Page 34 of Walk on the Wilde Side
"Then you might have cleaned up?" Rio asks hopefully and also adds in another face scrunch for good measure.
"No, I would have turned down the enchiladas. Seriously, Indi, not sure I'm in the mood to try and impress someone. It's been a long workday?—"
"And you're in love with Nev," Rio blurts casually.
We all look at my niece. She shrugs her thin shoulders. "It's true. I'm just wondering why no one else has brought it up." With that, she half skips out of the entry and turns down the hallway to her bedroom.
Rio's statement hangs in the air, awkwardly, for a second, then Indi breaks past it to return to her more relevant topic. "Just take a quick shower, and Jameson will lend you a shirt." She scowls at Jameson to stop his protest. "Deidre will be here in twenty minutes. I've got dinner set up on the patio. There's a beautiful sunset tonight. It's very casual, and there's a good chance she won't have any interest in you."
"And on that confidence boosting note," I say.
Jameson laughs. "Yeah, cuz you've always had a problem with that, especially around women."
"Fine. I'll shower, but don't get your hopes up, Indi."
I stood in the shower until Rio pounded on the door because she needed to take a pee and fix her makeup before her friend's mom picked her up for the movies. Jameson balled up a black T-shirt and heaved it at me with the warning not to stretch it out.
I carry a beer out to the patio. Indi's guest hasn't arrived yet, and I'm hoping she's decided to cancel. I'm sitting watching the sunset—it was pretty fucking awesome—when Jameson joins me on the patio. He sets his bottle down on the table. Indi has gone to some trouble bringing out placemats, candles and a vase of flowers.
"So, what's eating you?" Jameson asks. "You've been grumpy since lunch."
"Just fucking tired from a long workweek. And frankly, I'm sick of working for that dick. Can't stand the sight of him."
"Did he say something? Something about our work?" Jameson takes a sip of beer. "Or is this just because he's dating Nev? You know—that little bomb Rio dropped—it's not news to any of us."
"Don't know what the fuck you're talking about."
Jameson sits forward with a wry laugh. "You teased me nonstop about my crush on Indi."
"Seems I was right about that." I take a long drink of beer and I'm thinking about a second bottle.
"Yeah, but that's not the point I'm making. You knew me better than I knew myself because sometimes it's easier to read a person from the outside."
"Sounds like a bunch of psychological bullshit you just dug out of your ass."
"Right. Fuck off then."
"Nev is too good for him. Just like she's too good for me."
"Guess you need to let Nev be the judge of that. The two of you have been doing this weird dance around your feelings since you were kids. You've got Nev on a pedestal, but you and I both know that one thing Nevada hates is being put on a pedestal."
"Jameson, Zander, this is my coworker, Deidre."
We both stand to meet her. Deidre is a tall blonde with brown eyes and a hot body. She's wearing a skin-tight, short green dress and high heels. "Hi, nice to meet both of you. Heard a lot about you, Jameson, and you too, Zander."
"Don't know if that's good or bad," Jameson says jokingly. Even he's wowed by the tall blonde.
"I've got some margaritas in the blender. Babe, can you help me carry them out?" Indi says. She's putting her matchmaker scheme into high gear.
"Oh wow, this view," Deidre says. She walks to the edge of the patio to get the full scope of the view. I have to admit she's got my blood stirring. I join her at the patio railing.
"So, you work with Indi?" It's a lame conversation starter but then I've been ambushed with the date, and in my defense, I'm not really in a date mood.
"I'm her supervisor," she says in a haughty enough tone that it's a turnoff.
She turns to me with a smile and a set of teeth that look painted white. "I hear you and Jameson own an excavating company. That's hard work, isn't it?"
"It's not too bad once you learn the ropes."
