Page 27 of Lucky Mother Pucker

I pinch the bridge of my nose and lean back, angry with myself. That conversation with my dad after the game put me in the worst fucking mood.

Every time I’m around him, I’m always such an asshole. But that’s no excuse to be rude.

“Maybe you should try apologizing to her again later,” Briar says gently.

“Another big tip might help too,” Poppy says.

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” I say.

A few minutes later, Lucy drops off the milkshakes. Our food comes a while after that. She’s polite when she checks in with us, but she makes it a point not to look at me.

When we finish the meal, she drops off the bill.

“I’ll get it,” I say, putting down my card.

Blake pats my shoulder. “Thanks, dude.” Everyone else tells me thanks. Lucy comes by and takes my card without speaking, runs it, and drops it back off. I write two hundred dollars in the tip section, put my card back in my wallet, and get up from the table with everyone else.

“Oh, shit. Someone’s car’s getting towed,” some guy a few tables away says.

Everyone in the diner looks out the window. On the street, in front of the parking lot, a guy in coveralls secures a gray sedan to the back of his tow truck.

The guy at the table whistles. “Damn. That sucks.”

A second later, Lucy runs through the restaurant.

“No, no, no, no!” she says in a panicked voice as she darts out of the entrance. “No, please! That’s my car!” she hollers as she runs across the parking lot.

Without thinking, I take off after her.

“Wait! Please!” she runs up to the tow truck driver. “Please don’t tow my car!”

“Sorry, miss. But I have to,” the driver says. He nods at the fire hydrant a few feet away. “You’re blocking a fire hydrant, and that’s illegal.”

Lucy stands there, her eyes big, breathing hard as she looks between the fire hydrant and her car.

The driver secures her car to his truck, then makes his way to the driver’s side.

“Can I at least grab my stuff from inside the car?” she pleads. “I’ll run inside and grab my keys real quick.”

“That’s against policy. Sorry.”

I grit my teeth. This asshole doesn’t sound the least bit sorry.

“You can get your car back at the city lot,” he says. “We take cash, check, and credit card.”

“Wait, how much is this going to cost me?”

He shrugs. “Probably a couple hundred bucks.”

“Dude, come on. Cut her a break,” I say.

Lucy spins around, her eyes wide with surprise at seeing me.

The driver barely looks at me. “No can do. The city’s cracking down hard on cars that block fire hydrants, especially near campus. Students have been getting away with it for years. It’s a safety hazard.”

“I didn’t see the fire hydrant, I swear,” Lucy says, her voice pleading. “I didn’t get enough sleep last night, so I wasn’t paying attention like I should have. I promise, I won’t do it again.”

The guy hops into his truck. “You can come get your car in an hour,” he says, ignoring her pleas.