Page 84 of Without You

“I work with vehicles for a living,” I remind her. “Kind of my job to be able to detect the different engine sounds.”

“Ahh. Still, though. That’s kind of crazy, right?”

I shrug. “Honestly, I don’t know. It isn’t to me, but maybe I’m weird.”

“Well, you’re definitely weird.” She giggles, taking a large bite of eggs. “Good thing I took the time to throw on some clothes, huh?”

“Feeling pretty grateful for that right now, too.”

Chad walks through the door, then stops in his tracks when he sees Katie sitting there.

“Well, this is an interesting turn of events,” he says, placing his large tool bag on the floor and removing his coat, tossing it on the back of the stepladder he’s been using while remodeling the kitchen.

“Good one, if you ask me,” I reply.

He nods, moving to the counter and the skillet still sitting on the hot plate. He grabs a fork from the drawer and eats straight out of the skillet.

“Help yourself.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” he mumbles around a bite, back to the counter, leaning against it. He crosses his legs at his ankles and motions between us with his fork. “So this thing, looks like it’s working out for the two of you. Looks like you’re still wearing date night clothes, Katie.”

I grin. “It’s working out pretty well, thank you.”

“Mm hmm,” Katie agrees.

“About time he got off his ass. Fucker’s been pining for you since you first came to town.”

Katie snorts. “He’s always had a problem with self-esteem, but he finally found the courage to ask me out.”

“You’re right. He’s never been very confident. It’s one of his major faults.”

Katie the traitor replies with, “It is. We’ll have to work on that. Lift him up a bit.”

“Might be tough. He’s been so down on himself all his life. We tried, Johnny and I, to make him realize what an awesome guy he was.” Chad sniffles.

“I know,” Katie says, standing up and gripping his biceps. “You did the best you could with what you were given.”

“I’m right here, you know.”

“We know,” the jerks say simultaneously, turning to look at me.

“So glad to see y’all are getting along.”

Chad finishes off the last of the scrambled eggs and puts the skillet in the sink. “Right? I mean, how shitty would it be if your best bud and your best girl don’t get along? Thanks for breakfast, man. I was starving.”

“If we’re done here,” I begin, amused at their banter and thoroughly pleased with the fact that my friend and my girl get along, even if it’s at my expense. “I have a busy day so if y’all don’t mind.”

“Trying to get rid of me?” Katie asks coyly.

Chad chuckles. “Don’t dig yourself too deep, man.”

“Thanks for the support. Don’t you have work to do?”

“Quite a bit of it, actually. This customer is a giant pain in my ass.”

“Better get to it, then.”

“Right,” he murmurs into a cup of coffee that he also helped himself to.

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