitely," he said. "Just not in public. Unless you're ready to witness a good old-fashioned ass-kicking."
"Hey!" I said.
"Oh, it's notyourass I'm talking about." He pressed his lips to my neck. "It's the guys who'd be ogling it."
"Hmmm," I said. "Maybe I'll wear sweatpants."
"Baby," he said, "whatever you've got on, you'll look great to me."
I laughed. "I wasn't really gonna wear sweatpants."
"Good," he said, "because I wasn't really gonna pick you up at seven."
I pulled back to squint at him. "Huh?"
"I don’t think I can wait that long. Let's make it six."
Chapter 43
"What do you mean you can't go out?" Erika said. It was Wednesday afternoon, and she'd just called to make plans for the weekend. "It's your birthday," she continued, "And it's a Saturday. You're turning twenty-three, not a hundred."
"Are you sure?" I asked. "Because I'm pretty sure I spotted a gray hair last week."
"Oh shut up," she said. "If you don't end up totally shitfaced by midnight, they'll revoke my best friend card. C'mon!"
I listened with a smile, touched that Erika would make a special trip home just to celebrate my birthday. "I wish I could," I told her, "But I've got to work that night."
"On your birthday? Seriously? Get someone to switch with you."
"I can't," I said. "The flu is going around the diner, and half the girls are out of commission. I'll probably end up working a double shift as it is."
"Maybe you should get sick too," she said, "if you know what I mean."
She sounded just like Lawton. And just like with Lawton, the offer was tempting, but I just couldn’t. It would only strain my co-workers further. And I knew all too well how stressful that would be. Business didn't stop just because half the staff was home in bed. And besides, my time at the diner was quickly running out.
"I wish I could," I said, feeling a different kind of guilt. "I'm really sorry."
