Page 28 of Protect and Serve

Heat walked up his cheeks. “I…ah…” Fuck. Might as well blurt it out. “I really like you, Claire.”

It was gratifying to see her flush as well. “I…ah…like you too.” He had the sense she was toying with him, but in a very gentle way. The tender way a cat plays with a mouse when she’s full.

“I hope that we can—”

A shadow fell over the table, scuttling his proposition. Which sucked.

“Well, hey there.” As friendly as the words were, Dustin’s tone had a serrated edge. He smiled at Claire and then shot Charlie something with teeth as well, but it was far from convivial.

“Hey, Dustin. How are you?” Yeah, no wonder he thought he still had a chance with her, with her talking to him and all.

“What’s going on here?” Dustin waved to the candle and the tablecloth.

“We’re on a date.” Okay. Maybe he hadn’t needed to grind it out like that. But be real. They were holding hands. Staring into each other’s eyes. This wasn’t two old friends comparing fishing holes over a couple beers.

Dustin blanched and his cheek worked. “A date?” He frowned at Claire. “I thought you were seeing someone.”

Charlie leaned forward. “She is.”

“What? Him?”

“Dustin—” There she went, being nice again.

He had to interrupt. “Yes, me. Now, could you skedaddle, please? We’re in the middle of a conversation.” He smiled, or something like it, but only for Claire’s benefit.

Dustin’s eyes narrowed, and he made a sound, something like a growl, but he spun on his heel and stormed back into the bar.

“Shame on you,” Claire whispered when he was gone.

“Shame on me? What did I do?”

“You were so mean to him.”

“He wasn’t responding to nice. Or did you miss that? And on that note, why are you so nice to him?”

“Because I am a human person. I try to treat everyone with respect.”

“I appreciate that, Claire, but some guys think nice is an invitation.”

“Nonsense.”

“If you really want to get rid of this guy, you need to send him a clear message.”

“I don’t want to hurt his feelings.”

“Men need clear messages. We’re too deluded by lust to comprehend subtle.”

“I beg to differ.”

He was about to correct her, when something touched his leg, then skated up his thigh and nestled in his lap. Her bare foot.

He nearly swallowed his tongue.

She stared at him with wide eyes and the hint of a smile. “Some men are very good at picking up on subtle clues, wouldn’t you agree?”

Needless to say, dinner was difficult. He could barely eat a bite.

Oh, Claire had a wonderful time. It was fun teasing Charlie, watching that muscle in his cheek bunch, or his eyes cross as she stroked him relentlessly. He didn’t even complain when she ate all his onion rings. After their kerfuffle about Dustin, they started talking about other things. His adventures overseas, her boring life, their thoughts on the coming election. And yeah. There, they had to agree to disagree, but it was still fun debating things.