Victor licked a crumb off his finger. “What if he becomes single? Would he want more than friendship?”
My skin tightened around my hands. Sal knew that I didn’t like him like that. But so had other men. Telling him wouldn’t be sufficient. Not that I got the impression he had eyes for anyone besides Janice. I wanted, or at least suspected, we could form a casual friendship.
“I can’t speak for him, but he does have platonic female friends, and I doubt he’d be inclined to send any of them pictures of his anatomy. I can investigate more though. We’ll invite his girlfriend to the game server. Plus, you’ll be there. And Ash. And maybe even your girlfriend. If things get weird, I’ll block him and report it to Ash.”
He sucked cream cheese off the edge of his finger. “You feel confident she’d protect you instead of giving a pass to her friend?”
“She helped me with a creepy customer. But if she’s as spineless as my old advisors, I’ll find a new arrangement.” I pushed back from the table, my chair grating on the tile.
He tilted his head. “What creepy customer?”
I huffed, battery acid sneaking up my throat. “It doesn’t matter. You badgered me to put myself out there, but somehow, the only companion you deem worth having happens to be your girlfriend.”
He scoffed. “It seems like you’re deliberately choosing people who will reinforce your bias against humanity.”
“My bias?” I clipped. That wasn’t on me.
He sighed and gestured vaguely. “My apologies for the phrasing.”
I didn’t need an apology. I needed someone who actually supported me.
I shoved my plate into the dishwasher. “If you don’t want to join the game server, I’ll tell them you’re busy.”
“Z…” His phone lit up with a photo of Kat and blared some stupid Southern song.
I threw my hands up. “Since when do you listen to country music?”
“It’s from a show.” He held up his finger, prepared to swipe. “Just a moment. She’s video-calling so I can remotely walk her inside.”
After the stalker incident last month, she’d gotten security cameras too. Why couldn't he view her from there? I sighed and stormed off to get ready for work. Whatever. He was protective. By the time I came down, he was talking to her cat.
But sure, I was the one with social problems.
“Aw, can you hear the purring? He misses you,” Kat cooed.
“No, he likes being snuggled by you. I would purr too.” He smirked.
I waved my keys so they jingled and got his attention, however briefly. “I’m heading out.”
“See you later,” he said.
Not ‘see you at work.’ So, we weren’t having lunch together.
I sighed and got to work without issue. As I was walking up to True Tech, my phone buzzed. My brother was calling. I frowned and swiped to answer. “Hey, is everything okay?”
Did I forget something at home? Did his car malfunction?
“Everything is excellent, thanks. I just wanted to check in,” he said.
“Oh. That’s it?”
“Partially,” he said. “I was talking to Kat, and we thought maybe you’d like to hang out with us and her younger sister sometime. She’s verysweet. Very low maintenance. And very busy, so you’d barely see her,” he said.
I ground my teeth. What exactly did he think I was looking for in a friend? How did he describe me to Kat’s sister? Closed-off, high-maintenance, and lonely? “You want me to go on a platonic, sibling double-date?”
“Nothing creepy,” he said.
“It is creepy. I don’t need you to set me up with people even younger than you.” I paced in front of the store.
