“Now what?” Lewis perches on the edge of the sidewalk.
I glance at Lois. “The Break Inn isn’t the only place in town.”
“Sure. Of course not,” she whispers, fishing out her phone. “Just dump my bags here, I’ll find somewhere else online. You guys go on, I’ve got this.”
She plops herself down on the sidewalk and sighs heavily.
“Plus, I’ve got Donald’s number.”
“You kept it?” Donovan sits down next to her.
“Yeah.” She plucks out the crumpled sheet of paper from her little bag, and he whips it out of her hand. “Hey! Give it back!”
“Hell no!” My friend tosses it at my feet.
She leans over to grab it, and though I’m tempted to let her, I stamp my foot down, just missing her fingers.
She snatches her hand back. “Are you for real?”
Lewis shakes his head. “Like we said: Stay away from the Duckster!”
She throws her head back and takes in a few deep breaths. Call me twisted, but I kind of get a kick out of seeing her all frustrated.
“We’re gonna help you out; there’s no way we’re leaving you to figure this shit out on your own.” Donovan swipes at his phone. “Guys, let’s do this. Mission Find the Girl a Room!”
The next fifteen minutes are definitely up there on my list of top five most frustrating moments ever. We make call after call, but all the cheap rooms have been snapped up by the ex-motel’s guests, plus the first home football game of the season is happening in town. Just our luck. The universe has a sick sense of humor, and, call me a killjoy, but I’m not laughing.
“Sorry, Lois, but it looks like you’re in deeper shit than we thought,” offers Don.
“You must have screwed up in a past life!” Lewis jeers, slinging an arm over her shoulders. “Like, badly.”
I was expecting her to shrug him off, but instead she annoyingly stands there.
“My dad is a Cardinals coach.” Don shoots her a sideways glance. “I can’t promise you anything, but I can ask if he’s got any ideas.”
“Thank you. That’s sweet of you.”
Sweet of him? Please!
“Still want to come and grab a few drinks with us? It’ll do you good!”
Donovan catches me looking at him uneasily and winks.
“No, I’m good. I—”
Donovan cuts her off mid-sentence. “So, okay, let’s drop her at your place, Lane, and then we’ll hit up the party.”
I almost give myself whiplash turning to look at him. “What?”
“What do you mean, ‘what’? You’re just gonna leave her here? Come on!”
And what if I am?
I walk around the car, sharply motioning at Donovan and Lewis to follow me on the side.
“I’ve already done my time, guys! Knock it off,” I whisper-yell, scrunching my hands deeper into my pockets.
“You seem quite pissed, Lane.” Donovan tilts his head at me. “Wouldn’t you say so, Lewis?”
