Page 19 of Bishop

“Hey Zane,” the waitress smiled at him. “What can I get you tonight?”

He, however, looked at the waitress. His eyes never left mine. “Surprise me, Mae.”

I looked back to her and found her smirking. He’d probably fucked her. I had a feeling he could get any woman in here.

Even you,a little thought wormed its way through my brain.

“I’ll have an amaretto sour, thanks,” I told her before she tried to dash away.

“So, you two have a thing?” I asked.

“Who?”

I pointed to the waitress who was at the bar already and staring back in our direction. Her face had twisted up into a look of disgust. Clearly, she didn’t appreciate my presence.

Zane followed my gaze back over to the waitress who turned away the second he’d caught her looking.

“Mae,” he said again. “She’s had a crush for years but I’m not that easy.”

“Really?”

He nodded and chuckled. “Don’t sound so surprised.”

I found myself slipping into investigative mode. It wasn’t exactly like I’d planned on coming back to New Orleans to have drinks with my ex-bully.

That nagging little voice turned into a sickening sweet voice, a voice that whispered,your fine as fuck ex-bully.

“Tell me about your type…”

Zane fidgeted with the menu on the table, the one neither of us had bothered to even check out. The blues music had turned super sultry as the singer continued on and on, this new song singing of sex.

Down in the delta…

There’s a woman who I make moan

Yeah, down in the delta

I got a real good woman at home

The way her hands scratch against my back

After I filled up my pallet with her taste

Yes, down in the delta, where I drink my coffee black…

The mood in the bar had turned hot and heavy as couples moved to grind against each other on the dance floor. This singer was amazing. He had me clenching my legs together.

“I like a woman who’s smart,” Zane finally confided.

"Interesting,” I bit my lip.

“But,” he admitted slowly. “I don’t find myself keeping company with a lot of smart women.”

“Well, you own a strip club,” I frowned.

“You know…my mother was a stripper,” he leaned forward, the table rocking just a little bit.

“So, you just wind-up years later owning a …”

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