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She considers us. “I know EastSide is next door. Livvy told me she went to a party there last night.”
I bet that’s not all she told her.
“And what’s your name?” Enzo asks.
Brave man.
“Jewel.”
“Well, Jewel, we’re here to see Livvy,” I say, looking around and hoping she appears quickly. Talking to this Gen Z kid is not my idea of fun.
She rolls her shoulders as if our request is a burden. “She’s at the gyno,” she says, snapping her gum.
What? Did she saygyno?
“Oh, um, did you saygyno?” Weston asks with all the politeness he can muster.
Ugh. I can’t believe he repeated it.
Jewel nods. “Yeah. She has some kind of infection or something, I think.”
Oh my god, this kid needs a muzzle.
“Okay, well, we’re sorry to hear that. Do you know when she’s due back?” I ask.
She looks at the cat clock on the wall and screws up her face. “Not really. Guess it depends on how bad the infection is.”
Enzo is green around the gills and starts moving toward the door like he might catch something. “Alrighty then, we’ll just come back.”
But as he reaches for the door, Livvy appears on the other side of it. He opens it for her, the damn bell drowning out every other sound on the block.
“Hello. This is a surprise,” she says, her face a question mark.
She’s back to looking like her normal self, ‘cocktail party Livvy’ having been put away. And now that I’m taking the time to check her out, everyday Livvy is actually pretty cute, in an unmade-bed sort of way.
“Um, sorry, Livvy,” Enzo says, taking a couple steps back from her. “Jewel told us about your health problem.”
She frowns. “What health problem? Jewel, what did you tell these guys?”
“I told them you were at the gyno with some sort of infection.”
Livvy’s face turns several shades of pink before it settles on magenta. Goddamn, she is cute.
“I was at the bank making a deposit. Why did you think I was at the… doctor, Jewel?” she asks.
“Oh, I didn’t.” She turns to us guys. “I’m just that I’m in acting classes. Our last assignment was to make someone feel real uncomfortable. How do you think I did?” she asks, beaming.
Livvy points to the back of the store. “Hey, can you go through the boxes that just came in, Jewel?”
She looks disappointed she can’t practice on us anymore and gets up in a huff. It’s beyond me how this woman even has a job.
Livvy turns back to us, still blushing. I don’t blame her. “Sorry about that. She’s kind of a… free spirit.”
“No worries,” I say, stealing a glance at Owen to start his pitch. “Hey, I hope you enjoyed yourself last night.”
She stiffens, maybe bracing herself for a scolding.
But that’s not why we’re here.
