“Where’s the what?” He set his beer on a coaster.
“The turkey plushie. You said it’d be there for me. Then, you closed early, and the plush was missing.”
Janice eyed me and slowly backed away.
We weren’t really arguing about a plushie. I scowled. Why couldn’t she just leave?
Sal cleared his throat and looked away. “I had to meet somebody.”
“Yes, your ex.” I crossed my arms, every fine hair prickling with static. “Was my turkey a makeup birthday present? Or did you give it to the mall elf you were oh-so-chummy with?”
The bouncer glanced over, and Sal scratched the back of his head, flushing. What, was I too loud? Too emotional again?
My throat tightened with the effort to control myself, to be kind. “I said I’d be back. I thought you cared about your customers.”
“You don’t own the turkey. You never bought it.” He frowned. “And I can close my shop whenever I want. You can’t expect me to hang around to let you in whenever you feel like it.”
“You don’t let me in at all,” I snapped. “You’d rather talk to your ex or some random girl who knew your grandfather.”
“We talk,” he protested, gesturing between us.
“Yeah, about Space Spies 3009, but anything else…” I tugged my sleeves down over my sweaty palms. “It’s like you don’t want to share anything ugly with me.”
He placed his hand on my mid-back and led me to a more private corner of the bar. “You always seem to have a lot going on,” he said softly. “I don’t want to put more on you.”
“You have a lot going on too.” I laid my fingertips over the center of his chest and met his gaze, my pulse thrumming in time with his. “You wear your heart on your sleeve. I was hoping you’d share it with me.”
This was a dark corner. Maybe he could kiss me. Publicly.
He furrowed his brow and gripped my hand. “You said you wanted something casual.”
“I did. And now, I want more.”
“With me? Are you sure?”
“Yes.” I gripped the front of his shirt and tugged him closer.
His nose brushed mine, his breath warm and wheaty as he asked, “What about Ash?”
I smirked. “Well, I know she thinks I’d suck as a girlfriend, but maybe we can prove her wrong.”
He backed up so fast he had to brace my elbow so I didn’t topple over. “I don’t think so, sweetheart. I’m done being a distraction.”
I faltered and frowned. “What are you talking about?”
He raised his eyebrows meaningfully. “Well, for one thing, you prefer women.”
“For what?” Management? Friends?
He cleared his throat and looked away. “Bedroom stuff.”
“What?” I laughed. Was he serious? I popped the collar of my fleece. “I’m not a lesbian. I’m sure there are some women I’d be compatible with,but the only ones I’ve liked have been in various RPG scenarios designed to make the player root for them. I fell for you in reality.”
Wasn’t that obvious?
His jaw hung ajar and he glanced about the room, the natural light in his eyes sparking with confusion. “You said you hated men.”
“That’s a generalization born from years of sexual harassment. You were the first guy to treat me like a friend. Or at least I thought you did.” I crossed my arms.
