Page 64 of One Unexpected Kiss
“Ha ha,” I said dryly. “It wasn’t that funny.”
“I don’t know,” Wes said with a grin. “You seem to get a kick out of the skinny-dipping story every time it comes up.”
And I was currently regretting every belly laugh I’d had over it, but it was too late to backtrack on that now. “Yeah, but that was dozens of naked people,” I pointed out. “This was just one.”
“Don’t forget the other cosplayers,” Claire reminded me. “I’m pretty sure the one lady still has a toga with your name on it. I bet Stephanie, here, could track them down for you.”
Stephanie whipped out her phone. “Say the word, and I’ll hook you up.”
Carmen wiped the moisture under her eyes. “I’m so sorry I missed this, and I’m sure tomorrow morning I’ll regret staying out so late, but I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time.”
Wes had shown up just as I was serving the naked Hank a Dr. Pepper in the back seat of Toga Lady’s Cadillac Seville. Naturally, he’d called Carmen and Hudson. Carmen had rushed right over. I would have expected nothing else. Hell, if the tables were turned, I would have done the same thing.
“Nah,” Wes said. “It’s worth it.”
Carmen yawned. “I’d normally be in bed two hours ago.”
It had just turned eleven, and we were the only ones left in the Brew Co. Grandpa Charlie had left before I’d served Hank his Dr. Pepper, muttering about being too old for this shit. I was tempted to remind him that those people were his peers, but while he might have been too old for naked Hank, he wasn’t too old to box my ears.
“What are you baking tomorrow?” Stephanie asked.
“I was going to do scones, but since I’ll be exhausted, I think I’ll go with my tried-and-true muffins. I can make those with my eyes closed.”
“I can’t even make the box mix of Betty Crocker muffins without screwing something up,” Stephanie said wistfully.
“Oh, honey, those are trash anyway. Come by tomorrow morning if you want to see how real muffins are made.”
Stephanie perked up. “Really?”
Carmen smiled. “If you drag yourself out of bed, I’ll have an apron waiting for you.”
I walked to the front door, only half listening as Carmen and Stephanie ironed out their plans. I flipped off the switch for the neon Open sign then started turning the chairs upside down on the tables.
Claire came up behind me. “Can I help?”
I continued my routine. “Nope. This will only take me ten minutes.”
“But if I help, it will only take five.”
The lady made a fair point, but I wasn’t one to shirk my responsibilities. “Go on.” I nudged her. “You were having fun.”
“So were you.”
“No, I was being made fun of. There’s a difference.”
She laughed. “Your expression was priceless. I wish I’d thought to take a picture.”
“Your expression probably looked just like your impression of me.” I’d been so busy trying to look anywhere but at naked Hank that I hadn’t seen Claire’s reaction. To her and Stephanie’s credit, they hadn’t laughed about the situation until everyone else had left.
“I plead the fifth.”
I sidled up next to her and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Your lawyer talk is sexy.” I nibbled on her neck.
“Actually, the client would say that, not the lawyer.” Her voice was higher pitched than normal and stilted. She was flustered.Good.I liked that I affected her as much as she affected me.
It had been an enjoyable evening. If I could have removed the vision of Hank’s frank and beans, it would have been perfect. I’d been in my favorite place with some of my favorite people. Claire fit into my circle seamlessly. Granted, it had only been twenty-four hours since I’d gotten over myself and given in to what I’d been feeling since I set eyes on her in her towel. Hell, since I set eyes on her when I was twenty years old.
Stephanie came up behind us. “I think I’m ready to head home.”