Page 7 of Floored (Frenched 3)
“Don’t look so shocked. Grosse Pointe Park is a nice place and all, but you need to be smarter.”
“What’s so smart about a gun? That wouldn’t have helped me tonight anyway. He was gone by the time I got down here.”
“Tonight he was,” he emphasized. “What about next time? Wouldn’t you feel better as a woman alone knowing that you could defend yourself?”
“Look, will you stop with all the ‘woman alone’ stuff?” I made little air quotes with my fingers. “I live alone by choice.”
“I never said you didn’t.”
I pinned him with a stare. “You implied it. It was strongly implied.”
“You know, now that you mention it, I am kind of surprised the Homecoming Queen is still single.”
“I wasn’t the Homecoming Queen,” I said indignantly.
Confession: I was totally the Homecoming Queen.
“And how would you know, anyway?” I went on. “You moved away before high school.”
“Just a hunch.”
“And for your information, I’m not single,” I lied.
“Oh no? What’s his name? Or her—I don’t want to make assumptions.” Dimples again. Asshole.
“It’s a him. Why do you want his name?”
“Could be relevant. Where is he tonight?”
“He’s—working. He’s an actor. He’s shooting a film tonight.”
Charlie found that funny for some reason. “What’s his name, please?”
Desperate, I scrambled for a name and said the first one that popped into my head—my father’s name. “Tad.”
“Tad? Tad what?”
“Tad…Pitt.” Cringe. Cringe. Cringe.
Charlie cocked a brow. “Your boyfriend’s name is Tad Pitt?”
I lifted my chin. “Yeah.”
“And he’s an actor? Let me guess—adult films.”
“Wrong.” I tried to look offended. “He’s a… dramatic actor. Shakespearean, in fact.”
Charlie made a note on his pad, an infuriating chuckle shaking his shoulders. “I could show you how to shoot a gun, you know. I mean, if Tad’s too busy shooting King Lear or whatever.”
“No, thank you.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m anti-gun and I don’t think they belong in people’s houses. I’ve never even seen a gun in real life, except on a police officer.” Glancing at the one on Charlie’s hip, I shivered. “I could never shoot one.”
“Suit yourself. What about an alarm? Ever think of getting one installed?”
“No.”
