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Nolan slid around the corner booth to sit closer to Lilac but stopped the instant she flinched as he arrived right beside her. He scooched to give her some more space. “Is there anything I can do foryou?”
She scoffed. “Nope.” Then she stared at him. “You’re cute,” she said, leaning toward him and wagging a finger. “Too cute, damn you. And too damn relaxed all thetime.”
“Uh, thanks,” said Nolan, simultaneously flattered, confused, and concerned. If she were sober, he’d tell her she was drop-dead gorgeous, but he had a feeling she already knew thatanyway.
Lilac scooched closer toward him and tried to whisper, but her voice came out loud and harsh. “Will you have sex withme?”
That got the attention of half the bar, evenClaire.
Just then Lilac wrapped her arms around Nolan’s shoulders and he grabbed them, gently, pulling them down. “You can ask me that later,” he said, not about to entirely dismiss her in case there was some part of her that actually meant it. He chuckled despite himself. He was actually considering it with her if asked properly. He’d actuallymake time, as Claire had said, to have sex withher.
Even if he knew nothing could ever come ofit.
His chest ached at thatthought.
“I want sex now,” she whined, rolling her head back. “With a cute boy. Agentleman.”
“I’m half that, baby,” shouted some guy—a regular Nolan sort of recognized—from a few tables over. He lifted his mug to her as if to toast thestatement.
“Fuck off,” said Nolan as Lilacgiggled.
“You’re not Silly Sandgrouse,” slurred Lilac in the general direction of the guy who’d offered. “I want to fuck SillySandgrouse.”
Half the bar burst into laughter. Nolan supposed that made absolutely no sense to anyone there, as he hadn’t gotten into the habit of discussing the particulars of his job with the Thommy’s crowd, not even withClaire.
“Lilac, why don’t we go for a walk?” asked Nolan, pulling out his wallet. He had a ten in there—that was usually enough for his beer and the tip and it was really all he could spare. He came to Thommy’s mostly to think, not to get drunk. He stared at Lilac’s emptyglasses.
“I got it,” said Lilac, swiping a hand at him and fumbling in her purse. She pulled out a hundred-dollar bill and tossed itdown.
“Whoa, whoa,” said Nolan, snatching the bill after it landed, as if he could stop Claire from seeing it and expecting what had to be at least a fifty-dollar tip. “Don’t you have anything smaller?” He slipped out of the booth. “Let me ask Claire forchange.”
Lilac caught his arm. “It’s fine,” she said. “Leaveit.”
Nolan stared down at the hundred. He didn’t know Lilac’s salary—he imagined it was far better than his—but that was almost a full day’s work forhim.
“Leave. It,” said Lilac firmly but with a twinge of playfulness to her tone. “The bartender is nice. She’s cute.” She leaned toward his ear. “I’m not gay, but she’s super cute.” Shegiggled.
Nolan turned to watch Claire, who was pouring for another customer, and his thoughts went wildly to the image of adorable Claire kissing gorgeous Lilac, Lilac’s light hands running through Claire’s thick, dark hair, Claire’s dark ones undoing that blondebun.
He felt himself blushing, and Lilac might have noticed because she started giggling. “I know what you’re thinking,” saidLilac.
“Okay,” said Nolan, tossing the hundred on the table. He looked at his own wallet and considered pulling the ten out but wondered if Lilac’s one hundred would no doubt cover both his beer and his tip and then some. It wasn’t that he was cheap,but—
“It’s for yours too,” said Lilac, giving himpermission.
Nolan cleared his throat. “Thanks.” He stared at his still only half-drunk beer and slipped his wallet back into his pocket. He slid out the free side of the seat and once he’d walked around to Lilac’s end of the booth, he reached a hand out toward her. She slid her purse strap up her arm more than once and grinned, taking his hand, standing before stumbling right into his arms. She buried her face against his chest. “Fuck me,” she said quietly—almostsadly.
Damn, stop putting images in myhead!
He took a deep breath. “Let’s go for a walk, okay?” He nodded at Claire, who gave him a nodback.
Stepping away from him, Lilac started rummaging through her purse. “My car,” she said. “I can’t leave ithere.”
“Oh yes, you can,” said Nolan, and he put his hand atop hers, lowering it back into the purse until she dropped the keys. “Let’s just go walk,okay?”
“Okay,” said Lilac, giggling. “Walk me to your car and yourapartment.”
Nolan struggled to get the door for her with one hand as she leaned into his other arm. One of the guys catcalled as they exited and Nolan fought the urge to go back and slughim.
