I go through them one by one, creating three piles of discards. The first is for cards he answers without hesitation. The second is for questions he's more hesitant on, but gets right in the end. The third is for ones where he’s stumped. I give him the correct answer before adding the card to the pile. Sometimes, light sparks in his eyes, and he groans.
“I should have known that one.”
“Next time, you will.”
We pause after two dozen cards to finish our drinks before they get too cold, and then finish the deck.
“Another drink?” Jimmy asks.
“Let me get this round?”
“I told you?—”
“I’m here because I want to be. Hot chocolate?”
He smiles. “Yes, thanks.”
“Don’t touch the cards while I’m gone.”
“Yes, boss.”
I roll my eyes and make my way to the counter. They have lots of sweet treats on display, which make my mouth water. Does Jimmy still love millionaire’s shortbread? On a whim, I order a slice, a chocolate-chip muffin for myself, and our drinks.
“What’s this for?” Jimmy asks.
“You used to like it,” I mumble. But he works out now, so maybe he doesn’t want to fill his body with tons of simple carbs and sugars.
“Like it? I loved it. Still do.” He grins. “But you shouldn’t have.”
“Why?”
He opens and closes his mouth. “Thanks.” He picks the millionaire’s shortbread up and takes a huge bite.
I’m captivated by the way he holds his other hand under his chin to catch the golden crumbs.
I shake myself. “Angus says this place does great toasted cheese sandwiches.”
Jimmy hums. “They sure do. Wait. You told Angus you were meeting me here?”
“No… He wrote me a list of places to visit. This was on the list. Would… would it have been a problem if I had?”
“No. No problem.”
I pinch my brows together. “How much does Angus know about us?”
Jimmy does the same wriggling in his chair thing that Angus did earlier. “That we slept together while we were drunk,” he whispers. “Sorry. He’s my best friend and?—”
“You needed someone to talk to. I understand.”
Relief floods Jimmy’s face. “We’re cool?”
“Yes, we’re cool.” I laugh. “I haven’t heard anyone say that in a while.”
“It used to be my catchphrase.”
“I remember. It drove Billy nuts.” I wince and look away.
“You can talk about him.”
