Page 26 of My Eternal Light
She shook her head. “I don’t go there anymore. They fired my favorite barista.”
His head tilted. “You wouldn’t be talking about Izzy, would you?”
“No way! Do you know Izzy? Is she okay? After the building had the fire, I heard her asshole boss fired her.” Zadie rushed forward. In truth she had missed the crazy barista something fierce in the mornings.
The man was now smiling wide. “She’s great! She’s uh, married to one of my good friends and more than one business owner has asked for her help in setting up coffee machines.”
“Married! Oh, good for her.” She thought about it. “He’s patient right?”
“Oron is the epitome of goodwill and patience,” he assured her, then wiped at his brow. “Is it hot in here?”
She shook her head. For once, she was actually comfortable. “I feel fine.”
When his hand covered his eyes for a moment, she saw that they were shaking. “Hey, are you all right?”
He nodded, then said, “I’m not sure.”
“Can I call someone for you?”
He patted down his jeans and pulled out a phone, then stared at it. “I really, really don’t want to freak you out, but my vision is blurry.”
“Shit! Let me call an ambulance.”
“No! Don’t call the paramedics. I don’t know if a Vanguard is working today,” he pleaded.
“Is this a military thing?”
He nodded, then groaned. “That wasn’t a good idea,” he said, grabbing his head with both hands as if to steady it.
She stepped forward and draped his arm around her shoulders. “Do you have a car?”
“No, I walked.”
“Well, I do. Can I at least take you somewhere?”
“My friend Meryn would call you an idiot and say something about not being taken to a secondary location.”
“You’re really not helping your cause.”
He took her hand and placed it on his very firm chest. “As long as my heart beats, I protect those that cannot protect themselves. I swear on my life that I would rather slit my own throat than harm you.”
Who needed dry underwear?
“I think you are a fantasy my overworked brain conjured to compensate for a shitty day.”
He gave her a loopy smile. “I’m a fantasy?”
“You sure as hell look like one.”
“It’s the beard, isn’t it? I knew it was a good idea.”
She led him through the halls to her car. Once the passenger door was open, he literally slid down and toppled inside. She shut the car door.
“A dry spell has you doing stupid shit,” she chided herself.
She looked through the car window and saw his pained expression and the sweat on his brow.
“Well, maybe he’ll be kind enough to kill me after some great sex.”