“This is abuse,” he insisted. “I’ll tell them to give you more money, but only so you can pay my medical bills.”
“You’re such a baby.”
He grinned at me. “Kiss it better?”
I looked at his muscled swath of tanned skin and forgot how to swallow. “Um—”
He didn’t wait for my rejection, which I obviously would have given him. Because kissing Charlie was bad. And wrong. And reckless. And I wasn’t Reckless Ada tonight. Ninety-Nine Percent Ada was fully in control. “I need to run out to get lemons. Want to come?”
“What?”
He pulled out the plastic bin we used to store lemons. There was only one left, and it looked rather mushy. “I forgot to order lemons. So I’m going to run over to Costco before we get busy. I think Will and Ally can handle themselves.”
“Do you think anyone will care?”
“Come on, I’ll buy you an ice cream.” He grabbed his wallet and phone that he’d only just stashed.
“What?”
“Wait, have you ever been to Costco?”
“I think once. Maybe. Eliza had me help her pick out a massive TV for her apartment.”
“Oh, you’re definitely coming then. This is happening.” Will chose that moment to walk out of the kitchen. Before he could say anything, Charlie said, “We’re out of lemons. The delivery guy forgot them.” He shot me a sneaky side-eye that told me to keep my mouth shut. I swallowed a laugh. “I’m going to take Ada to Costco and grab a box. We’ll be back in an hour.”
Will looked at his watch, gauging the time. “Are you sure you can be back in an hour?”
“It’s a Tuesday, man. You got Ally to help.”
“Who?” Will looked genuinely confused.
He could definitely not be left in charge of employees on his own.
“The new server,” Charlie explained, exasperated. “The one with the... uh... the blonde. The one who doesn’t stop talking.”
Will’s eyes widened in recognition. “Don’t be long.”
“We’re just getting lemons, dude. We’ll be back shortly after open.” Charlie took off for the kitchen and the back entrance. But as we passed Will, he said, “We’ll take your car, though, yeah? Keys in the office?”
Will watched us walk by him with a confused look on his face. “Let Ada drive!” he called as we reached the kitchen.
If anyone else had treated Will like that, they would be dead. Or if not dead, then at least fired. But for as much as the two of them fought, Charlie could get away with anything. A few years ago, there had been tension because they’d both liked the same girl. But to this day, I thought they only liked her as much as they did because the other one showed interest.
As soon as Will backed off and Charlie “won,” Charlie dropped her.
The ride to Costco was full of Charlie changing the radio, asking the most random questions, and easy conversation. I’d spent so many years mad at this man that I’d forgotten how easy our friendship was once upon a time. As we fell into natural conversation and easy laughter, I reminded myself I’d promised never to sleep with him again. Or fall for him. Or flirt with him.
Friendship was good. It was for the best. Hating him had been exhausting. A full-time commitment I didn’t have the capacity for. Plus, it made me a person I didn’t even like.
Yes, I could be abrasive and reluctant to let people in, but I didn’t enjoy feeling bitter or angry. It was more about vetting people than being mean to them.
Just because I didn’t fully trust Charlie yet didn’t mean I couldn’t be nice to him.
I parked Will’s new Tahoe—his idea of a family vehicle—in the massive parking lot and braced myself for the bulk shopping vibe that wasn’t relatable. I felt stressed out just looking at the building.
“We have to be fast,” Charlie explained. “Good thing the produce is right by the alcohol.”
I laughed. “What are we really doing here?”
