“Coming to gloat about being right?” She sniffled.

“Not this time.” I leaned in and playfully elbowed her. “Plenty of time for that in the office.”

She laughed through her tears. “God, you’re such a jerk.”

I couldn’t argue with the truth. “You okay?”

She took a deep breath in and let it out. “Yeah. I’ll be okay.”

“You want to talk about it?” Please say no.

“Not really.” Yes!

“He told me he missed me and rubbed my arm.”

Okay. So she doesn’t get the definition of “Not really.”

I inwardly sighed, but outwardly nodded so she could continue if she wanted to.

“I asked him if that meant he was ready to get back together. He said he wasn’t ready. Then your words yesterday hit me. ‘Saying he misses you isn’t committing to jack shit and might just be to lower your defenses and raise your skirt.’”

I’m poetic, aren’t I? “I’m sorry.”

She looked down for a few minutes. I kept my mouth shut, trying to give her some headspace. Plus, I had no idea what to say other than I’m sorry and I told you so, and something told me the latter wasn’t a good idea.

Eventually, she looked over at me. “Why did you come?”

“I parked in a garage a few blocks over. You happened to walk out as I passed, and I saw you were upset.”

Annalise shook her head. “No. I meant why did you come tonight at all—to the hotel?”

I opened my mouth to speak and she stopped me, wagging her finger as she spoke. “And don’t even try to tell me you were meeting a friend. Give me more credit than that.”

I toyed with the idea of standing my ground on the lie, but decided to come clean. The problem was, the truth didn’t make any sense—even to me.

“I have no fucking idea.”

Her eyes roamed my face, and then she nodded like she understood.

That makes one of us, at least.

“Are you hungry?” she asked. “I didn’t make it to the entrée. Just had a salad as an appetizer before I left. And I don’t really feel like going home yet.”

“I’m always hungry.”

She looked over at the hotel and back to me. “I don’t want to eat here.”

“What do you like to eat?”

“Italian. Chinese. Sushi. Burgers. Bar food.” She shrugged. “I’m not picky.”

“Okay. I know the perfect place. It’s about a mile from here. Why don’t you drive, and you can drop me back at my car when we’re done.”

She answered quickly. “No.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t like to drive with people in the car.”

“What do you mean you don’t like driving with people in the car?”

“Just what I said. I like to drive alone.”

“Why?”

“You know what…just forget it. I’m not hungry anymore.”

What the hell? I raked my fingers through my hair. “Fine. I’ll drive myself. Do you know where Meade Street is?”

“Yes.”

“It’s called Dinner and a Wink.”

“Dinner and a Wink? That’s an odd name.”

I grinned. “It’s an odd place. You’ll fit right in.”

Chapter 13

* * *

Annalise

“This is so good.”

I’d been prepared for the worst when we walked in. The place looked like a dive from the outside. Inside décor wasn’t much better—bad lighting, dated furniture, and the faint smell of stale beer wafted through the place, compliments of a fan kept behind the bar—although every bistro table and stool at the bar seemed to be filled with couples. And the people were all so happy and friendly. I looked around, and a woman sitting with a man smiled and winked at me. It was the second time that had happened in the half hour we’d been here.

“How’d you find this place? It’s off the beaten path and looks terrible from the outside.”

“Ah.” He brought his beer to his mouth. “I’m glad you asked. I found this place by accident once. I dated a girl who lived a few blocks away and stopped in for a much-needed drink after I broke it off with her. She didn’t take it too well. It’s a special place.”

I looked around again, and a few more people smiled at me. “The food is so good, and everyone is really friendly.”

Bennett’s smile widened. “That’s because it’s a swingers’ place.”

I coughed mid-swallow, nearly choking on my food. “What did you say?”

“A swinger’s place.” He shrugged. “I didn’t know it the first time I came here either. Thought everyone was just glad to see me. Don’t worry, they won’t approach you. If a couple is interested, they wink. If you wink back, they’ll come over and chat.”

My eyes bulged. I’d been winked at twice already and could’ve winked back.

“Why would you bring me here?” I chanced another peek at the people eating. More smiled, and this time, a guy winked at me. I turned my head quickly. “These people think we’re a couple and out cruising to swing.”

He chuckled. “I know. Thought you’d find it funny, seeing how you told me you got dumped in college because your boyfriend wanted to swing.”

“There’s something wrong with you.” After I said it, I looked around again. It suddenly felt like we were sitting center stage. And apparently we were popular, because I got two more winks.

“The food’s awesome, and no one hits on you unless you wink back. It’s the perfect place to come when you want to be left the hell alone and grab a bite to eat.”

He had a point…I guess. Although he’d thought of bringing me here to poke fun at the story I’d told him.

“So tell me why you don’t drive with people in the car,” Bennett said. “Are you a nervous driver or something?”

I’d had a drink before dinner, so my guard was down a little. “I do something most people might think is strange when I drive, so I try to avoid passengers.”

Bennett dropped the french fry he’d just picked up back down onto his plate and leaned back into his chair. “I can’t wait to hear this.”

“I shouldn’t even tell you. I told you about the swinger’s thing, and you brought me to this place. Your sense of humor is a little deranged. God knows what you’ll use this one against me for.”

He raised his arms up to rest on the top of the booth and spread them out wide. “If you don’t tell me, I’m going to start winking at people so they come over here.” He looked to the right and wielded a megawatt smile. I followed his line of sight and found a couple who looked anxious for his wink.

“Oh my God. Don’t do that.”

He lifted his beer to his lips. “Start talking.”

I sighed. “Fine. I narrate while I drive. Are you happy now?”

He wrinkled his nose. “Narrate. What does that mean?”

“Just what I said. I narrate. If I’m about to pull up to a stop sign, I say out loud, Pulling up to a stop sign. When I see a light turn yellow, I might say, Slowing down. Light turned yellow.”

He looked at me like I was nuts. “What the hell do you do that for?”

“I had a car accident when I first started to drive, and I was nervous about getting back behind the wheel. I found narrating my moves helped calm me while I drove. It sort of just stuck. So I don’t let anyone ride with me, except for my mom and best friend, Madison. They’re so used to it, they don’t even notice I’m doing it and just keep talking.”

“You are definitely driving me home. I’ll Uber back to get my car tomorrow morning before work.”

“What? No!”

He turned his head to the right, but kept his eyes glued to me. “I’m gonna wink.”

“Stop it. Don’t.” I couldn’t even pretend to be seriously mad, because the whole situation was absurd.

Bennett set his beer down and lifted up a fry. “Picking up a french fry.”

He raised it to his mouth. “Raising it to my lips.”

I chuckled. “God, you’re a jerk.”

He wiggled the fry at me. “You’re smiling, aren’t you?”

I sighed. “Yeah. I guess I am. Thank you.”

“Anytime, Texas. I’m here for your amusement for the next few months.” He winked. “Before they ship your ass off to Dallas.”

A minute later, a couple appeared at our table. It took us both a minute to realize what had happened. Bennett had winked at me, and some couple took that as their invitation.

***

“Have you ever stolen anything?”

Bennett asked me the question just as the waitress came over to check on us. He ordered another beer, and I asked for an ice water. It was his fourth or fifth—I’d lost count. Since he’d decided his car was staying parked outside overnight, and I was driving him home, he’d made good use of being free to indulge a bit.

The waitress stood next to our table, looking at me rather than going to grab our order. I thought perhaps she had been waiting for the rest of my order, so I smiled politely. “I’m good. Just the water for me.”

She smiled back. “Oh, I’ll grab that beer and water in a jiffy. I’m just waiting to hear your answer to his question.”