Zane
smiled, shrugging as he picked at the last of his food. "Kinda
outta the habit of asking a woman out. Before my six month forced
vacation, I was—" He gulped down the last of his coffee, not
completing the sentence.
"Invisible."
Gina supplied.
Zane
looked at her curiously.
"Electrocuted.
Bound and gagged? Pick one."
He
laughed, white even teeth flashing in the sunshine that filtered in
through the blinds. "No, I was married."
"Oh!"
"But
she divorced me minutes after I was arrested. Literally served me
with the papers when I was being hauled off."
"She
took up with your partner right after, huh?"
"How
did you guess?"
"Cause
anyone who would dump a guy like you would have to be one crazy
bitch. And only a crazy bitch would hook up with a total douchebag
like your ex-partner."
Zane
laughed loudly. Putting his hand over his mouth, he quieted himself.
"God, that's too funny. Where did that even come from?"
"It
seemed logical. I bet your business is worth a lot of money. You
probably had a pre-nup that prevented Psycho-Barbie from getting her
hands on it if you divorced. However, if you got arrested for
something, like—say, international smuggling—your part of the
business reverted to her and Disco-Billy. Am I close?"
"Right
on the money. How did you know?"
"Cause
your buddy must have watched The
Heist with Pierce Brosnan."
"It's
his favorite movie...."
"He
stole the plot and set you up, Zane. How did they catch him?"
"Angelica
turned him in."
"Your
wife?"
"Yeah."
"Let
me guess, tell me if I'm right. She's in complete control of it all
now, right?"
"Right.
She has to give me back my half now that I've proven my innocence."
"Like
that's gonna happen."
"Court
mandated."
"Lots
of things are court mandated. What planet are you from? You think
that everyone obeys the law?"
Zane
shook his head, sad smile on his lips. "I like to try and see
the best in people."
"They
leave you in a constant state of disappointment, right? Me, I expect
to be let down."
"But
the problem with that attitude is, you usually are."
"Yes,
but at least I'm prepared for it. I got tired of bad surprises. Now,
if I get screwed over, at least I knew it was coming and I'm ready."
"Sorry
way to live, Gina."
"The
alternative isn't any less so, Zane."
"At
least I can hold to my pretty illusions for a little while before it
all goes to hell."
"But
they're still illusions."
"How
did we get on such a happy subject?"
Gina
giggled, her napkin over her mouth so she wouldn't spew her food. "I
don't know. I was just wondering that. I don't usually get like that
unless I'm drunk."
"You're
probably tired. I know I am. I can't sleep. There's just too much
going on." He tapped his head. "Up here. It's like my mind
won't shut off or something."
"I
know that feeling. Face it, Zane. You need to get laid."
He
burst out laughing, tossing his napkin across the table at her.
"Thank you, Dr. McCartney. That's your unbiased assessment?"
"I
don't have to be a genius to see it. How long has it been, just out
of curiosity?"
"Your
curiosity takes you to some pretty weird places, Gina. I'm not sure
I'm comfortable with this subject."
"Are
you shy, Zane?"
He
looked uncomfortable, squirming again in his seat. "No, Gina.
I'm just embarrassed to talk about it."
"Why?
Cause you don't know me very well?" she took a sip of her
coffee, meeting his eyes over the rim of her cup.
"No.
Because I'm interested in you and I don't want you thinking I'm some
kind of sex-crazed-stalker-creep who just wants in your pants. You
know it's been at least six months."
"I
bet your wife was holding out on you for awhile before the incident.
I'm gonna guess nine months?"
Zane
closed his eyes, dropping his head. "Eight and a half."
"Like
I said, you need to get laid."
"Does
that mean you're volunteering?"
His
blue eyes held her in thrall for a moment. Did it? She wanted to say
yes, thinking she should
to say no.
"There's
no easy answer to that question. If I say yes, I'm a slut. If I say
no, your feelings get hurt."
"Then
just say maybe."
His smile softened, his eyes fathomless ocean of blue.
"Perhaps."
"That'll
do." He grinned and took a sip of his coffee.
©
2016 Dellani Oakes
Dellani
Oakes is the author of 10 published novels and over 100 more which
haven't been published yet. She's a Blog Talk Radio host on the Red
River Radio Network. She's also former A.P. English teacher and
journalist.
No comments:
Post a Comment