Hard Tail (Southampton Stories Book 2) by JL Merrow

Author:JL Merrow [Merrow, JL]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sea Singer Press
Published: 2017-03-27T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

My legs were a bit stiff as I hobbled downstairs Friday morning, and I nearly tripped over the cat. “Kill me and you don’t get fed,” I warned him. Wolverine gave a solemn miaow to show he understood. Or maybe it was just feline for “Hah! Your corpse will keep me going for weeks.”

I felt good, though. I’d been out like a light the minute I’d got into bed last night, and if I’d dreamed, my subconscious was keeping the details strictly to itself. I felt refreshed, energised and ready to face whatever the day might throw at me.

Which, of course, it promptly did, just as soon as I’d got in the shop and opened up for the day.

“Er, Tim?” Matt’s voice was diffident, almost nervous. “Do you mind if I take tomorrow off? I’ll make sure I’ve done all the repairs that are supposed to be getting picked up. It’s just, I never used to work Saturdays, before, and Steve’s getting a bit pissed off about it. He wants to go down to Brighton tonight, and we won’t get back until really late.”

“Oh—yes, of course,” I said, trying not to let my disappointment show. It hadn’t occurred to me that Matt might have increased his hours since Jay’s accident—but of course, Jay would have done some of the repairs too, as well as all the behind-the-counter stuff. “Wouldn’t want to be the cause of any domestics.” Matt gave me a startled look. Great. I’d put my foot in it again. “Not that you’d—anyway, that’s fine. I’ll be fine.”

Far from being reassured, Matt looked like he wished he’d never asked. “Are you sure? ’Cause I could always—”

“No! No, I’ll be fine. You go and have fun.”

“Right.” Matt looked more like I’d said “You go and lie down on that rack there, and I’ll fetch the thumbscrews.” “Thanks,” he added unconvincingly and scuttled off out back.

I felt flatter than a deflated inner tube. Okay, so a lot of my time in the shop was spent with Matt in a different room, but he was still there. Tomorrow I’d be all alone. No one to talk to; no one to bring me lunch…

Damn. Quite apart from missing Matt personally, I’d got rather used to having at least one decent meal a day.

My depression lifted, however, as it suddenly occurred to me what a golden opportunity this was. With Matt being whisked away for a dirty weekend in Brighton there was absolutely zero chance of bumping into him if I decided to, let’s say, investigate the gay scene this evening.

Just as an observer, obviously. I certainly wasn’t planning on trying to pull. I just wanted to dip a toe into the water; that was all. Definitely not any other part of my anatomy—no matter how much it might perk up at the very idea. As a couple of customers mooched in, I was glad to be firmly behind the counter at this point.

Anyway, it was a perfect opportunity to test the waters

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