I stare at the words, reading them over and over again. My initial thought is to respond with a simple “I miss you, too!” but that isn’t adequate. I can’t come up with any reply that fits. Am I imagining more meaning than he’s spelling out? I read the whole thing again.
He wishes I’d gone with him.
He’s talking about me to his sister.
He’s interested in the book I’m reading.
This is all new territory, and I don’t know what to make of it.
*****
Monday morning, I wake up late and have to hurry to get ready to meet Nate at the county clerk’s office. In my rush, I manage to knock over my coffee and then smack my chin on the counter while trying to grab the cup in midair.
“Ow!” I rub my chin and stare at the broken shards on the floor. “Fuck me!”
I don’t have time to clean the mess up, so I just leave it on the floor and head out to the car, wishing I had managed to drink more coffee before spilling it. I sit in the driver’s seat, breathing slowly for a minute before I take off. Driving while agitated isn’t a good idea.
I look around carefully before pulling out into the street, having to crane my neck a bit to see around a black sedan with tinted windows. It’s parked in front of a fire hydrant, which annoys me to no end. Sure, the chances of a fire breaking out right at this moment are slim, but I still think it’s a dick move. Maybe it’s not quite as bad as parking in a handicapped spot when you don’t need it, but it’s still bad.
When I get to the office, I look around but can’t find Nate anywhere. The same bug-eyed clerk I’ve attempted to talk to multiple times is at the desk. She’s wearing a ton of makeup, complete with long, fake eyelashes, which I find ridiculous for a county office. Her hair sticks up in short, overly highlighted spikes that I presume she views as stylish.
I walk up to the counter, looking around for Nate.
“Can I help you?” The clerk stares at me for a moment, then rolls her eyes. “Oh, it’s you again.”
“Yes, it’s me.” I give her a big, fake smile.
“I think we’ve already been through all of this.” She glances over my shoulder, then smirks at me. “I’m afraid I have important people to deal with today. You’ll have to come back another time.” She cranes her head to look around me, smiling broadly and fluttering her lashes. “Hello, Mr. Orso! What can I do for you?”
I startle slightly as Nate walks up next to me, placing his arm around my shoulders. He leans in and places a quick kiss on the side of my mouth.
“Hey there,” he says softly. He smiles at me before turning to the clerk, his smile vanishing and his tone turning harsh. “Hello, Denise. What you can do for me is find the records Miss Bay is looking for.”
Denise looks quickly between us, turns bright red, and starts to stammer.
“Oh, I, uh…” She shakes her head like an Etch A Sketch and blinks about twenty times. “Those are, uh, sealed. We’d need a court—”
“Did someone here request a court order?” The tall, muscular man from the club sidles up next to Nate and grins over at me. He slams a piece of paper on the counter, and Denise stares at it, wide-eyed.
“Cutting it close there, aren’t you, Antony?”
“Sorry, boss. I had to wake up Judge Willis.”
Nate laughs. As Denise fiddles with the paper Antony handed her, Nate takes a step back and looks at me, smiling.
“Antony, this is Cherry,” Nate says.
“Good to meet you.” Antony reaches out to shake my hand. “Or rather, officially meet you.”
I stare at them both, not sure what to think of any of this. I didn’t really know what to expect, but Antony’s walking up with a court order wasn’t it.
“Do you work here?” I blurt out.
“Well, sometimes.” Antony grins.
“Antony is the family attorney,” Nate says. “He’s going to see what we can do to get those records unsealed for you.”
“You are?” I can’t hide the shock in my voice.
“I’ve got a degree on the office wall and everything,” he replies with a smirk.
“Oh! I’m sorry! I just thought…”
“Thought what?”
“Well…” I have no idea how to say what’s on my mind. “I thought you worked at that club,” I finally say, “like, as a bouncer or something.”
“I got the look, don’t I?” Antony grins and flexes his biceps. “I got my law degree on a boxing scholarship. Punched my professor until he gave me an A.”
My eyes go wide.
“He’s fucking with you,” Nate says softly, his lips up against my ear. “Don’t believe half of what he says, especially if he says anything about me.”
“That’s hardly fair,” Antony grumbles. “I might not have punched a professor, but I have taken on the bouncer role on occasion.”
“He pitches in where it’s needed.” Nate glances over to Antony, shaking his head slowly. He turns back to Denise. “Now, let’s see what we can figure out, shall we?”
“I’ll help her locate the right files,” Antony says. “Do you want to wait
