Page 13 of Junkyard Dog

She sat back against the fake leather of the booth. “Nothing. He’s nice.” She tore a piece off her napkin and rolled it into a ball. “He has an iguana named Stuart. It’s a girl. She likes oranges.”

He dropped his fork to his plate with a clank. “But?”

But he’s vanilla.

With a shrug, she changed topics. “You heading out with the waitress tonight?” she asked.

“Yup. Days of phone tag and I’m finally in the zone,” he stated triumphantly. “I’ll swing her by the tavern after dinner.”

She rolled her eyes and pulled her wallet out of her purse. “Have fun with that. Call me later.”

Unable to protest with his mouth full, Max waved her off and returned his attention to the cold scrambled eggs.

She climbed into her car and drove the winding streets back to her apartment. With Chris’s missed calls piling up, she’d have to deal with it sooner rather than later.

She just wasn’t good at the intricacies of dating.

Rather, she didn’t care much for them.

At the age of thirty, she was well versed in the danger of falling for the smooth tongues of gorgeous men who caught the eye of every woman in the vicinity. Men who drew smiles and collected phone numbers while they shopped for groceries. Men who were passed drinks with whispered offers in the bars.

Men who stared down temptation day in and day out until they finally relented.

She didn’t need to relive those experiences again. It had taken a few tries, but she’d learned her lesson. One year here, two years there, so much time and heartache wasted on bad boys who inevitably lived up to their reputations, their red flags waving in the breeze as they ripped out of her life, leaving her heart and bank account drained.

Her phone pinged loudly, earning a muffled moan as she fell onto her bed and checked the message.“I’ll consider it a personal favor if you size my date up tonight.”

Pursing her lips, she glared at Max’s text before responding.“We’ll see.”

*

“Alex, my man!Two tequilas, one Bud, and a paralyzer, please.”

Alex glanced up at Max and grinned when he saw the blonde waitress tight to his side. “I’ll bring it right out to you.”

Max motioned for the woman to head over to the table of rangers that had been filtering into the tavern over the past hour. “Chuck here?”

“Is she supposed to be?” Alex asked, keeping his voice disinterested.

With a frown, Max looked around the room. “Yeah. Like, an hour ago. Well, I better get over there. If Chuck comes in, send her my way.” He leaned in closer. “I need a woman’s opinion on Steph.”

Alex gave Max a quick salute and got to work on the drink order, refusing to look toward the door where Charlotte should be entering any moment.

Probably on the arm of the Spider-Man jerk.

His mood appropriately soured, he began loading a tray.

“You can take off after you run those out,” Thomas barked out from the kitchen door. “It’s slow enough for me to be up front and your overtime this week is going to put me out of business.”

Nodding, he made his way to the table and began handing out drinks.

“I hate it when she does this,” Max muttered absently, staring at his phone as he handed Alex a twenty. “Hey, Jerry. Who’s on shift tonight?”

A short man across the table leaned forward. “Becky and Jonas. Why?”

Alex gave Max his change and began collecting the empty glasses from the table.

“What are the chances they’re still in the station?” Max asked, rising from his seat.

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