“It’s fine,” I mumbled. “She was pretty cool about it, actually. She petted him, once she realized he wasn’t dangerous. Then when we got inside, Hunter jumped on her too. I think the whole thing was just too much.”
But had it been? Because even after all that, she’d stayed. I made her dinner, and she played with Chloe. We talked.
We did other things…
It was weird because I felt like we’d spent the whole time getting to know each other, and at the end I still knew nothing about her. I didn’t know her last name, where she worked, what she did. She was sort of cagey about it, so I didn’t press it. Not that knowing would have helped. She obviously didn’t want to be contacted or she would have given me a way to do it. I’d just look like a creeper tracking her down.
Liz came by with a tray. “Anything else, guys?”
“No thanks,” I said as she picked up an empty peanut basket from between us.
“So what happened with Alexis the other night?” she asked.
She hovered, giving me a twisted-lipped smile that I didn’t have to look up to know was there. I knew my cousin. She was trying to poke me.
I grunted into my beer glass. “Didn’t work out.”
“Really? I thought she liked you. She was giving off some very interested vibes.”
I scoffed quietly.
The phone started ringing, and Liz gave up her interrogation and went back to the bar to get it.
“Pull tabs?” Doug asked again.
“Ten bucks,” I said, fishing my wallet out of my jeans. “That’s it. And then I go home.”
Liz shouted at me from across the room. “Daniel! You’ve got a phone call!”
I looked over at her in confusion. “A phone call?”
She was grinning, holding her hand over the mouthpiece. “Alexis!”
I stared at her for a few disbelieving seconds. Then I ran to the phone so fast I tripped over a barstool and almost went flying. I limped the last few feet and took the cordless from Liz. “Hello?”
A tentative voice came over the line. “Hi…Hello. I don’t know if you remember me. We met last week? Alexis?”
A huge grin ripped across my face. “Of course I remember you. Hi.”
“Hi.”
“I didn’t think I was ever going to hear from you again,” I said, walking the phone over to the hallway by the bathrooms where it was a little quieter. “I thought maybe I did something wrong.”
She laughed. “No. You didn’t do anything wrong. At all.”
I smiled.
“I, um…I’m calling because I have a little confession to make,” she said, sucking air through her teeth.
“Yeah?”
“I stole your hoodie. I’ve been feeling really bad about it.”
“So let me get this straight,” I said, my smile so big there was no way she didn’t hear it in my voice. “You feel bad about stealing my hoodie, but not for running off on me in the middle of the night?” I teased.
“Yeah…about that. I’m sorry. I’m a hoodie thief and a runaway.”
“Well, you should know that one of those things ruined my whole week. The other thing was just a hoodie.”
She laughed. “Can I mail it to you?”
I shook my head. “Nope. Not fast enough. I’m gonna need that back immediately. Tonight preferably. I can come get it, just give me your address.”
“Tonight, huh?”
“Definitely. Poor hoodie, confused and lost. You’re probably keeping it in a dark closet.”
“Oh, no, your hoodie has been very well cared for, I promise you.”
I smiled. “Are you wearing it?”
“Well, you don’t steal a hoodie and not wear it. Otherwise it’s just another senseless crime.”
The idea of her wearing my hoodie made my heart pound.
“You know, I have a theory,” I said, switching the phone to my other ear.
“Oh, yeah, what’s that?”
“I think you took that hoodie because you wanted a reason to come back here.”
“Reeeeally.”
“Yeah. And I think I know why. The baby goat. Are you using me to spend time with my kid? Because if you are, I have to be honest, I get it.”
She laughed, hard.
“Well, if I do come back there, am I going to be accosted by the pig again? Because that was a lot of excitement for one night.”
“Okay, first of all, that pig has a name. It’s Kevin Bacon. It’s rude not to use it.”