16. Lucy
Lucy
Leo opens the front door. The three guys from the diner are sitting in the living room, eating breakfast leftovers and watching a football game on TV.
“Hey,” Leo says. They all look over at us. “We got a dog.”
“Oh, hell yeah!” the guy whose name is Nick, I think, says. He runs over to Wally and kneels down to pet him.
He cradles Wally’s floppy face in his hands. “What’s his name?”
“Wally,” I say.
Nick grins. “What a great name.”
Wally’s tail wags like crazy as Nick pets him. He falls onto the ground and shows his belly.
“Aww, this guy loves belly rubs, huh?” Nick scratches his tummy.
I smile. “Yeah, they’re his favorite.”
The tall blond guy walks over and pets Wally. The big, grumpy-looking guy with light, reddish-brown hair stands off to the side, watching Nick and the blond guy fuss over Wally.
“He’s friendly,” the grumpy one says.
“He loves people,” I say, my nerves easing.
I look over at Leo, who smiles at me. “Told you they’d like him,” he says. “You guys remember Lucy, right? She was our server last night at the diner.”
The three of them look at me.
“Oh, right. I’m Nick.”
I shake his hand. The other guys, Travis and Blake, introduce themselves.
“Hey, did you get your car back?” Nick asks.
“Yeah. Leo helped me out.”
“I fucking hate the city’s tow trucks. They haul you away for no reason,” Travis mutters.
“Yeah, that’s messed up. Sorry you had to deal with that,” Blake says.
“It’s okay. Lesson learned. I just have to be more careful when it comes to street parking around the city.”
“Hey, if you want, I can have my girlfriend look into that for you,” Nick says. “Poppy’s really smart. She was gonna go to law school before her YouTube channel blew up. She could find out if the city is doing anything shady.”
A second later, her name registers in my brain. That’s why she looked so familiar when I waited on them last night. She makes educational videos on all sorts of topics. History, literature, music, calculus, physics. I’ve watched tons of her videos.
“Oh my gosh, your girlfriend is Poppy The Tutor on YouTube?” I say.
Nick beams. “That’s her. You know her?”
“Yeah, I love her channel. I’m a subscriber.”
I leave out the part about why I started watching her videos…because I was homeless and sad that I couldn’t afford to go to college, like the rest of my friends from high school, and watching her educational videos is the closest to college I’ll ever get.
“She’s so smart,” I say. “I can’t believe she knows so much about so many topics.”
Pride flashes in his eyes. “She’s a genius.”
“I think Wally might be hungry,” Blake says through a chuckle.
I turn around and see him standing by the coffee table, watching Wally lick one of their plates.
“Shoot, sorry about that.” I rush over and grab Wally, but Blake just laughs again.
“I should run out and get him some food,” I say.
“You don’t have to,” Leo says, swiping his finger across his phone screen. “I just started an online order. They’ll drop it off in an hour. What kind of food does he like?”
I stare at him, surprised at how thoughtful that was.
I tell him the brand of dog food, and he places an order for a big bag, along with treats and bones.
“Thank you,” I say.
Nick, Blake, and Travis sit back down on the couch. Wally hops next to them and settles on the cushion.
“If you don’t want him on the couch…”
I trail off when Nick wraps his arm around Wally and pats his belly. “Nah, he’s good. A way better cuddle buddy than Travvie.”
Travis rolls his eyes. The guys laugh.
For a second, I just stand there and look at Wally warming up to Leo’s friends. How well they’re all getting along. How easy that was.
I walk into the kitchen, where Leo walked off a second ago.
“You were right. Your roommates are totally good with Wally.”
“You don’t have to worry.” His mouth curves up in a soft smile that makes my heart skid in my chest. How is this guy real? Kind, generous, and super handsome. And hot.
I quickly push away the thought. I shouldn’t be objectifying him like that. Especially after all that he’s done for me.
“Are you working at the diner again tonight?” he asks.
I almost say no, but I catch myself. I’m not working at the diner because I have a shift at the strip club instead. But I don’t want to tell Leo that.
Maybe he wouldn’t care…but I’m embarrassed that I have to work at a place I don’t like because I’m desperate for money. It’s kind of pathetic.
“Yeah, I’m doing a later shift there,” I say. “But I don’t wanna wear out my welcome at your place. I’ll take off.”
His eyebrows furrow, like he’s bothered by the thought. “You’re not. You can stay here until your shift starts.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Come hang out in the living room with us. Or you can go up to my bedroom if you want to be alone.”
“You really don’t mind?”
He shakes his head. “And if you wanna sleep here tonight again, you can.”
I start to say no, but he stops me. “We have the extra room.”
“Leo, I told you. One night is enough. I’m fine with sleeping in my car.”
He studies me for a moment. “Hey, Nick. You’ll be at Poppy’s tonight, right?”
“Yup,” Nick hollers from the living room.
“Can I sleep in your bed so Lucy can stay in my room tonight? She needs a place to crash.”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
Leo lifts an eyebrow. “See?”
I hesitate for a second. As much as I’d love to stay another night, I can’t keep staying here. It feels wrong.
“Leo, I can’t keep taking advantage of your kindness like this.”
The look in his eyes focuses. “It’s not taking advantage if I’m offering it to you, Lucy.”
I’m quiet for a long moment. “Okay. Thank you.”
He nods and starts to walk off, but I catch his wrist. “You need to let me pay you back somehow.”
“No. I don’t.”
“Yeah, you do. Otherwise, this feels wrong. Imbalanced. You keep doing nice stuff for me, and I haven’t done a single thing for you.”
He looks down at my hand holding his wrist. Gently, he rests his massive palm over mine. My skin tingles at how hot his skin feels. I swallow.
“You’ve been through a lot of shit, Lucy. Maybe it’s time for some good things to happen to you.”
Gently, he pulls my hand off of his. Then he gives my shoulder a soft squeeze before walking off.
I stand there, in a daze at his softly spoken words, wondering if maybe he’s right.