Page 73 of Somewhere Only We Know
Lucky glanced at me and I answered him, “Well, I found her drunk off her mind on the bus last night. Rambling about hamburgers in Korean.”
She hit me in the arm. “I wasn’t drunk!”
“Why do you keep saying that? You were completely wasted.” It was kind of odd at the time. As I said it now, it occurred to me how dangerous it was, especially given how she was fodder for fans and paparazzi alike. I didn’t like it. It made me clammy to think of something happening to her.
“Iwasout of it,” she said with a rueful smile. “I had taken my sleeping pills and meds and I should have been in bed.” The words came out haltingly, and she looked straight ahead at the traffic.
Both Charlie and I exchanged glances in the mirror.
“What kind of meds?” I asked, trying to keep my tone light, not too inquisitive.
“Uh, it’s something for my anxiety.” Her shoulders tightened, making her body small again. Willing herself to turn into a pinprick of light.
I touched her back, lightly and out of Charlie’s line of vision. “Ah, okay. Well, that explains it,” I said brightly. “Interesting time to head out looking for a hamburger.”
She looked at me, tucking her nose into the crook of her elbow. Her eyes searched mine for judgment. I smiled at her, keeping my hand steady on her back.
“I was hungry,” she said with a muffled laugh, relaxing.
“Have you had that hamburger yet?” Charlie asked abruptly.
“No!” she exclaimed, already excited.
“Let’s remedy that, shall we?” Again with the ridiculous British accent.
Charlie made a sharp left, almost tilting the car on its wheels, careening widely. I grabbed on to Lucky, making sure she didn’t pitch forward.
“Charlie!” I barked.
“This is typical Hong Kong style, Lucky,” he said, his voice proper and didactic. “We’ll get you where you want to go. Faster and better.” He threw her a wolfish grin.
“For God’s sake,” I muttered. “Does that line work on all the girls you pull in?”
“You pull in a lot of girls, huh?” Lucky asked as her gaze skimmed over Charlie’s pretty-boy face and the intricate network of tattoos that peeked out from his shirt collar and wound down over his ropey arms.
“Bad boy” personified. Ava lost her mind whenever she visited me, unable to look him in the face without blushing.
I scowled. “Hey now. Nothing compared to me.”
Both of them cracked up.
We ended up at a popular spot for expats, home to the best burger in the city. I clapped Charlie’s shoulder when he parked. “Thanks, man.”
He started to unbuckle his seat belt. “You think I’m gonna pass up a burger withLucky?”
My mouth dropped open. “What? You’re coming with us?”
“What do you say, Lucky? Am I allowed to join for a quick bite?”
She grinned. “We’d love to have you.”
I wasnotinto this cute banter. “Don’t you have to work?” I snapped.
“I’ve got my own hours, mate,” he said, clappingmeon the back as he got out of the car.
We walked into the tiny restaurant, filled with colorful stools and graphic murals, finding ourselves a corner booth. Lucky looked nervous in the brightly lit space and pulled her cap down over her hair.
“Luck—I mean, Fern. Look at me for a sec?” I said as I slid into the spot next to her. She turned to me and I tucked a few errant strands of hair back into her cap. Then I pulled the hood up closer around her chin.
