He wouldn’t have found this suspicious in and of itself if it weren’t for the hedgy way it came out. But when she glanced away, across the street, and her brow furrowed, he wondered if she didn’t have something going on. Gambling debts, maybe. She wouldn’t have been the first senior citizen addicted to scratch tickets.
He opted not to press her on that, largely because it wasn’t any of his business and he suspected she’d resent the implication and the intrusion. Instead, he went for a safer topic of a similar vein: “Are you still worried about Cami? She can get another job, you know, and you’d have enough to give her decent severance if you wanted to.”
“She lives above that store,” Lenny said, “as you well know.”
“She could find another place.” Even as he said it, guilt seeped through him like filth oozing up through the ground from a broken septic tank. He didn’t know all the ins and outs of Cami’s financial situation, but from what he did know, it wasn’t great. Losing her home would be a big hit. She was a smart girl, though, and if Lenny was that concerned about it, then she could offer to help her with rent somewhere else. That seemed far-reaching for a former boss, though.
“You’d think you’d be a little more worried about her.” Lenny’s voice had gone tight like a wire. “All things considered.”
He drew his lips together and slipped his hands into his pockets, chastened. He’d wondered how much Lenny knew about his “arrangement” with Cami, if they were close enough that Cami would have mentioned it. What Lenny knew was more than nothing, and that complicated things. It was making her hostile.
“I appreciate that you’re looking out for her. She told me she doesn’t have any family.”
It didn’t have the soothing effect on Lenny’s demeanor he’d been hoping for. “If you truly don’t care that she’ll be homeless and jobless by your little project, then you’re not nearly as nice as you think you are.” He winced. “Her sex life is none of my business, but you know what is? Her emotional well-being. She’s a sweet girl, and she’s gone through a lot. And after what her uncle did to her? I won’t tolerate you jerking her around.”
“Whoa, hold it. I’m not jerking her around. She’s an adult, and we’ve both been clear about our boundaries.”
Even saying the words made him feel like an asshole. They’d been true up until last night, but now he had no idea where they stood. He’d allowed his dick to muddle things up yet again, and as a result, he’d spent the day struggling to keep his head above water. It had been over twelve hours, and he hadn’t even texted her yet. They needed to have a conversation, to figure out wherethey stood, but a sizable part of him was terrified that talking about it would end with each of them returning home to their own beds and an agreement to not take things any farther. God help him, but being with Cami was the most fun he’d had in years. And the hell of it was, they barely even had a relationship. This casual sex-in-a-manner-of-speaking was the most fulfilled he’d been since Madilyn. He was a goddamn disaster.
Next to him, Lenny was frowning. He couldn’t even blame her.
What a lovely evening stroll this had turned out to be.
“Oh, so you’ve told her about your actual job then? You’ve let her know that you’re actively trying to put her out of work, and she’s still letting you play hide the salami?”
For a moment, his brain died. It shut down, went dormant for a few beats, then had to reboot to process his horror at what had spilled from Lenny’s mouth. “I wish you had phrased that in any other way.”
“Don’t distract me with delightful euphemisms for fucking, Desmond. Have you told her or not?”
“Not yet,” he sighed. Getting himself into this position was the stupidest decision he’d made in a long time. And now he was discussing the ethics of his sex life with a septuagenarian refusing to sell him her business. “I’m going to. I’ve been planning on it. Other things just keep getting in the way.”
“Other things like your dick?”
He opted to ignore that for the sake of his sanity. “You’re the one who lied to her about my job in the first place, Lenny. Don’t give me shit about it. Can we please focus?”
“Yes, Desmond, I have heard the things you said.” Her tone was nearly flat.
She was finished with the conversation for the night, and he wouldn’t get anything more constructive out of her. Besides that, they were drawing close to the store where he’d parked, andfollowing her all the way home would only give her more time to judge his questionable life choices.
“I am old and decrepit,” she continued, “and can’t possibly run a profitable business. My impact on the community is negligible, and no one would blink an eye if I shut my doors. You’ve made your opinion very clear.”
“Oh, Lenny, come on,” he started. “I love the store. I, myself, have spent unreasonable amounts of money there recently.”
His instinct was to assure her that he wasn’t urging her to sell because he thought the store wasn’t contributing to the community. Hell, it wasn’t even entirely out of his desire to do his job. He truly had her best interests at heart and wanted her to be secure in life. But given the way he’d mucked things up with Cami, he doubted she’d believe him. He’d just have to hope he’d struck a chord, and let it sink in for a few days.
“Please just think about it. Give it some thought. Don’t dismiss it just because you’re stubborn.” She frowned, and he could tell she was about to interrupt. “Don’t bother, you’re stubborn as a mule. Just take some time, make a pros and cons list or whatever. Decide if running the store is worth the effort, or if you could do something else just as fulfilling with the money you’d get from selling it.” He shrugged. “You might find that the answer surprises you.”
“All right, all right.” She waved him off as they crossed the street to the corner in front of the familiar plaza that housed Sex on the Beach. “Get out of my face. I have a date with Colin Firth and a bloody Mary.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He paused at the corner where Lenny would take a right and he would continue across the road to the parking lot.
She started to climb onto her bike and tug her helmet on her head. “Next time you buy my merchandise,” she said, “I’m charging you extra for being a pain in my ass.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he repeated. “Don’t pedal too hard, or you might burst an artery.”
She flipped him off and biked away. He might have been imagining it, but he got the impression she was pedalling a little faster than usual.
Cami’s restlessnessmust have been obvious, because a few hours after Lenny left the store, she received a text asking her to feed and walk Holmes that evening. This wasn’t out of the ordinary, as Lenny tried to keep an active social life that didn’t always involve a giant slobbery canine. Cami had dabbled in dog-sitting almost as long as she had worked at Sex on the Beach. It gave her a chance to get out of her apartment, enjoy some dog petting, and mooch Lenny’s Netflix subscription. Once, she’d offered Cami the password outright, but Cami had declined. Lenny had done enough for her over the past year, and what if Cami got fired or left her job at the store? Then Lenny would have to change the password, and Cami would be stranded forever in the middle of season three of Downton Abbey. No, she’d take a pass on that nightmare.
