Chapter Thirteen #2
As he reached for my glass, someone bumped him from behind and about half the pitcher went pouring into my lap.
I jerked up immediately, brushing the ice and water off my pants. But it didn’t matter. They were soaked.
Frankie sat there and giggled while Rosalyn handed me her napkin, her lips twitching.
“Very funny,” I said, trying to control my temper and not verbally assault the waiter who stood there staring at me open mouthed.
“Oh, dude, I am so sorry. I must have slipped,” he said. Dude? What kind of talk was that for a waiter to use?
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, then excused myself and went to the men’s room where I would, oh, I don’t know, punch something.
As soon as I went into the bathroom, the door burst open behind me. I turned around to see the waiter drag the huge trashcan in front of the door.
What the hell?
“Ah, man you should have seen the look on your face!” he said.
“What?”
“Sorry about your pants,” he said, looking down at the huge stain that made it look like I peed myself. A laugh slipped from between his lips. “Dex would have loved to see that.”
Dex? How did he know about Dex?
“It’s me, man. Storm.”
“Storm?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I really needed to talk to you and I didn’t know how else to get your attention in the middle of the restaurant.”
“You have a body now?” I asked, trying to understand. “And why don’t you have a black ring around yourself?”
“I don’t have a body, so I borrowed this one.”
“You borrowed a body?”
“Yeah. It’s ah… something else I’m not supposed to be doing.”
So he was able to get into other people’s bodies and control them? That was really scary… but also really cool. “If you ever get in my body, I will kill you.”
He snorted. “Being in your body would hurt too much anyway. I have a feeling you take up every last inch of real estate you got inside there.”
“What?”
“It can get kind of crowded, you know? Two souls instead of one. The bigger the soul, the more painful it is.”
“Does it hurt now?”
“Not much. This guy’s not too bright.”
“You are so going to owe me for keeping all this to myself.”
“That’s why I’m here,” he explained. “I know you’re getting ready to tell your Target you aren’t gay. You shouldn’t do that.”
“What? Why?” Telling the Target I was gay was exactly what I needed to do.
“I’ve been watching her like you said. Turns out she just went through a bad breakup. I heard her telling her friend she didn’t want to date anyone.”
Great. Could this job get any worse?
“So if you stay gay, you won’t be a threat, you know? She won’t have to worry about you hitting on her all the time.”
“We could be friends?” I said, trying to work it out in my mind. I was so used to dating the Targets I never really tried to be their friend.
“Exactly. Her very gay, nonthreatening, and unavailable friend.”
It wasn’t a bad idea. I was already unenthusiastic about trying to romance her anyway. At least this way I would only have to pretend to like her as a friend.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked.
He made a face like he was uncomfortable and shifted. “Yeah, I’m sure.” He shifted again. “Oh, and I heard her making plans today for some fundraiser. The person who was helping her put it together bailed. You should offer to help.”
I liked it. “Okay, I will. Thanks, man.”
“Sure thing. Now I gotta get out of here, drop this body. He’s starting to get annoyed.”
“Where are you going to do that?” I asked, still amazed he could take over someone’s body.
“Probably outside behind the building. If he doesn’t come back to refill your water anytime soon, it’s because he’s still waking up.”
“You mean that puts them to sleep?”
“Yeah, kind of. It wears off fast though.”
I glanced toward the door. I needed to get back out there. “I’ll talk to you later,” I said as he pushed the trashcan away from the door.
We both exited the bathroom, him going in one direction and me in the other.
I wasn’t looking forward to sitting around with wet pants the rest of the night, but I couldn’t leave.
I had too much to accomplish. My plans had changed.
I was no longer going to try and date the Target.
Instead, I was going to be the fun, gay friend who offers to help organize fundraisers.
This might actually work out better than I originally hoped.
Frankie and Rosalyn were laughing when I rejoined them at the table. “Ladies, sorry about that.”
“You look like you peed yourself,” Frankie said.
“My sister, the joker,” I said, trying to sound affectionate, and pulled on a strand of her hair. She looked at me like I lost my mind.
Maybe I had.
“So what did you want to tell me before?” the Target said.
For once I was thankful Frankie didn’t do what I told her to do.
I put my hand under the table on her thigh and squeezed. “Actually, I should be the one to tell you. After all, I was the one embarrassed.”
“Embarrassed about what?”
“My sister told me that she confided my secret to you.”
“Your secret?” she asked. A second ticked by and realization dawned in her eyes. “So it’s true. You’re gay?”
I squeezed Frankie’s thigh again just to be sure she got the message. I nodded. “Yes, it’s true. I don’t normally go around telling everyone, though. I know it can make some people uncomfortable.”
“Oh.” Understanding came into her eyes and she reached her hand across the table for the one that was lying next to my plate. “I assure you it doesn’t make me uncomfortable in the least. And for anyone that it does… who needs them anyway?”
I smiled and released Frankie’s thigh. I could feel her questioning gaze on my face, but I ignored her and focused on the Target. “I’m relieved to hear you say that. A guy can never have too many friends.”
She smiled. “Absolutely.”
Score.
After a few minutes of small talk, I mentioned I was looking for a few charities and fundraising organizations to get involved with to help me and my business get established in the community since I was fairly new in town.
What a surprise that the Target needed help with one she was planning.
Score again.
I was feeling quite pleased with myself when dinner came to an end. I was also feeling confident that this job might not be as hard as I originally thought.
On the way out of the restaurant, Frankie leaned in close and hissed, “What are you up to?”
I just smiled and continued on my merry way.
It was none of her damn business.