Page 34 of Psycho
He found a text from August. Attached was a picture of Lucas, sprawled out, arms and legs askew, mouth gaping. August captioned it:You’re sexy when you’re sleeping.
Lucas’s smile widened.Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.
August: Lunch later?
Lucas: Can’t. I have a meeting with Brenner. Dinner?
The three dots danced.I have a thing early this evening. But I can come over after? Dessert?
August was all the dessert Lucas cared about in that moment.Definitely.
August: Have a good day.
Lucas stared at the ceiling for a good five minutes with a goofy smile on his face. Brenner was the head of the psychology department, and meetings with him were about as exciting as watching CSPAN—if CSPAN had a thing for collecting antique dolls. There was an old saying that only crazy people went into psych. They were likely talking about Brenner.
After he showered and changed, he hit the coffee shop below, finding Cricket in her usual spot. Her hair was purple today. She looked genuinely excited to see him. “Hi, Lucas.”
“Hey, Cricket.”
Lucas imagined the quiet shop was boring. The Starbucks that had just opened a block away had stolen the small coffee shop’s morning rush, which was great for Lucas and the others in their building but probably not for the owners.
She turned and started making his usual without being prompted. “I saw your boyfriend this morning,” she teased, throwing a sly look over her shoulder.
Lucas felt his cheeks pinking. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
Cricket snorted. “Don’t tell him that.”
Lucas snickered. August was persistent. And sweet and charming.And a murderer.It was worrisome how that detail bothered him less and less with each passing moment. August was a good man. Could somebody say that about a person who admitted to wanting to torture people? Was Lucas just pushing his moral line further towards darkness to justify crushing on an actual serial killer? Would it matter? Three days in and Lucas was too far gone to even care.
“It wouldn’t matter if I did. He’s pretty stubborn,” Lucas admitted, unable to hide how much he liked that about August.
Cricket handed Lucas his coffee cup and his chocolate chip muffin. “I know. He already paid for your breakfast and gave me a twenty dollar tip for giving you decaf, even if you didn’t ask for it.”
This time, it was Lucas who snorted. “Yeah, he’s impossible. So, this is decaf?” he asked, holding up the cup.
“I couldn’t take his money and not give you decaf. That would be dishonest,” Cricket said. “But the saying was all him.”
Lucas frowned, turning the cup to see a masculine scrawl on the cup.
Even if there was no gravity, I’d still fall for you.
Lucas’s heartbeat skipped. “He’s ridiculous.”
“He’s smitten,” Cricket corrected. “He’s also smoking hot. You two would make a super sexy couple. Like Lance Bass and his husband but, like, nerdy hot. Way better than that other guy.”
Lucas took a sip of his coffee, wincing at the burn. “Other guy?”
“Yeah, the one who came in asking about you? Said he was your ex-boyfriend. Flashed his badge at me. Asked which apartment was yours.”
Lucas’s pulse skyrocketed, his fingers curling tight around the top of the paper bag. He’d been so wrapped up in the newness of August that he hadn’t given a single thought to Kohn for the first time in over a year. He’d let his guard down and now, he’d just been sucker punched.
“What did you tell him?” He hated the sharpness in his tone, but he was trying to keep his legs under him.
“I told him I’d never heard of you, and if he couldn’t figure out where you were on his own, he probably wasn’t a very good FBI guy. He gave me the creeps, though. He smiled like a reptile. Sorry if he’s actually somebody you wanted to talk to, but there was just…something about him.”
“No. You did the right thing.” He pulled out his business card, taking the pen from the cup on the counter, circling his cell phone number. “Listen, if he comes back or you see him poking around, can you text me?”
Cricket leaned across the counter, flicking Lucas’s card. “Is he really your ex-boyfriend?”
