Her Halloween Treat

“You can swing a lot of bargains if you know what you’re doing.”

“And you definitely know what you’re doing.”

“I do now.” He took a bite of his salad and it appeared he was trying to cover up a smile. Of what? Pride? Pleasure in her compliment? Because this felt like a date?

“Is Dillon selling the place?”

“Did he say something to you about it?”

She shook her head. “No. Just a guess. I know Oscar’s not the mountain-life sort of guy. He said he hates nature so much that when someone says being gay is ‘unnatural’ he takes it as a compliment because nature is so gross and horrible.”

Chris laughed. “Oscar’s great. You’ll like him.”

“So are they selling it?”

“Not selling it. They’re planning on renting it out. He asked me to fix it up and gave me a ten thousand dollar limit. I used every penny.”

“He can afford it,” she said. Dillon made mid-six figures at his law firm, and Oscar was several years older and very well-off from his investment banking job. She didn’t begrudge Dillon his success, though, not with the hours he put in. She much preferred her forty-hour workweek and her evenings and weekends off to enjoy her life. And she had been enjoying it. Until meeting Ben’s wife, that is. But tonight...she was kind of enjoying tonight.

“So...can I ask something?” he said.

“You just did.”

He glared at her.

“Ask,” she said.

“Why’d you come back?”

“My brother’s getting married? I would assume that’s a good enough reason.”

“No, you said you changed your flight to come back early. You had a weird look on your face when you said it.”

“Oh. That.” She sat back from the bar. They’d eaten at the bar on counter stools instead of the table. Since the bar was small they sat on opposite sides facing each other. It felt more informal that way, more like friends than the strangers they’d become to each other. “I had booked a couple days in LA between Hawaii and here. I had plans with a friend and they sort of fell through. So I came home a day early.”

It was technically true. Her boyfriend was also her friend and she’d had plans for them. She’d barely wrapped her mind around the accidental affair she’d been having for the past two years. She wasn’t about to drop all that on Chris’s lap. The lap could be used for much better purposes.

“You called it home.”

“What?” Joey asked.

“You called Oregon home. You said you came home a day early. Do you still think of Oregon as home?”

“Well... I did grow up here. That makes it home.”

“Does Hawaii feel like home?”

“No. Not that that’s a bad thing. It’s been an adventure, but it’s never felt permanent. Maybe it will someday. When I go places and people ask where I’m from I still say Oregon, even though I’ve been living there for years. So yeah, Oregon is home still. And I’m glad I had it to come home to after...you know, my plans didn’t work out. I feel better already being back.”

“Sorry your trip didn’t work out with your friend.”

“It’s okay. It’s for the best, really. Will you excuse me?”

Joey put her napkin down and walked quickly but not too quickly to the downstairs bathroom. She didn’t have to go, but she did need to take a few deep breaths to calm herself down. Crying with Kira all night and a few hours painting a bedroom with Chris wasn’t going to heal the wound that fast. But she refused to succumb to tears. Ben didn’t deserve any more of her tears.

In the kitchen she heard the distinct beeping of her phone. She’d set it to wolf whistle whenever she got a message.

“That’s Dillon,” she yelled through the door as she dried her hands. “What does he want?”

“He wants to know if I’ve banged you yet.”

“Oh, shit...” Joey buried her face in her hands, took a deep breath and peeked her head out of the bathroom.

“That text wasn’t from Dillon,” she said.

Chris eyed her with amusement—thank God.

“Not unless you put him under ‘Kira’ in your contacts list. I didn’t know I was supposed to bang you.”

“Ugh.”

“Ugh?”

“Yes, ugh.” She eased back down onto her bar stool, wincing in her extreme embarrassment. “I have to tell you something.”

“Before or after I bang you?”

She grimaced. “Cute. Here’s the thing.” She clasped her hands in front of her.

“How do you feel about spooning? I’m for it myself if I get to be the big spoon.”

“Now I remember why I didn’t have a crush on you in high school.”

He laughed, which was good. Better than getting up and leaving before she could explain herself.

“I told you I had plans with a friend in LA and they didn’t work out? Well... I have a boyfriend. Had a boyfriend. At least, I thought he was a boyfriend.”

“What was he?”

“A husband.”

“He was your husband?”

“No. He wasn’t my husband. That’s the problem.”

Chris started to sit back but then clearly realized he was on a bar stool and leaned forward instead.

“That doesn’t sound good.”