Page 19 of Waves
She turned and noticed me right away, her arm still poised to stab and her other hand clenching the edge of the counter. “What did he do?”
The concern in her voice rang clear, but the anger would be something only Eric or I would recognize. You’d think someone with such a temper had terrible people skills, but Mary could be quite the opposite. She trained herself to remain calm under pressure years before she ever worked retail, where she quickly became the queen of customer service with a smile. Only after we closed would all the drama of the day come tumbling out. Yet, I could always tell whenever her patience waned by the way she gripped the edge of the help desk until her pale knuckles went white.
“Nothing,” I said. “I just, I think this was a bad idea.”
“What is with you?”
Her tone shifted closer to concern, so I softly sighed while leaning against the entry arch of the kitchen. “I think I’m too tired for all this.”
Mary abandoned her platter on the counter and crossed her arms while examining my expression. “Did something happen between you and that guy?”
“What guy?”
“You know, that hottie you picked up at the beach a few days ago.”
I snorted, shaking my head while fighting the urge to smile. “Oh, you mean the one you called a murderer?”
“Well, that was before I saw how fine he was.” She shrugged as if his appearance instantly cleared him of any and all perceived crimes.
“No, not exactly,” I said, finally answering her previous question.
“Thor’s hammer not live up to your expectation?”
“God, Mar, I don’t bed every man I come across. He just, you know, he was a nice guy who needed a friend.”
“Mm-hmm. And a fuckboy, I knew it,” Mary said with a decisive nod. She didn’t need to say more for me to know what she was thinking: that I was lovesick after latching onto the first guy to give me the time of day since Thom.
“Listen, I’m going to head out, but we can grab lunch sometime next week and catch up.”
“Sounds good. Be careful out there.”
I smiled before I turned to leave the kitchen. “I haven’t even had a drink.”
“My argument still stands.”
I let myself out as quietly as possible so no one could snag me for a conversation on my way to the porch. At the very least, Ishmael would be happy to see me home so quickly. Jogging down the stairway to the sidewalk below, I looked down the street before I crossed. I was about to step off the curb when I heard his voice, causing my heart to stop and my hands to sweat.
“Ezra!”
Shit, and he spotted me. I turned to see Thom trotting after me, lighter in hand. Something told me this was what Mary really meant when she warned me to be careful.
“Christ, it’s been ages,” Thom said, his voice breathy after chasing after me. He extended his hand to my shoulder, but I stepped back away from him. Thom laughed off my response and pulled out his pack of cigarettes, tapping the bottom while he locked his eyes on me. “You forget how to pick up a phone?”
“No,” I grumbled.
“I’ve been trying to get ahold of you, dummy.” Thom leaned forward to light his cigarette, but snapped his eyes right back to my face. “Then tonight you run out on me again, without so much as a polite hello. What gives?”
My right hand gripped the car keys in the pocket of my jacket. My other hand stayed tucked away as well, so he wouldn’t see me shaking while I shrugged.
“Listen, we need to talk.”
“I have nothing to say to you, and I don’t really care to hear whatever you plan to say to me,” I said through taut lips.
“How long are you going to punish me like this?”
“Punish you?” I scoffed. “Punish you? Did you lose all your friends? Or your house? How about three years of your life to a liar and cheater?”
“Don’t do that. Those were our friends, and it was our house.”