I blinked. “What if what?”
She turned to stare at me for far longer than one should while driving a stretch limo. I’m pretty sure we ran a red light, if the honking was any indication. “What if?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I know. But I’ve got a feeling you will.”
That didn’t sound good. “Are you threatening me?”
“Of course not.”
“Good, because that would be—”
“I lied!” she crowed. “It was a threat!” She cackled maniacally as she reached out and pressed a button on the stereo to rewind the song yet again.
I WATCHED from the front of the house as she drove away, “La Cucaracha” echoing throughout the neighborhood as she laid on the horn. She disappeared around the corner with a squeal of tires, the brake lights barely flashing as she went through the stop sign.
It wasn’t true.
None of what they’d said.
I wasn’t lonely.
I didn’t care that everyone in the goddamn world had met the love of their life.
And I certainly didn’t feel a damn thing for Jeremy Olsen.
This summer I was going to focus on what I needed to do in order to figure out my future.
That was it.
I turned and went inside the empty house. I wondered if there were any leftovers in the fridge.
Chapter 1: True Love is a Finger in the Ass
“THERE YOU are,” Charlie said as I walked into the Queen’s Lair on Saturday night. The sounds of Jack It filling up were loud below as people got ready for the drag show sans Helena Handbasket. “I was wondering if you were going to show up.”
He was sitting on a stool, his camera on the tripod in front of him. He wore his old leather jacket, something Sandy had told me he’d had since he first met him while trying to get into the bar underage. Regardless of his age, he still looked like a gruff leather daddy, and that’s exactly what I needed right now. He wouldn’t speak in vague circles or be meddlesome.
Hopefully.
“I told you I would,” I muttered as I sat on the stool next to him. The Lair was strangely desolate without Helena getting ready. “Bus was running late.”
“I thought Sandy left you his car while he was gone?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t want to try and fight for a parking space. And if I have a drink, I don’t want to take any chances.”
He looked me up and down, taking in my skirt and red top. “Nobody gave you any grief?”
I shook my head. Protective as always. “Nah. And even if they did, I can handle myself.”
“You carrying that mace I got you?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
“Good. Don’t be afraid to use it. There are idiots out there. It’s better to spray first and ask questions later.”
That troubled me, but I let it go. “I know.”