Page 13 of Amore
She took the bag from my outreached hand. “This will be lunch and dinner for me.”
“All right. I’ll call you later?”
“Yeah.” She pouted, clearly unhappy that she was being brushed off. We didn’t hang out together all the time, and I had friends I spent time with without her, so going out with a friend wasn’t anything new.
I gave her another quick kiss before she left, and then I finished getting ready to meet Frankie—or asIcalled her, Franks.
* * *
The excitementI was feeling turned into nerves as I got closer to the coffee shop. Being nervous wasn’t supposed to happen to me because of the job I had, but knowing that I was about to sit across from Frankie was making me jittery. I wanted the time with her to be easy and fun like the old days, but I knew I had to ask her what happened afterthat night, which would likely cause tension.
Getting out of my Dark Matter Gray Metallic Mustang, I straightened my black T-shirt, concealing the off-duty weapon I always carried when I wasn’t on shift, and made my way into the coffeehouse. I spotted Frankie immediately at a corner table, a blue LA Dodgers hat covering her chestnut brown hair.
I took a deep breath and made my way toward her. “Franks,” I greeted as I got to the small table.
She looked up with her honey-colored eyes, and once she saw it was me, she smiled and stood to wrap her arms around my neck. “Luke, it’s so good to see you again.”
“You too.” I noted she already had a cup of coffee in front of her. “Let me grab a cup of coffee. Do you want another?”
She snorted slightly. “That’s okay. I’ll be up all night if I do, and I really need some sleep tonight, unlike last night. Or I guess it was this morning.”
I smiled warmly. “Yeah. I got in pretty late too.”
“Well, go get your coffee, and I’ll be right here.” She sat back in her seat.
I nodded and did just that. Once I had my iced caramel macchiato, I walked back to the table and took a seat across from her. I adjusted my T-shirt again to cover my gun.
Frankie’s brow furrowed, and she whispered, “Is that a gun?”
I took a quick sip of the iced coffee. “Yeah. I carry it when I’m not on duty.”
She blinked. “Are you a cop?”
“I am.”
“Wow,” she breathed. “I had no idea.”
We hadn’t spoken in over nine years, but her parents knew I was a police officer. Maybe she never asked about me. “Yeah. I went to UCLA for criminal justice, then the police academy.”
“Here I was thinking you only did security for a”—she lowered her voice—“sex club.”
I grinned. “Just do that a few times a month for some extra cash.”
“That’s amazing. I have mad respect for law enforcement and other first responders.”
“Thank you.” I took a sip of my coffee. “And I have to admit that I’ve seen all of your movies.”
Frankie’s eyes widened as she drank from the straw of her iced coffee. “All of them?”
I nodded with a smile. “I think so. At least what’s on your IMDb page.”
“Wow. Thank you.”
“It’s not every day someone from our small town makes it onto the big screen.”
“No. I just …” She stared out the window to the side of us. She took a small breath. “I just didn’t thinkyouwould, is all.”
As she continued to look out at the street, I stared at her, and since the words were on the tip of my tongue and I was looking for answers, I asked, “Because of how you left without a goodbye?”
