His lips wanted to show their disapproval, but Avis wouldn’t allow it. “All water under the bridge.”
His phone rang then, chiming out the familiar tune “Thank You For Being a Friend,” and he held up a finger to plead for a moment, the smile never leaving his face. “Of course, chap. I’m on it. Give me five, and I’ll be right there.” He clicked off his phone and smiled. “That was our man of the hour. I’m afraid I’ll have to cut this short. Shall I keep this meeting our little secret?”
Sipping her coffee, Poppy shook her head. “Nah. I don’t mind if you tell him. I don’t want you to be dishonest on my account.” Not any more than you already are.
He swatted the table with a pair of gloves he’d pulled from his pocket. “Good show then. Lovely to have spent some quality time with you, Poppy. Let’s do this again soon? Maybe with Rick?”
Smiling, she bobbed her head. “Sure.”
He rose, sliding out of the booth with the grace of a cat. “Cheers!” he called, and then he was moving back between the booths toward the door.
Nina and Marty were in his side of the booth in two seconds flat, each looking at her with the big question on her face. “So?” Nina asked. “Is he a douche or is he a douche?”
Poppy wasn’t sure she could find the right words to express her feelings about Avis at this point, something she appeared to struggle with lately.
Marty reached across the table and grabbed Poppy’s wrist. “Poppy?”
Letting out a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding, she made a face. “He’s the biggest douche ever. As in, the douche of a lifetime.”
“And you’re sure, honey? I mean positive? This is his best friend since college.”
Nina flicked her fingers in Marty’s face. “Yeah, she’s sure, Fakey-Locks. Can’t you see the look on her face?”
Flattening her palm on the Formica table, wishing Avis’s face was beneath it, she agreed with Nina. “Yes, I’m surer than sure. He’s a scumbag, and I don’t know what he’s done, but he’s done something. It’s something dark and ugly and cruel.”
Marty tugged at her purple scarf, loosening the knot. “I just thought of something. Do you think he’s this aura January’s talking about? The one that’s attached to you?”
She hadn’t made that leap, but it made sense. Complete sense. “You think he’s jealous? Rick’s been familiar-less for a while now. Maybe he thinks I’m taking up too much of Rick’s time?”
“Maybe he needs his fancy British ass whooped?” Nina asked, pushing her sunglasses back on her nose.
“I think we need to talk to January before we do anything. If Avis is the aura, or whatever we’re calling that green and yellow cloud of toxic waste that came out of you last night, we need to be sure we handle this the right way,” Marty said.
“I think Marty’s right. So no ass whooping just yet. But the more I think about it, the more what Marty says works.”
“Then let’s go see a witch/doctor about a fuckhead,” Nina said.
Poppy would laugh if she weren’t so worried about telling Rick how she felt. She couldn’t just accuse Avis of something with no proof and expect Rick to believe she had a gut feeling she was right.
That was ridiculous.
On the other hand, this was one more thing off her plate.
Date with a dick achievement unlocked.
Chapter 15
As she sat amidst boxes in her soon-to-be-former apartment, preparing to load them up and send them to storage, Rick slapped the last sealed box with a final grunt. “I think we got it all. Every single bobblehead known to man,” he teased with a grin.
“Bobbleheads give me life,” she defended, forcing her eyes from devouring him in his navy-blue sweater and black jeans.
His grin made her heart skip a beat. “I heard all about it as you gave direction on how much bubble wrap I should use to pack them properly.”
“Listen, you complain, but how would you feel if all those fancy vases in your fancy house ended up in little pieces? My bobblehead of Beyonce would never forgive me,” she joked.
Laughing, his eyes scanned the boxes piled high by her bathroom door. “You know, you don’t have to put this all in storage, Poppy. I have plenty of room at the house.”
Yeah, but there wouldn’t be any room left at the inn when she confessed her feelings about Avis. He’d want out, and after an unsuccessful attempt to reach January to get her council on whether Avis could be the entity, Poppy realized it didn’t really matter anyway.
She still thought Avis was up to no good, and if he wasn’t the aura, she still had to confess to Rick her bad feelings about him.