Terri Osburn - Up to the Challenge

What the hell had just happened? One minute they were bickering and trash talking like normal, then Lucas got all weird again. First, he’d insulted her, which would normally have pissed Sid off, but the way he’d looked at her, as if he wanted to pick her up and carry her off somewhere, screwed with her wiring and anger was trumped by lust.

Sid had wanted Lucas to notice her for years, but never believed he ever would. Maybe she’d been wrong. Just imagining the things he might be imagining sent heat to the tips of her ears. But if he was interested, why did he keep backing off?

Maybe he was just a sore loser. Except without his help, she never would have won. She’d underestimated his skill going in. If he’d gotten another turn, the game would have been over in seconds. Instead, he’d helped her win. A fact she’d never admit aloud, but true all the same.

This was why Sid didn’t spend time with a lot of people. She sucked at figuring them out. Joe was a simple guy. He didn’t say much, but when he did, the words were straightforward, easy to understand. No hidden meanings. No games.

When Lucas talked, he might as well have been speaking another language for all she understood him.

“Sid?” said Annie, dashing into the poolroom, short black hair dancing around her face.

“Yeah?”

“Lucas said to come get you. We’re opening the doors.”

Only then did Sid realize she was still holding the cue stick, standing next to the pool table like an idiot. “I’ll be right out.”

The rest of the day was a blur. Saturdays were always the busiest, especially the lunch crowd. Dempsey’s was known throughout the Outer Banks for the best fish and chips in the mid-Atlantic, but the burgers ran a close second in popularity. Both featured special recipes concocted by Patty in the early days of the restaurant.

By the end of the day, Sid wanted only two things: a cold beer and a hot bath.

“Tough day?” Beth asked, coming up beside Sid as she counted her tips at the end of the bar.

“Why do you ask?”

“Because your ponytail is falling off the back of your head, and there’s enough ketchup on your shirt to fill a couple bottles.”

Sid looked down. “Gross.” She grabbed a napkin and rubbed, but the red sauce had dried long ago. “It’s not coming off.”

Beth laughed. “Nearly every time I see you, you’re covered in either fish slime or grease. But ketchup bothers you?”

“Shut up, Curly.” Sid gave up on the condiment and yelled to Lucas, “Cash me out. I’ve got a hundred fifty in ones.”

With the ring of a bell, Lucas opened the register and exchanged the money. “There you go.” He turned to Beth. “Where’s Joe?”

“In the bathroom. He should be right out.” Tying an apron around her hips, Beth looked from Sid to Lucas, then asked, “No bets today?”

Sid had forgotten about the pool game. She considered telling Lucas to forget the twenty-five, then recalled her run-in with Old Man Fisher. Every little bit got her closer to that garage.

“Not on the tips,” Lucas said, before Sid could answer. “But Sid smoked me in pool this morning. I still owe her twenty-five dollars.”

“Forget it,” Sid said, determined to be the bigger person this time. She’d made nearly as much in tips today as she had the day before. What was twenty-five more dollars?

“Nope, I always pay my debts.” Lucas pulled a wallet from his back pocket and pushed the money her way. “Now we’re even.”

“How are you even?” Beth asked. “You’ve had two bets in two days and she’s beat you both times.”

“True.” Lucas leveled hazel eyes Sid’s way. “How about that ride?”

“Ride?”

“Home,” he said. “Is the offer still open?”

She’d sworn the night before never to offer again, but Lucas didn’t know that. And telling him he’d hurt her pride by turning her down twice would only make her sound pathetic. In truth, there was no reason to refuse. Except that being near him made her feel like she’d sucked in too many exhaust fumes, and trying to figure him out was like trying to read the directions on a new lift kit. In Japanese.

“No problem.” Right. No problem. This playing it cool thing was going to put her in the loony bin.

In that moment, Joe strolled out of the kitchen. “You got a minute?” he asked Lucas.

“Sid was just about to drive me home.”

“I can wait,” Sid said, knowing Joe wouldn’t ask unless he had something to say that needed saying. Far be it for her to cause a problem.

Lucas didn’t look happy, but he followed Joe back into the kitchen.

“What’s that about?” Sid asked Beth once the men were out of earshot.

“I’m not sure,” Beth answered, chewing her bottom lip.

Since Joe and Beth seemed to share the same brain, Sid couldn’t believe Beth didn’t know what Joe had up his sleeve. “You think this could get ugly?”

“No,” Beth said, fidgeting with her apron strings. “Joe wouldn’t start something here, right? Of course not.” She threw a bar rag over her shoulder. “I’d better cover these customers until they come back. You good? You look a little tired.”

“Is that your way of saying I look like shit?”

Beth rolled her eyes as she filled a glass with ice. “Forget I asked, cranky ass. And if you want to get anywhere, you’ll be a little nicer to Lucas.”

“Who says I want to get anywhere?” Sid wanted to get somewhere with Lucas, but with her limited experience and his taste for fancy chicks, she’d need a road map and a body double.

“Listen to your fairy godmother for once and just try to be nice. Maybe you’ll grow on him.” Beth filled the glass with soda and grabbed another. With a smirk, she added, “Like a fungus.”

Sid rolled her eyes. “Tell Lucas I’m waiting outside.”

Lucas warred between curiosity and annoyance as he followed Joe into the back office. Curiosity won out, until worry kicked in. “Is this about Dad? Did something happen at the hospital? He was fine when I talked to Mom this morning.”

“No, Dad’s doing good, far as I know,” Joe said, taking the chair behind the desk. Of course.

Lucas suppressed the eye roll. “Then what’s this about?”

Joe exhaled while rubbing the back of his neck. He looked … uncomfortable.

“Was there a problem with the restaurant last night?” Lucas asked. “Everything was fine when I left, and my drawer came up perfect.”

“This has nothing to do with the restaurant. I’m not sure how to say this.”

Lucas took the chair on the other side of the desk and crossed an ankle over his knee. “You’ve never had any problem saying exactly what you think. I don’t see why now should be any different.”

“Right.” But Joe stared at the desk as if the answer might be written there. “I know shit is still awkward between us. I want that to change.”

Joe talking about his feelings? Lucas hadn’t seen that coming.

“I do too, but it’s going to take time. It’s only been six weeks.”

“I know.” Joe sat up, leaning his elbows on the desk. “That’s not very long.”

“Depends on what you’re talking about. Six weeks for Dad to recover from this heart attack is feeling like forever. When it’s my future suddenly becoming your future, six weeks feels like six hours.”

“Then why did you send me up to Richmond?” Joe asked, meeting Lucas’s eyes for the first time since they’d entered the office. “You wanted me and Beth to be happy. Nobody set out to hurt you.”

“Yeah, I know.” Lucas ran a hand through his hair. “I’m mostly mad at myself for blowing it, though Beth tells me there was nothing to blow in the long run. It’s not easy to hear your fiancée would have left you whether she fell for your brother or not.”