Chapter Eleven #2
Rylee pulled her hair over her shoulder out of the way before slinging her coat on. “And which is this?”
“The war would be against corruption. Love on the other hand?” She shrugged. “Wouldn’t that be nice? How about we go have a beer and leave?”
“I don’t see why not. Let’s get Erica to come with us. Two can look desperate—which we are not—and three looks like a girl group.”
Neesa pulled her phone from her pocket and sent a text. “Erica’s in the vault. I asked her to join us so I could buy her a beer.”
The phone dinged.
“She says she’s game, and she’ll meet us there. She’s just helping Stew close up.”
The sidewalk was busy with people moving from their work-a-day life toward their evening obligations.
It was only a ten-minute walk to get to the bar.
Rylee could tell by Neesa’s shortened pace that Neesa was getting anxious.
Neesa wasn’t a jittery kind of person. She was mostly Zen about life.
The rare exception was Neesa’s nervous reaction around men she found attractive.
This was a big tell about how much she liked Jasper, so it was Rylee’s duty as the wingman in this situation to change the energy.
“You’ve got that look on your face,” Rylee said.
Neesa raised her face with her eyes held unblinking. “What look?”
“Sour. Tense.” Rylee pushed her hands in her coat pockets as the night turned cool. “The look you get when you haven’t been laid in a while.”
Neesa pressed her lips together.
“Jasper’s going to pick up on it, and you’re going to scare him off,” Rylee said. “I’m serious.”
“I don’t want anything serious. I’m at full capacity right now.”
“I disagree,” Rylee shifted gears again as Neesa’s pace slowed.
“If the right guy walked into the picture, you’d make space and time for him.
But you interrupted. I’m serious that if you can’t find Mr. Right, at least for now, you should find a man equally uncommitted to a future, and you can call each other to burn off some steam. ”
Neesa considered that. “He’d have to be good.”
“Agreed, someone who has excellent sack skills and no desire to talk to you.”
“Isn’t that the dream?” Neesa laughed. “If only such a man existed. It’s the sack skills that are missing. There are plenty of men who don’t want to talk to me.”
“Why do you think that is?” Rylee wasn’t sure if Neesa was going along with the riff or if she meant that.
“I don’t know.” They came to the corner and stopped, waiting to cross. “I don’t give off the approachable vibe. Like that woman over there.”
Rylee looked across to a woman in a soft pink sweater and comfortable jeans.
Her hair was long and glossy, and she was holding her Maltese doggo in her arms. She did indeed look like she’d smile and welcome any conversation, especially one that praised her dog.
“Very approachable,” Rylee agreed. “Well, you could try a wardrobe change for a bit and see if you can’t lure in what you’re looking for.
You’d have to invest in a dog, though. I think that’s her schtick. ”
“I don’t want a dog. I want a booty call—wasn’t that popular around the time we were born?” Neesa asked.
When there was a break in the traffic, Rylee bumped Neesa’s arm, and they trotted across the street. “I don’t know why that had to fade away as a popular thing. At the same time, I don’t like you putting those two ideas together.”
“Why’s that?” Neesa asked as they stepped over the curb and turned toward the shops.
“Women were getting their needs met with booty calls, and we happened to be born about that time.”
“Neither of us is the product of a booty call gone bad,” Neesa scoffed.
“Your mom was married, and I’m sure she got it when she wanted it without making a call.
My mom’s a lesbian who picked my dad from a catalog at the sperm bank.
Stop.” She grabbed Rylee’s sleeve. “Look, they’re coming up the sidewalk. Stand by this tree.”
“What is this, seventh grade?” Rylee found this incredibly funny. She’d never seen Neesa so worked up over a guy.
“Yeah, well, you know, I might be having a good old middle-school girl crush on Jasper. It’s been a while since I felt the zing. Can you give me this without handing me a hard time?
“I think that’s what you want Jasper to hand you,” Rylee whispered.
“Stop,” Neesa said, striking a casual pose under the tree. “See? That’s what I mean. Don’t make this a joke.”
“Okay. Turn around. Stand here and look in the shop window with me. We can watch them walk up in the reflection. So Jasper, which one is he?”
“The short one in the middle.”
“Who are the other ones with him?” Rylee asked.
“The couple I don’t know,” Neesa said. “The tall one is the Secret Service dog guy. His name is Dakota Kayne.”
“Hmm, he looks familiar to me, but he’s also a little warped looking in this window.”
The two women waited outside the bar for Erica to show up until a text came through saying she had to take a phone call and was just leaving work. It would be about ten minutes to go in before it got too crowded and snag a stool for her.
She had a point. It looked like everyone had had a shit day, and they were making a beeline for libations.
Inside, Rylee and Neesa snagged the last three stools that were together, and the friends draped their coats over the center stool for Erica before ordering beers.
Neesa stood on her toes. “They’re in the very back, in the corner.”
“Go let them know you’re here.”
“We’ll both go,” Neesa said.
“I’m going to wait for Erica and guard our beers when they’re served. Besides, I’m your wingman. You keep me a secret until you need a way to duck out gracefully, then you nod my way and say, ‘Oh, look, there’s Rylee. Nice to see you. Cheers.’ And make your way back to me.”
“You think I’ll want to flee?”
“No, but you just want to let Jasper see you out of the work sphere as a normal human, and then you leave him wanting more.”
Neesa looked their way, then back at her friend. “You okay here by yourself?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. There’s a bro who’s trying to catch my attention from the other side of the bar, hopefully Erica will get here before he finishes his glass of liquid bravery and comes over here.
” As Rylee said that, the man sent her a smile, picked up his glass, and stood. “Shit, too late. Here he comes.”
“I should stay then,” Neesa said.
“I’ve got it handled.” Rylee flapped her hands, shooing Neesa away. “No worries. Go. Go enjoy.”