“If this is about that girl…”
“Don’t worry about it.” I squeeze out a smile. “You’re allowed to flirt with other people. Especially at the bar. It’s basically part of the job description.”
“But that’s not—”
“I don’t expect you to turn into Mr. Commitment overnight,” I say. “You’re not a magician. And you’ve got such a soft spot for redheads.”
He grasps my bicep and it’s an electric shock to my heart. His gaze is dark and there’s a tick that makes his temple bounce. He parts his lips. Wets them. Then snaps them shut and shakes his head. “Give me fifteen minutes, okay? I have a couple of things to finish up, then I’ll join you.”
“You don’t need to do that.”
He winces like I’ve sucker punched him in the gut.
“All I meant is we don’t have to live in each other’s pockets. You can totally join us if you want to.”
“And you’re certain you’re okay?”
“Dandy.” I force a smile. What the hell does it mean that he’s Cap’N Crunch? Does he know that I’m Vi? How could neither of us be aware? We’ve been talking for months. It seems so obvious now.
“Are we okay?”
My breath catches in my throat. My brain screams that she hasn’t the foggiest. I nod like a bobble head. “Of course.”
He leans in and kisses my cheek. “I’ll be back as quick as I can.”
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Lewis says as I place our drinks on the table.
“I met Cap’N Crunch.” And it was not what I expected.
“You did?” Kiki grins.
I blink at her. There’s something too chipper about the way she says it. Like she knew I would meet the guy and that he would be… I pull out my phone and tap into the app.
Violet Queen: Let’s meet. Same place. You still have that box of cereal?
Cap’N Crunch: Sure do. See you soon.
“I didn’t send this.” I raise my device and show them both the messages.
“You’re welcome.” Kiki pours the cocktails into separate glasses.
I pick one up. The smooth liquid warms my throat and belly. The glass thuds on the tabletop as I put it down. “Cap’N Crunch is Vale.”
Lewis chokes on his beer. Thumps his fist against his chest. “What?”
“Vale is Cap’N Crunch.” I am still no closer to wrapping my head around the fact that I’ve been talking to him for weeks and couldn’t see what was right in front of my face.
“That’s… fuck me.” Lewis lets out a low whistle.
Kiki sips her drink as though I’m not in the middle of a crisis.
“Kiki?”
“Mmm.” Her gaze bounces everywhere but to me.
I gasp as I figure it out. “You knew.”
“No. I suspected. But I wasn’t sure. Hence I told him we’d be here tonight.”
“How? When? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“The morning after he stayed over the first time. He was texting someone. He was using the app. The wolf whistle gave it away. And I didn’t tell you because I wasn’t definite. It’s not like I had proof. Just seemed too coincidental from what you’d told me about the Captain.”
“What do I do now?” I lean on the table and hold my head in my hands. “Do you think he knows? He can’t, can he? I brought up the fact that he called his dick The Captain. He didn’t even blink an eye. He can’t, can he? He would have told me if he did. Wouldn’t he?”
Lewis’s eyes bulge out of his head. They’re still watering from inhaling his beer instead of drinking it. “He calls his cock The Captain?”
“Yes. Like Captain America. He did before. He doesn’t anymore,” I explain. “Why?”
“Because it’s a great nickname.”
“I call Dal’s Big Daddy,” Kiki offers.
“Nope.” I clap my hand over Lewis’s mouth before he can share details that I don’t want to know.
He pries my fingers off his mouth. “Shakira.”
I gape at him.
“What? Why?” Kiki asks.
“Because these hips don’t lie.” His eyebrows do push ups. “And also because I can do this wiggle thing that drives Trix crazy.”
“Too much info.” I drag my hand over my face. “Can we get back to my catastrophe? Is he stringing me along? Or is he as dense as I am?”
“I have no clue,” Kiki says.
“He probably isn’t aware,” Lewis says.
“So I should tell him.” That’s the logical thing to do. Tell him and we can laugh about it together.
“Or you could not tell him,” Lewis says.
“Why would I do that?”
“Because that way you can find out whether he’s fucking you around or not,” Lewis says.
“He isn’t,” I snap back. “We’re taking things slow. No labels. No commitment.”
Kiki covers my hand on the table, draws my attention. “But that’s not what you want, is it?”
“I can be patient. He’s gun-shy.”
“End game, Lil? You want a man who chooses you over anybody else. Who looks at you and tells you to your face that you are worth dropping everything else for. That’s who you are. You put your heart into everything. The least you deserve is someone who opens up his.”
“What happened anyway?” Lewis asks. “Most people recover from broken hearts. This guy has held onto his like it’s a fucking trophy.”
“I…” My shoulders slump and I twist my glass in the wet ring from the condensation trickling down the sides. I don’t really know what happened, do I? Only that his ex is marrying his brother and Cap’N Crunch said his life story belonged on the Maury Povich show. It’s almost as though he’s opened up to me more easily as the Captain despite all our years in each other’s lives. So maybe—
“Sorry it took me so long.” Vale joins us. His arm goes around my waist and tugs me to him.
“Hey, lover boy.” Kiki wiggles her fingers at him as she goes back to sipping her drink.
“Hey.” Lewis lifts his beer.
The warmth of Vale’s body seeps through the material of my dress. His lips caress my temple. The way he holds me stops the butterflies in my belly from making me queasy. His fingers splay across my hip possessively. “I’m so sorry if you thought I was flirting with someone else. I don’t want to be that guy with you. I’ll do better. Try harder.”
I twist in his grasp and draw him into a lingering kiss. My friends don’t know Vale like I do. They don’t see that he’s sweet and so freaking steadfast it breaks my heart that he went through some kind of hell to become this person. So if he needs to take his time letting me in the least I can do is let him. “I was a little jealous.”
“I really didn’t flirt with her,” he says.
“I jumped to conclusions.” I rest my forehead against his, my hands on the nape of his neck. “It’s just I really like you.”
He smiles as his fingers stroke the spot below my ear. “I like you too, Violet Queen. A lot.”