“Whatever.”
She shrugged. “Sherlock and Watson.”
Walker shrugged in return. Crois stole a fry off of his own plate and folded it into his mouth.
“And I think it’s not just you feeling like things are changing around you. I think that you’re changing, too. Either you’re worried that people won’t accept the change when you’ve always been a certain person, or you’re worried that you won’t accept the new you either.”
Crois watched Walker realize that he’d been sitting there, listening to her, his fry dangling from his fingertips, dripping ketchup on the picnic table.
When Walker spoke, his tone was flat. “I don’t think that’s what’s happening at all.”
Pilar shrugged and picked up a fry. “Believe it or don’t believe it. You’re the one with the giant question mark over your head, but your brother and Kate can’t see it.”
“Really, Sherlock Bravo? Why can’t they see it?” Walker’s tone was snarky, but his voice wavered just a little.
Pilar’s smile was soft. “Because they look at you and they see what you see?”
Crois chuckled, enjoying himself too much. “I can’t wait to hear this.” He bit into another fry that he’d stolen back.
Pilar turned to give Crois a pointed look as well. “Well, you should know this, since you’re in the same predicament.”
Crois felt a piece of a fry fall from his lips. It hit his plate and fell into the basket that Walker had taken.
The detective winced. “Now I can’t eat more of those.”
“Good.” Crois snatched the tray back and glared at Pilar. “Why are you bringing me into this?”
She took a sip of her soda and sighed. “You were the one who brought yourself into this,” she reminded him. “You want to act like you’re okay with what’s going on, but Harmony’s got you tied up in knots because she’s not acting like every other girl that you go out with.”
“What?” Crois dropped the fry he was holding between his fingers. “I never-”
“That’s the case,” Pilar was staring at him, and out of the corner of his eye, Crois could see that Walker was thrilled that he wasn’t the one in the hot seat for a hot minute. “You’re used to having things easy with women. You ask them out to dinner andby the end of the meal she’s on her knees on the tile floor of the bathroom or you have her bent over the sink.”
“Or both,” Crois grumbled to himself.
Pilar nodded. “And now, when you spend time with Harmony, what do you two guys do?”
Crois met her eyes for a split second before he cast his gaze down on the aging picnic table. “First, she’s not a guy. Harmony is all woman.”
“And yet.”
“What? You want to hear that I haven’t slept with her yet?”
Pilar shook her head. “I don’t want to hear that, but I bet you’ve been wondering why you haven’t even gotten close.”
“Really?” Crois slid closer to Pilar so he could lift one of his long legs out from between the bench and the table. “What do you know that I don’t? I know that Harm would never talk about something like that.”
“Of course she wouldn’t, for the same reason why she’s not trying to climb you like a tree the way other women do.”
Walker scoffed at the idea. “Because she thinks he looks like Bullwinkle?”
Pilar turned to Walker and poked a finger into the air at him. “Shut it, Walker.”
Walker held up both hands in surrender, at least trying to look contrite. “Sorry.”
Crois watched Pilar turn back to focus on him. “Seriously, Crois. You know that Harmony is different than the other women you’ve been with, so you need to… you need to-”
“Shit or get off the pot?” Walker was enjoying his place in the cheap seats.
