Page 85 of Hearts of Fairlake

"Another?"

"It's...a long story. And from a different celebration. I try not to think about it too much. That was weird, even for me."

"I think weird just follows you around. Like attracting like."

"Probably."

God, even when you were trying to give him shit, Bennett could roll with it in a self-aware way that wasn't self-deprecating. I'd probably come off as arrogant or pathetic if I tried to pull off the same trick. Kyle was pretty good at sounding self-deprecating but in a way that always made people laugh rather than be concerned or put off by it. Again, it was a trick I’d never learned and wasn't going to.

"Well, howdy stranger," a new voice piped up, and I turned to see Annie standing nearby, a canvas bag hanging from her elbow. She had recently cut her hair, and I wondered when that had been done.

"Huh, I thought that style was...well, out of style," I said as I eyed the way the tips of her hair curled outward.

"Yes, but a style can always be brought back if it looks good on someone."

"And do you think it does?"

She narrowed her eyes. “For someone who raised a girl, you're not particularly good at talking to them."

"Which is why I'm married to a man," I said with a smirk. "And I ask because I learned a long time ago that people, especially women, get these sorts of radical changes done because they want them and want to feel good. Not because they're trying to impress someone. So I'm just asking if you're happy with it."

"Ah, so someone has taught you," she said with a chuckle. "Sometimes I can't be sure."

"I also need to point out that if Kyle had said that, you would have laughed, called him a name, and said that you looked great, whatever he might think."

"Yes, but that's Kyle. You are something else entirely."

"How?"

"Like being a cop."

I rolled my eyes. “Bennett's a cop too, but you don't give him shit for it."

"Sure I do," she turned toward where Bennett had stopped to talk to Trevor for a moment. "Hey, Bennett, do I give you shit about being a cop?"

"Hell, yeah, fuck the police," he said, pumping his arm in the air only to get smacked in the back of the head by the chief. Which, of course, made Annie and I laugh as Bennett immediately launched a pout that worked and yet didn’t. As much as Trevor tried his best not to let Bennett get to him, even he wasn't immune to Bennett's unique...charms.

"Fine, you do give him shit," I said with a shrug. "But I feel obligated to point out that you seem to like cops just fine since you're dating one from Fovel."

She grinned. “Remember what Bennett just said?"

"Yeah, he said fuck the...gross," I said, wrinkling my nose. "That's like hearing my little sister talk about sex."

"Well, that's your problem, isn't it? Because I'm sure as hell not suffering," she said with a laugh. "Also, your husband sent me on a mission to ensure everyone working out here gets plenty of fluids. So I come bearing a gift."

I snorted, taking the bottle of water from her. “I'm surprised he's not sending you around to offer water to the people drinking after the day he had yesterday."

She shrugged. “That's next on his agenda, I think. He's been talking about being 'proactive,' which either means,yeah, I'm going to be coaxing drunk people to drink something other than alcohol, or he's going to go out and start shoving saline IVs into people's veins."

"Is that what he threatened?" I asked in amusement.

"Yeah, I told him that wouldn't do a whole lot of good and was probably illegal, and he pointed out that he can have the bags dosed with anti-nausea medicine to prevent what happened yesterday."

At that, I could only slowly blink before feeling a little uneasy. "Okay, that...isn't great."

"He was kidding," Annie said with a roll of her eyes and then paused, looking thoughtful. "Wasn't...he?"

"Probably," I said. "But when he starts putting thought into these wild plans of his, I get a little nervous because it generally means he's actually thinking through how to do it. Which is way too much energy for something that should just be bitching and moaning."

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