Chapter Sixteen #2
He shook his head. “No, I meant the actual lot. About an acre. That seems like a lot for a restaurant and a parking lot. Are there any outbuildings?”
I scratched my elbow. “I have no idea. I’ve only been here a handful of times—and usually after a day shift. When it’s dark. Like it is now.” The sun had set, and the bright lights of the parking lot illuminated the gravel.
“Ah, got it.”
What does he got? I was so confused.
“Chicken wings. Hot in both taste and temperature.” Debra grinned. “Nachos will be up in a few minutes.”
“No rush.” Another devastating Ulysses’s grin. “We’ve got all night.”
As soon as Debra was gone, I muttered, “Speak for yourself. I’m liable to fall asleep in the plate of nachos.”
He winced. “Sorry. I should’ve waited.”
I waved him off. “I’m assuming you had your reasons for wanting to come here tonight.”
“Uh, yeah. I just—“ He cut himself off as he stared at the front door and the new arrival.
Fuck. My. Life.
Marlon.
He caught my gaze, let that gaze travel to Ulysses, and then settled his attention back on me. He nodded before heading for a booth at the back. Near the kitchen.
“He come here often?” Ulysses gingerly handled a chicken wing.
I shrugged.
He bit into the wing and sucked in air.
I rolled my eyes. “She warned you those things were hot.”
“No shit.” He swallowed, then blew on the other half. “I was hungry.”
“So am I…but I’ll wait until it’s not going to burn me.” I sipped my drink.
“You’re adorable.” He sucked the rest of the chicken off the bone and tossed said bone on the spare plate. Then he picked up the next one.
“Hey, leave some for me.” I snagged one. “And what do you mean by adorable? I can’t tell if that’s a compliment, an insult, or something in between.”
“Compliment.” He devoured another wing.
I blew on mine. Despite fighting fires, I wasn’t a fan of heat. Well, too hot, anyway. “I’m never quite sure where I stand with you.” I bit into the wing.
“I’m not certain what you mean.” He shrugged. “I try to play it straight—”
“You’re anything but straight—and I’m not talking about your sexuality.” I chuckled.
“Nachos with extra guac and extra sour cream.” Debra put the heaping, steaming plate on the table. “Can I get you anything else?”
“No. This is fantastic. These wings sure are hot.” I put the bones on the spare plate.
“Cook does a good job.”
“How late are you open today?” Ulysses held her gaze.
“Until ten. Eleven on Fridays and Saturdays.”
“So not super late?”
She shook her head. “Fifties is open all the time. The two bars in town close later. We’re mostly here for the lunch and dinner crowd.” She glanced around. “Well, crowd is relative. Most nights you can just walk in and grab a seat.”
“Tough economy to run a business in.”
A moment passed—whether because she had to think about her answer or whether because she thought he was asking strange questions—I couldn’t be certain. “We offer good grub at a good price. We’re not as fancy as some places.”
I was going to assume she meant Stavros’s Greek or the fine dining Italian place whose name I could never remember.
“Excellent grub at an excellent price. I can’t wait to try the nachos.” Ulysses gestured toward the heavenly smelling platter of food.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it. Just flag me if you need something.” With that, Debra was off again.
“I have to go to the washroom. Don’t wait for me.” Then he was up and gone again.
Well, hell fucking no, I’m not waiting. I’m starving. Heedless of the temperature of the nachos, I dug in.
And wound up gulping a lot of root beer.
Still, I’d finished my half of the wings and made a dent in the nachos by the time my date returned. I arched an eyebrow.
He started texting.
“Swear to God—”
“Texting myself.” He shrugged.
“Oh.” Which had me even more confused. What was so important that he had to make note of it?
He put his phone on the table—screen down. “Look, I’m a terrible date. Can you make your way home? I need to do a stakeout here.”
I blinked. “So much to unpack in what, three sentences? Sure, I can make my own way home.”
“Great.” He yanked out his wallet and handed me a hundred-dollar bill.
I was too tired to argue. I wouldn’t need that much, but I could give him the change the next time I saw him.”
He nodded as I put the money in my wallet. “Call me tomorrow?”
For what? I still don’t know why we got together today… “Uh, sure. I’ll take the rest of my nachos to go—”
“Oh, I didn’t mean for you to leave this instant—”
I flagged Debra and indicated a takeaway box. “I’ll fall asleep in the cab if I don’t go now.” I pulled up the app for the local cab company and ordered a car. “All good.”
Debra arrived with the box. “Everything okay?”
“I’m just super tired. My friend here’s picking up the tab.”
“No dessert to go? I’ve got a fresh lemon meringue pie.”
“Well, I won’t turn that down.” I glanced at my date.
He gestured for me to go ahead.
Fifteen minutes later, I was in a cab and on my way home.
Artie chatted the entire way.
I gave the cabbie an extra big tip and was in bed seven minutes after hitting the door. Even the puzzle of what the hell Ulysses was up to couldn’t keep me from sleeping straight through until the next afternoon.