“Boxer?”
“Yeah, darlin’?”
“Earlier, you asked what color underwear I was wearing.”
“I remember.”
I leaned toward him so I could gently nip the side of his chin. “I’m not wearing any underwear.”
His hand came up to grasp my neck so he could tilt my head back. “Yeah, babe. Youdefinitelydon’t fight fair.”
Just when he was about to kiss me again, his cell phone rang. With an aggrieved sigh, he let me go and reached into his jeans pocket to retrieve it.
“I’ve got to take this.”
I nodded, and then Boxer answered the phone and strode toward the exit. He took his warmth and my attention with him. As I watched him walk away, I studied his body for signs that he was in pain from his appendectomy, but there were none. He moved with a fluid grace, a man confident in his own skin.
He disappeared through the door, and I was alone in the restaurant. The other couple had paid and left sometime during our pinball playoff, but no one else had come in yet.
I waited a few minutes to see if Boxer would return, but when it was clear his phone call would take a little more time, I quickly played the last two balls, not putting that much effort into it. When I lost, I grabbed the container of tokens and went back to the table.
Freddy was clearing away our plates and had replaced our two sodas with fresh ones.
“How was the food?” she asked.
“Perfect comfort food. Loved it.”
“I’ll pass along your compliments to the chef.”
“You want to sit for a minute?” I asked.
Her eyes lit up. “Sure.” She plopped down in Boxer’s side of the booth across from me.
“Are you from Texas?” I asked.
“Yeah. From Fort Worth. I went to college at A&M.”
“What did you study?”
“Engineering. I dropped out last semester.” She paused. “Life stuff.”
“Life stuff. Yeah, I get that.”
I so get that.
She looked at the door, but it remained shut. Freddy’s gaze darted back to mine. “Okay, listen. Boxer would kill me if he knew I told you this, but I want to say it anyway. He’s a good guy. Agreatguy. Don’t take him at face value.”
“Face value?” I repeated.
She nodded. “He got me this job. He went out on a limb for me when he didn’t have to. He might come across…like he’s only out for a good time, but that’s just not true.”
“It’s not?”
Freddy shook her head. “Like I said, I haven’t worked here long, but he comes in every now and then and he’s never, not once, brought a woman.”
“You care about him,” I said with a genuine smile.
She nodded. “Like a brother.”