Page 25 of The Bartender Special

Oh, me?

You know, just doing the same ol' same ol'.

Still at the bar wasting my potential like you said that one time after we had sex on that weird rug your grandmother left you.

Money?

Oh yeah, still don’t have that either.

Not even Shower Jack could make that conversation feel good.

Never in a million years would he have thought their dry and very real reunion would take place surrounded by Robertsons with him hand-in-hand with the internet's newest sensation.

And he didn’t even have time for a good shower fight to prepare.

Jack glanced at the clock on the dash.

If they didn't leave soon, they'd be late. Which would only give Carol more things to say to make the situation even more uncomfortable.

Jack's hand hovered over the horn, wondering if he could play the insistence off as a joke, when the front door opened and Benny came out.

The guy might have been slow to react to certain things, but the second their eyes met, he ran at the truck like the devil was on his heels.

“Is someone chasing you?” Jack asked as soon as he was inside and buckled. He looked back at the house, curiosity pausing his anxiousness.

Benny huffed.

The pale blue button-down he was wearing fit nicely across his shoulders and chest but strained a little as he pulled his seatbelt on. Jack wondered if he worked out.

Not that he cared.

Jack averted his eyes and cleared his throat.

“Because I’m game for a lot, but fighting off the devil at your heels might not be in my wheelhouse for today.”

Benny made another little noise again.

Frustrated but not red.

“Not the devil, but he might be easier to deal with,” Benny answered. “It was my brother, Cal. He has this way of digging in deeper when he knows I'm lying and the only way to beat him is to flee from him.”

“Lying?” That surprised Jack. “You didn't tell him about our fake dating thing?” Benny shook his head. “What about Marcus being Guy?”

“Oh, absolutely not,” he said with another, slightly dramatic head shake. “I wasn't just talking to talk when I said you were the only one who knows that secret. Now drive.”

Jack touched his chest with one hand and pulled away from the house with the other.

“Well goodness me,” he said, feigning choked emotion. “I’m truly touched by the amount of trust you have in me, Benny.”

“You accidentally earned my trust because you’re too good at your job,” Benny countered. “Those Cassidy’s Special drinks should be studied as alternative interrogation tactics. Alongside Carol Robertson.”

Jack snorted at that.

“I'll take that as a personal compliment, thanks.”

Benny’s mood was nowhere near humored. Not that Jack had ever seen the man next to him anywhere near carefree. It was like the man always had his attention split between what ifs in the past, present, and future.

Even as they drove away from the neighborhood, Jack could see him look back toward the house.