Page 14 of Truth, Lies, and Second Dates
Ava tried to shut out the drunken babble and focus. “Emesis? Those things you find in hospital rooms?”
“Yes.”
“Why are you traveling with an emesis basin?”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got plenty. I don’t need that one back.”
Plenty?“Thank God,” she replied with no small amount of relief, because from the sounds, Dennis was using the hell out of the thing. Or he was being devoured by dinosaurs.
The weight-lifting track star smiled and said, “Why don’t I follow you? The Hyatt is less than ten minutes from here. I’ll help you so you can get him up to your room.”
“We’re not sharing a room,” she said quickly, because she’d decided it was important to establish that for some reason. “I mean, it’s not necessary. Don’t put yourself out.”
“I wouldn’t be, Captain Capp. I didn’t imply I would aid you without payment.”
Hey!“Hey, that’s right! How’d you know who I was? Wait, don’t tell me…”
“Belly landing,” they finished in unison. “Argh, they’re gonna chisel that into my tombstone.”
“As well they should, if the stories are accurate. In return for my assistance with your friend this evening, I ask that you allow me to buy you a drink in the hotel bar and tell me the tale of the belly landing.”
She stared at him. “I don’t even know you.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
She thought about trying to wrestle a vomit-spatteredDennis out of her car, through the parking lot, into the lobby, up the elevator—
You know what? Fuck it.
“Deal,” she said.
From the back seat: “I’m done throwing up if you two wanna bone in the back seat.”
“Jesus Christ,” she muttered, but the mystery hunk just laughed.
Six
“Of course I recognized the infamous Captain Bellyflop—”
“Oh, for—I dooneinterview with Buzzfeed…”
“—and had to introduce myself.”
“There’s really not that much to it.”
“I have found that when someone says that, ninety-five percent of the time it’s demonstrably untrue.”
“What, you’ve done a scientific study? Besides, it was. And it was ages ago. I can’t believe people still remember.”
“It was two and a half weeks ago. Which in news-cycle time is about forty years, I grant you.”
“Ages ago,” she insisted.
“Next you’ll tell me you were simply doing your job—”
“Well, I was.”
“—and your training kicked in—”
