time with Frankie.
That was worth it.
When they arrived at the bar, Rees was not happy to see him. He had apparently been expecting Snod
to work tonight, and he had lots of choice words for him the second he laid eyes on him.
“Where the fuck have you been? You’re fucking late! I oughta rip off your balls and make fuckin’
earrings out of them!” Rees was raging, furiously shaking in purple glittered heels. “You stupid
motherfucker—”
“It’s my fault!” Frankie insisted, sweeping in to save the day. “We made some really great progress on
the you-know-what, thanks to Obe, and I wanted to celebrate with him.” He gave Rees his most
sincere smile, pleading sweetly, “I promise he’ll be back at work tomorrow. On time. Early! He’ll
even be here early!”
“I will?” Snod growled.
“Yes, you will,” Frankie scolded him, turning his bright smile back on Rees. “Come on...” He gave
his friend a big hug. “And did I mention how much I love the desk? How very thankful I am and what
a thoughtful gift that was?”
“Fine!” Rees conceded, rolling his eyes and grumpily giving in. He narrowed his eyes, huffing
sharply, “Early! Tomorrow! I fucking mean it!”
“You’re the best, Rees,” Frankie laughed, taking Snod by the hand and leading him to a table toward
the back beside the bar. Snod enjoyed the brief touch, smiling smugly to himself as they got settled.
Lorenzo bought them drinks and Snod tried to relax. The booze was good, and he listened while
Frankie and Lorenzo chatted away about their earlier success with the experiments. He was happy to
listen, ignoring the horrible wailing from up on stage.
Snod was relieved when the song was finally over, and he was even more pleased when Frankie
brought him and Lorenzo another round of drinks.
To his surprise, Frankie leaned down and kissed his lips. Snod did his best not to flinch, blinking
slowly. He could feel his heart racing faster, a little uneasy with such a public display of affection,
stammering, “What was that for?”
“Because I wanted to,” Frankie said with a little smile, “and for making me feel better.”
“It’s what you do...”When you love someone, Snod almost said, quickly stating instead, “When you
care about someone.”
