Page 64 of New Rules
Mind made up, I let myself fall asleep to the thought of moving here and making Tammy mine.
TWENTY
TAMMY
Ray had gone back to Texas, and I hated that I felt so gloomy and heartsore.
It was where he lived—he obviously needed to go back. There had also been no movement in the case of our mysterious burglar.
He’d left this morning, making sure that he’d told everyone he was leaving last night and that he’d be back in a few days once he settled some affairs and such.
It had been nearly a week since we’d finally decided to give in and sleep in the same room and give this relationship a go—mostly me, since Ray had always been on board.
I had just stepped into the Watering Hole for my closing shift when Delia greeted me from the bar. “Happy Friday, Tammy!”
I waved at her as I walked by. “Ahh yes, Friday. My second favorite F word.”
I walked through the door to the kitchen to the sound of her rolling laughter.
I set my purse in the office and then waved to Chuck, who was working the kitchen tonight, before heading back out to the bar. Corey had worked the day shift, and once I clocked in, he was free to head home.
“Be careful closing tonight, okay?” he said, stone-faced. “Now that Ray isn’t here, don’t get any ideas about staying late by yourself and taking a napin the office.”
I’d closed by myself a hundred times before, and he’d never once said a thing, and I knew he was just trying to be protective, but it still burned at me that all these men didn’t think I could handle myself.
“Diego and I are closing with her tonight, so she won’t be alone,” Delia interrupted.
Corey looked at her, assessing and internalizing what she’d said, before saying goodbye and heading out.
“That’s better,” I told her, brushing my hands together. “Too much testosterone in here lately.”
She laughed and shook her head. “Hell yeah.”
We worked fluidly around each other, serving drinks and taking small breaks here and there to chat and catch up. Delia was only a few years younger than me, and during these last few weeks we’d found that we actually had several things in common.
We’d both agreed that once I hired another bartender and she stopped doubling as security for the pub, we were going to hang out together outside of this place.
As fun as it was with her, there was definitely a part of me that missed having Ray around. His seat sat empty tonight, and it felt lonelier than usual, even though the place was busy.
I knew I was falling for him. Well, “fallen” was a better term, since I had already taken that dive.
My best friend Nikki once told me that the best way to tell if it was love or just infatuation was to picture yourself ten years down the road. If you still envisioned hanging out with him, going on vacations together, and not getting bored with each other, then it was likely love.
I could see myself traveling the world with Ray but also just sitting with him on my porch every morning, drinking our coffee and sharing conversation.
Over the last week of us sleeping in the same room together, he had begun taking the necessary steps to move here. Susan had even insisted—more like demanded—that she and Frank take Ray around and show him some nice apartment complexes.
I thought about just telling him to move in with me, but we’d barely just begun dating, so we needed a bit more time before we moved in together, even though we’d practically been living together the last few weeks.
I may not be ready yet to invite him to move in with me, but I wanted to give this a try. I knew I had sworn up and down that I was never going to do a relationship again, but Ray made it harder to hold on to that promise. He made me rethink everything I had sworn off and want to break my own rules. Or maybe he was responsible for me creating new rules to live by.
Plus, I still had that nagging feeling that he might change his mind at some point, and I wasn’t a woman who stuck with a man who didn’t love her just because she wanted someone in her life.
“Hey, Tammy, can I get a burger?” Diego’s voice jolted me out of my inner thoughts.
I watched as Delia glared daggers at Diego for ordering, once again, at the most inconvenient time, but I’d gotten used to it.
“Heard Ray left,” Diego said to me. “When’s he coming back?”
