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“Wasn’t happy, I presume.”
“Was a few words away from calling my mother a cunt,” I smiled.
“Yeah, well, you deserve it.”
I laughed, mainly because he was right. Why the Chief tolerated my tendency for risk taking was beyond me. He was a tough bastard, and I was sure that he was close to fed up with having to chew me out every time I came back from the field. I had spent an entire hour in his office, wincing at the way his booming voice made the windows rattle, but the fact that my recent recklessness was because of Peter Klein who had kept him from suspending me. The fact that I was saving people also played to my benefit.
“Heard it was a gas leak,” Bobby said.
I nodded. “I think they’ll be staying with Samantha’s parents until they figure out what to do next.”
“Ya need help driving them?”
“Nah,” I shook my head. “Samantha’s father was already at the hospital. They’ll probably spend the night and then head out once Peter’s good to go.”
“Yeah,” Bobby sighed. “It’s not like they have to pack or anything.”
“You have a fucked-up sense of humor.”
Bobby laughed, smacked me on the back and slid out of the booth, making his way to the bathrooms in the back.
I relaxed into my seat. It was a full house today, a large crowd gathered in front of the band, and groups of four or five scattered across the rest of the tables, voices mixed with the music and the sound of drinks being served. I scanned the bar, my eyes picking through the nineteen and twenty-year-olds squeezed together like sardines between the bar stools, drinking and laughing, enjoying themselves as if none of them had to wake up early for class. It was funny how Pub 32 managed to be crowded even during the weekdays.
I thought about playing a game of darts and was about to turn away when I caught sight of a petite blonde staring at me from across the bar. She was flanked by two of her friends, both obviously trying too hard to grab her attention. She wasn’t budging, though, and from the looks of it, was begging for a reason to leave. I met her gaze, held it for a few seconds, and then flashed her a smile.
She smiled back.
Looks like I’m not going home alone tonight.
“Caught something already?”
I turned just as Bobby slid back into the booth, his eyes searching the bar in the direction I had been looking.
“Blonde, ten o’clock,” I said.
Bobby’s eyebrows shot up. “I leave you for five minutes,” he said.
“More time than I need,” I smiled.
“She looks a lot like Hannah,” Bobby said.
“Why?” I rolled my eyes in exasperation. “Why do that? Why ruin a perfectly good night?”
Bobby laughed. “I need to keep you in line, man,” he said. “Before you go off with Miss Not-So-Perfect GPA over there, who probably got a scholarship based completely on the size of her rack, I need to remind you that you have a girlfriend. You know, just in case this one decides to spend the night and you need to hide her from Hannah in the morning.”
“One, Hannah is not my girlfriend,” I said.
“Right, friends with benefits, yada yada.”
“Two, I don’t need to hide anyone from her,” I continued. “You know that I do whatever the hell I want.”
“Really?” Bobby asked, looking over at the blonde again. “If you say so. Hannah sure as hell scares me.”
I chuckled and slid out of the booth. “For being an ass, you get to pay for my drink and Alice’s.”
“Who’s Alice?” Bobby asked. “Wait, the blonde? How do you know her name’s Alice?”
I shrugged. “She looks like an Alice.”
