Page 39 of Forest Proximity
Stevie startles.
An older woman grins down at us knowingly. “Can I pay my check?” she asks, then motions to the chalkboard. “And I want to put twenty bucks on ‘boyfriend.’”
“Of course.” Stevie scrambles to her feet.
The woman watches us emerge from behind the counter with a smug glint in her eyes, then she opens a big purse.
“Twenty bucks?” Stevie asks, scribbling the woman’s name in the Boyfriend column with squeaky chalk.
“Yes, ma’am,” she says happily, passing over a bill.
Stevie drops it into the jar, and when the woman leaves, she spins to face me. “Give me twenty bucks.” Her voice is so urgent and demanding, I half expect her to pat me down for the cash.
“What?” I ask with a shocked laugh.
She tips her face to the ceiling with a whine. “I was winning all weekend. I had it. Then this morning a bunch of locals came in and messed everything up. You’re betting on Bigfoot.” She holds out a delicate hand, curling her fingers toward herself over and over. “Give me your wallet.”
This is the strangest mugging I’ve ever been involved in.
But I do as Stevie says, sliding a twenty-dollar bill out of my wallet and dropping it into the jar myself. I’m starting to worry that I’d do anything this woman told me to do.
She poises the chalk under the Bigfoot column. “Adam ... ?”
“Sandoval.”
“Adam Sandoval,” she murmurs as she scribbles my name onto the board.
I don’t appreciate having my name in the Bigfoot column, but I like rooting for Stevie tonotfind some random boyfriend. And the sound of my name in her soft voice makes me feel like I could lift a train over my head.
When she’s finished placing my bet, she drops the chalk on the counter with a clink. “So,Adam Sandoval.” She repeats my name, brushing her hands on her white apron. “You like me.”
My face burns. I already admitted it to her, and there’s no point in denying it. She might be delusional. She might believe in ten-foot-tall bipedal apes. But so help me, I like Stevie Sullivan.
“Yes, I do.” I fold my arms over my chest.
Stevie bites her pink lower lip. “Then we have a big problem.”
Chapter 16
Stevie
The problem is that I have to win this bet.
I also think I might like Adam. I can’t say that to him in the diner, though.
“Give me just a sec.” I hold up a finger and head for the kitchen where Lola is prepping for the lunch crowd.
I poke my head through the turquoise swinging doors. “Could you cover out here for a minute?”
“Sure thing.” She drops her knife, wiping her hands on her apron.
I make my way back to Adam and gesture for him to follow me out the front door. “I’ll be back in ten minutes max,” I call over my shoulder to Lola. “But I’ll be out front if you need me.”
Adam follows me outside to a park bench on the wet sidewalk in front of the diner. Thankfully, there’s a break in the rain. My backside is going to get wet, but I don’t care. We have important business to handle. I plop down, patting the worn wooden slats next to me. He sits but doesn’t say anything.
“Well?” I ask.
“Uh, you called this meeting.” He runs his hands down his jeans. “Why don’t you start?” He holds up a hand like the floor is mine.
