Page 56 of Tito

“It’s just. It’s a private club. As silly as it might sound, we don’t discuss the club’s business outside the clubhouse.”

“Awwe,” she said in a soft voice. “You and your friends have a clubhouse. Do you have a special handshake?”

I glared.

“I’m kidding,” she said. “It just sounds, I don’t know. Like something a twenty-year-old would be doing, not a forty-year-old.”

“Believe me, I often wonder if I should be doing something different. When I was eighteen, it seemed like a great idea. Now? It seems like it’s time for a change.”

“Do you guys ride together?”

“We do everything together. The club has been my life since I was eighteen. I see the same men every day and have since we were in school. We even work together.”

“At the carwash?”

“Yeah.”

“So, that’s a real thing? The carwash?” She glanced over her shoulder and made eye contact with me. “Not a front to launder money?”

It was a front to launder money. Shocked by her boldness, I attempted to hide my surprise that she mentioned it. “The car wash is a legitimate business. There are several carwashes, from here to Oceanside. Five of us work there, full-time.”

“Oh.” She turned to face the stove. “Sounds fun.”

I stood silently while she finished cooking the eggs, wondering just what I was that I hoped to get out of the time I spent with her. If I wanted anything beyond the night we already had together, I had to be totally honest with her.

The other men were honest with their women. I saw no reason why I couldn’t be so with Reggie. What it got down to, however, was whether I could trust her when it came to maintaining silence in any and all matters pertaining to the club and the club’s business.

She placed the food-filled plates at the breakfast table. “C’mon,” she said, tilting her head toward the table. “This stuff isn’t going to eat itself.”

I joined her at the table, feeling slightly uneasy about the entire situation with the club.

“Tell me about the hat.” She poked a piece of egg and lifted it to her mouth. “Why is it so important to you?”

“I met someone—a woman—who I found intriguing, and kind. For what it’s worth, I only saw her once, and we weren’t sexual at all. We just talked. At any rate, she picked out the hat. It’s been special to me, because that was a special day. For many reasons.”

“You haven’t seen her since?” she asked.

“No, I haven’t.”

“That’s cool that you hung onto the hat for that long.”

“I suppose. It’s not as important to me today as it was a few weeks ago.”

“Why is that?”

I swallowed my eggs and took a bite of toast. While I chewed the food, I thought about her question. In all honesty, Reggie filled the void left by the hat, and of the memory of Shelley’s death.

“Because,” I said. “I found you.”

She lowered her fork and gave me a blank look. “That makes no sense.”

“I had that hat for ten years. When I lost it, I freaked out. Since then, I’ve talked to a friend about it, realized losing it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, and I met you. Meeting you allowed me to understand the hat wasn’t holding as special of a place as I thought it was. I’d been clinging to the memories of one fun-filled day with a friend. Now, I can make as many fun-filled days as I want—with you.”

Her gaze lowered to her plate. She poked at her eggs and then glanced up. “I like you.”

I smiled. “I like you, too.”

“Good,” she said. “I’d hate for this to be one-sided.”