“He’s an accountant, how dangerous can he be?” I chuckled.
“He has a reputation for getting a little rough with the girls, so just stay clear of him.” Decker drained the rest of his beer and stood. Cindy and Leah didn’t seem opposed to Fabian’s friendship. Perhaps it was a male thing, like whose twinky was bigger than the others. “Come on, let’s get out of here. We can resume your New York experience another day.”
I could tell Decker’s mood had plummeted. The ride back to my apartment was icy and silent. Once I was safely behind the door of The Book Shelter, Decker pulled away from the curb. I had just pulled my favorite sleep shirt over my head when I noticed my phone vibrating on the kitchen counter. Casey’s number flashed across the screen. I wasn’t surprised he was calling, but I was surprised it had taken him fifteen minutes since I had walked through the door to make the call.
“Andi’s House of Meat, what’s your beef?”
“My beef is I need to speak to you about your fine meat friend, Decker. Now get your cute butt downstairs and let me in.” He hung up. Rude. I could leave him standing there on the curb, but I knew he wouldn’t go away. As I approached the front door, a bark of laughter erupted from my chest. Casey was standing in a tight fitting Will and Grace t-shirt with a pair of pink sweat pants that were also a little on the snug side. Beside him stood Lionel in a matching Will and Grace shirt, but much more conventional grey sweats. Casey’s eyes zeroed in on my shirt. It was my ‘Hug me, I’m a Muggle’ shirt. I opened the door.
“What? The final Harry Potter book was the fastest selling book in history. That just proves I’m not a geek.”
“I beg to differ. The fact you know that proves you are a geek,” Casey countered. “But geeks are hot now days, so you’re lucky.”
Lionel held up a DVD, season one of Will and Grace. “WAGathon!” he said proudly.
“WAGathon?” I asked.
“Will and Grace, W.A.G., WAGathon. We brought spirits and thought you could provide the coffee.” Casey held up a bottle of Baileys Irish Cream.
“Debra Messing and liquor, how do you guys know me so well so soon?”
Casey snorted and Lionel chuckled as they made their way up to my apartment. While I made the coffee, with a healthy dose of Baileys, Casey paced nervously. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched him and Lionel have a silent argument, short nods and furious head shakes causing me to roll my eyes and smile. Once the warm liquored up drinks were ready, I turned to face them both, my best momma’s-gonna-rip-you-a-new-one look in place.
“Now, I’ve had a confusing day and I really just want a time-out, so if ya’ll are gonna stalk around my apartment, shaking your heads at each other, you can just leave. But I’m keeping Debra and the Baileys.”
Lionel slumped and Casey turned to face me, his shoulders back, resolution set in the stubborn lift of his jaw and narrowed blue eyes.
“Do you know what Decker does for a living?”
Oh crap on a stick, they found out. “He’s a porn star,” I admitted quietly, calmly.
“He is a porn star!” Casey exclaimed before my words caught up to him. “Wait, you know?” he shrieked.
I shrugged. “I only found out a couple of days ago.”
“And you’re okay with that?” Lionel asked carefully.
“He’s my friend,” I huffed with exasperation. “Of course I’m okay with it. What kind of a friend would I be if I didn’t support his choices? And it’s not like he’s dealing meth on a street corner, or is some kind of violent pimp. He is an actor, who has sex, on film.”
Casey and Lionel shared a dumbfounded look.
“But you like him?” Casey stammered.
“Yes, like I said, he’s my friend.”
“Cinderella, the way you look at that man is like a princess who just spied her first ball gown and glass slippers but isn’t allowed to wear them until the ball. You’ve got horny eyes when you look at him.” Casey sighed.
“I do not!” I spluttered.
“Admit it, Andi, you look at him differently than the way you look at us,” Lionel inserted calmly.
“That’s because he’s pretty to look at,” I exclaimed, waving my arms around in frustration.
“I’m pretty to look at too, but you still don’t look at me that way. I’m kind of offended,” Casey said with a pout. The ridiculous look on his clearly handsome face made me laugh.
“Cripes,” I sighed, “I was crushing on that man when I was in a training bra. What can I say? I’m an idiot.”
Lionel gave me a solemn smile. Casey, on the other hand, seemed ecstatic with my admission.