by J. S. Cooper
But every Friday night when I left the restaurant I thought about her and wished I was going home with her. And I told myself that the next week would be the week I would ask her out. I knew that I just needed one night, or a weekend with her. And then she would be out of my system. At least that is what I told myself.
As I got ready for my date of the evening, I couldn’t stop myself from being excited. Every week felt like the first week, and when I saw Lucky’s face in the diner I felt like I was home. I knew she and the other waitresses didn’t think much of me, though. I saw them laughing and whispering every time I came in with a new date. I knew that they tried to be quiet and hide in the back, but Maria’s voice carried across the room easily and Shayla wasn’t scared to look right at me with a disapproving stare when I arrived. Even Lucky had a giveaway sign when they were talking about me. Her face would turn bright red and she would turn away quickly. I didn’t mind though, I know that I looked shady and like a player. I was glad they didn’t judge me too much for it, though. Lucky always gave me a wide, bright smile and there were several times that we had engaged in conversations about our lives that were more than just polite exchanges. Still, I wanted to learn more about her and what she enjoyed doing. I looked down at the little magnetic notepad I had gotten for Lucky at a gift shop: it was a small black notepad, with the words “You Gotta Love It! Miami” on the front, and I was excited to give it to her. I wanted to give her one of the notes I had written for her as well, but I figured that would be too much. I didn’t want to show her my full hand too early.
“You’ve got a call, you’ve got a call, don’t drop the ball, don’t drop the ball.” My phone’s new ringer sang to me and I grabbed it quickly just to shut up the annoying voice of one of the chipmunks.
“Hello, Zane here,” I answered without looking at who was calling.
“Zane, it’s Special Agent Waldron.”
“Oh, hi.” I frowned, not sure why he was calling me right before a date. Had something happened?
“I wanted to tell you that I think you need to leave Miami for a bit.”
“What?” My voice was louder that normal and I cleared my throat before talking. “Why?”
“I don’t think this line of questioning is going well and we think that Braydon is onto the fact that you are dating his exes. From what we can tell, he doesn’t know that he is under suspicion, but we think that it’s better for the case if you take a breather for a bit.”
“How does Braydon know?” My voice was raspy, and I clenched my fists. I didn’t want to leave Miami, not yet.
“We think Brigetta has been stalking you.” He sighed. “I’m sorry, but I think she had sour grapes after your date and has been following you. It seems like she made some sort of connection and informed Braydon. He’s been overheard telling people you’re dating all of his leftovers.”
“So he doesn’t know we suspect him of drugs?” I sighed, glad for some good news.
“We don’t think so. But I think after tonight, you need to abort the current plan of dating these girls. It is my suggestion and advice that you leave Miami as soon as possible and go to Los Angeles.”
“When?”
“As soon as possible.”
“I see.” I bit my lip. I didn’t want to go. I didn’t want to stop seeing Lucky. It was too soon. I hadn’t even gotten to take her on a date yet.
“We think you should leave tomorrow if possible.”
“No.” There was no hesitation in my voice. “I can’t leave tomorrow.”
“Zane, for the sake of the case and your brother’s memory, we really think it is best…”
“I can’t leave tomorrow.” I interrupted him, as my brain worked furiously. “I have some loose ends I need to tie up.”
“If it’s about the diner…” Special Agent Waldron’s voice was soft. “I know you’ve been going there a lot, and I’m not going to ask you why. But I want to warn you that getting involved with anyone right now is not advisable.”
“I’ll go to Los Angeles in the next couple of weeks.” My voice was even and brusque. “I have some things to take care of before I leave.”
“You have to be careful, Zane. Remember why you’re doing this. Think about Noah. These drug lords, they don’t care about innocent lives.”
“Everything I do is for Noah. I haven’t forgotten. I have to go.” I hung up quickly, annoyed that he had questioned me like that. I was so annoyed that I could almost ignore the yearning and worry that rested around my heart. I wasn’t going to see Lucky again, not for a long time. Not unless I somehow got her to agree to come to Los Angeles with me. I just didn’t see how it would work, though. I’d already spoken to the Johnsons and they were more than happy for me to continue working on the documentary, but I didn’t have any idea how to get Lucky there. I didn’t think I could just say, “Hey wanna come to Los Angeles with me and work on a history documentary? You don’t know me and you think I’m a player, but hey.” I sighed to myself and rubbed my forehead. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. My initial plan of slowly getting to know Lucky and becoming friends before I went in for the kill, wasn’t going to work. The timeline I thought I had was gone. I needed to fast-forward everything and I had no idea how to do that without looking like a weirdo and her turning me down point-blank. I couldn’t afford that.
I drove to pick up Mailbert in silence. All I could think about was Lucky and how much I would miss seeing her face. “You are certifiably crazy, Zane Beaumont,” I mumbled to myself as I drove in the crazy traffic to Coral Gables. I wasn’t looking forward to my date with Mailbert: she was a beautiful, no-nonsense girl, and I knew I had to be on the top of my game. Her father was an attorney who had fled with his parents from Cuba in the 60s, and he was heavily involved in the music industry. He was an acquaintance of my dad, and I knew that if I did anything to upset Mailbert, her father and uncles would not be too happy with me. I couldn’t afford to bring down their wrath on me. In fact, I already knew it was a risk taking Mailbert to Lou’s; she would not be impressed with the diner, and would likely see it as an insult that I hadn’t taken her to a nice restaurant somewhere. I already knew I would have to take her on a walk by the beach afterwards as an excuse for taking her to the diner. I wasn’t looking forward to it, but I didn’t want to miss my weekly viewing of Lucky.
“Gracias.” Mailbert waited for me to open the car door for her as we walked back to my car. I smiled as she got in and waved goodbye to her father, who was still standing at the front door, watching me, as I got into the driver’s seat.
“De nada.” I smiled at Mailbert as I got in, happy to see that she was in a better mood than I had last seen her in.
“You learned some Spanish now, Zane?” She looked surprised and I shook my head.
“No, not really. I know enough to get by.”
“To get by where? In England?” She laughed at her joke and I nodded as I pulled away.
“I know, I know. I should really learn the language.”
“I don’t know how you can live in Miami and not speak the language.” She shook her head.
“I know, I’m a idiot. Anyone that lives in Miami and doesn’t speak fluent Spanish is a first-class idiot.”
“Well, I’ll teach you.” She smoothed her dress down, and ran her fingers through her long black hair. “Especially if you want to meet my grandparents. They don’t speak any English.”
“Oh?” I laughed, and tried to change the subject. We were going to places I didn’t want to go, and I was worried that Mailbert thought that this was the beginning of some sort of lengthy relationship. I didn’t want to tell her that I had no intention of ever meeting her grandparents.
“So, where are we going? Meat market?”
“Uh, no.” I shook my head and gave her an impish smile. “I thought we would try a new place I found.”
“Oh, who owns it?”
“Who owns it?”
“Yeah, which chef?” She gave me a “duh” look.
“I didn’t know a new place had opened recently. It’s not Wolfgang, is it? I just love his food.”
“Errr, I don’t think it’s Wolfgang.” I held in a laugh. “I’m not sure you’ve heard of the, um, chef. But I can attest for the food. It’s good.”
“Well, I’m sure you wouldn’t steer me in the wrong direction. What type of food? Not Spanish, I hope. Is it Thai? We need a good Thai restaurant here in Miami.”
“Um, I wouldn’t say Thai, but the good news is that it’s not Spanish.” I smiled and turned on the radio to avoid having to go into the exact details. “It’s a surprise. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.”
“I guess so.” She frowned and wrinkled her nose at the music playing through the speakers. “Can you turn it to 95.3, the pop station?”
“Sure.”
“Oh, we’re going to the beach?”
“I thought it would be nice.”
“Romantic, I guess. I don’t normally leave Coral Gables.”
“Not even when you dated Braydon?”
“Braydon?” She frowned at me.
“Braydon Eagle?” I spoke casually, pretending to be nonchalant. “I thought I heard you dated him, and he doesn’t seem the sort to stay in the Gables.”
“I never dated Braydon Eagle.” She looked at me like I was crazy.
“You didn’t?”
“No way.” She shook her head and made a face. “I have no interest in dating guys in the industry.”
“Oh, weird.” I frowned, wondering why Special Agent Waldron had told me to ask her on a date. And then it hit me: he most probably wanted to throw Braydon off of the trail. If he started to get suspicious and spy on me, he would think that Brigetta was wrong or that I didn’t know as much as I could. By taking Mailbert on a date, I was showing him and everyone else that I was dating other girls. I shook my head and laughed to myself. I had to hand it to Special Agent Waldron, he was definitely two steps ahead of me.
“So where are we going?”
“We’re going to Lou’s Burger Joint.” I pulled up to a parking spot and jumped out of the car lightheartedly. It didn’t matter if Mailbert was disappointed now. I didn’t need anything from her. She had no information, and I sure wasn’t going to bother wasting my time taking her for a walk on the beach afterwards. “You’ll love it. The food is great and the waitresses are even better.”
“A burger joint.” She looked down her nose at me. “Are you joking?”
“Do I look like I’m joking? Let’s go.” I grabbed her arm and pulled her along with me to the diner on the corner. I was excited to see Lucky. I was excited to give her the small present, and I was anxious to see how she would react when I gave it to her. Would she think it was too much? I hoped she didn’t ask me why I was giving her a gift. I stifled a groan. Maybe she would think I was a creeper?
“What about creeping?”
“What?”
“You just mumbled something about creeping or something?”
“No, no I didn’t.” I opened the door quickly. I was definitely losing it if I was talking to myself out loud.
“Hey Zane, welcome back to Lou’s.” Maria winked at me as I walked in. “Grab a booth, I’ll let Lucky know you’re here.”
“You come here a lot?” Mailbert frowned as we walked into the diner and looked around with a scornful look.
“A few Fridays here and there.” I walked to my regular booth in the corner, and looked around for Lucky. My breath caught as I saw her laughing with someone at the counter. My heart pained as our eyes met and she gave me a little wave before turning back to the customer in front of her. How was I going to leave Miami and Lucky behind?
“It seems like more than a few Fridays.”
“What?” I looked at Mailbert briefly and then back to the counter. Lucky was no longer laughing, and if anything she looked a little worried, scared even.
“I said I think that you’ve…”
“Excuse me, I’ll be right back.” I jumped up and walked to the counter without stopping to think what I was doing. “Hey, is everything okay?” I looked at Lucky questioningly, and she looked surprised to see me.
“I’m fine, why?”
“You looked like you were upset.” Good one, Zane. You sure don’t look like a creeper or a stalker now. I tried not to roll my eyes at myself.
“Oh, I was just talking to Nate intensely.” She nodded towards the guy at the counter, and my insides churned with jealousy. “I’m okay.”
“Oh, okay,” I responded, glaring at Nate. He looked back at me with a slight air of anger and I knew that he didn’t appreciate me interrupting their conversation. I wanted to ask her what they had been talking about so intensely, but knew that it was none of my business. “If you can bring a menu soon, I’d appreciate it. My date and I are hungry and we have plans for after we eat.”
“I’ll be right with you.” She looked hurt at my curt tone, and I turned around abruptly, upset that she was sharing private information with Nate and not with me. I walked slowly and kept my ears tuned to their conversation to see if I could hear anything.
“So, I can give you a ride to work if you don’t think your car is going to make it.” Nate’s voice sounded as smarmy as his face looked, and I prayed that Lucky would tell him where to get off.
“That’s okay. Thanks. I should have enough to get my car fixed soon. I should be fine.”
“My uncle owns a used car dealership if you need to buy a new car. He does his own financing as well, so if your credit sucks, he can hook you up.”
“Thanks, but I should be okay.” Lucky’s voice trailed off. “I think my car has some life in her yet.”
“Well, here’s my number in case you ever need a ride.”
“Thanks.” Lucky’s voice sounded happy and I wanted so badly to turn around to see if she had pocketed the number or not. I also wished I was able to give her the money to fix her car. There was no way in hell I wanted her calling Nate if anything happened. He sounded like a sleazeball. And I didn’t trust what he would do if he got the chance to be alone with her outside of the diner. Yeah, I didn’t know him. But something about him gave me the creeps. Yeah, the fact that he’s a guy who likes her. That’s the only thing you really have against him, Zane. I ignored the voice in my head that was trying to be rational. I didn’t want to be rational. Not when it came to her.
***
“I hope you enjoyed your meal.” Lucky looked like she was far away as she left collected our plates. “I’ll bring the receipt by in a moment.” And then she walked away from the table quickly.
“Hold on,” I jumped out of the booth and grabbed her arm. She looked at me in surprise and I took her to the corner of the restaurant so I could give her the little gift.
“Can I help you, Zane?” She took a step back from me, and I shook my head. This wasn’t the right time. I couldn’t give it to her now. She’d think I was crazy.
“No, no. Sorry.” I walked back to the table and sat back down in silence. I could see Noah’s face in my mind. He’d be laughing loudly if he could see me now. How the mighty had fallen!
“Here’s your receipt, but don’t feel pressured to pay right away. Unless of course, you have somewhere else to be.”
“Thanks.” I turned away from her before I spoke the words I was thinking out loud. I don’t want to be anywhere but with you. I wanted to slap myself for being such a sap inside. I had no idea who had gotten into my body, but the thoughts I was thinking were not Zane Beaumont thoughts at all.
Chapter 6
I couldn't stop thinking about Lucky and the smiley face on the receipt. She had also written a little message next to it: “On rainy days, think of the clouds.” I wasn't sure if she was just very profound or fond of writing messages that didn't make sense. It didn't really matter which it was, I was still ecstatically happy that she had written anything at all. It was weird how attached I had become to this chocolate-eyed girl; she filled my every waking hour that wasn't consumed by Noah o
r Braydon.
I smiled to myself as the words to my favorite Lord Byron poem floated through my head. It had been a while since I had thought of poetry. It hadn't seemed right to rejoice in the lyrical sensations of words while my heart felt empty and sad. However, the deep pangs of painful memories were erased when I thought of Lucky. I had come to think of her as my Lucky, even though I barely knew her. It was insane. I felt like a part of me was being driven insane by feelings and desires I didn't understand. It was more than want and lust, and it was deeper than mere attraction. I could close my eyes and just listen to her voice and be happy.
I paused to grab my pen, and started scribbling notes on my pad. Images of Lucky became words in my mind. Fleeting, floating, graceful swan, chocolate eyes that are second to none. Feel my heart inside me beat, feel the wind beneath my feet. Gazing, staring, laughing, smiling, I want to be the one you’re.... I stopped writing furiously before I wrote the next words. I froze as I thought about what I had been about to write. I didn't even want to think about it, I couldn't acknowledge it. I wasn't this guy. I didn't want to become that guy. I couldn't afford to fall for her. No matter what lies my heart told my brain, I was Zane Beaumont. I didn't do relationships. I didn't fall in love, and I didn't get close to people. Not before, not now, and not ever. I was about to continue trying to convince myself that I had no interest in Lucky when the phone rang.
