I sped up, taking the steps down to the 57th and 6th station two at a time. The train sat on the tracks waiting, and with five huge strides, I slid on just before the doors closed. Kline glanced up from his paper at my Cosmo-Kramer-like entrance.
His lips formed the word "Great" with fantastic faux sarcasm but finished with a smile.
"Are you stalking me?" he asked as I took a seat close to him but left one in between us. Spatially, that was the only way if I wanted to maintain any use of my arms.
"Yes. I've actually been watching you from the little window to your office all day. Didn't you notice me?"
He shook his head and laughed, tucking the newspaper into the handles of his duffle bag between his feet. "I wouldn't be surprised. It's not like you're busy or anything."
"Exactly," I agreed, knowing he knew I was busy in the most literal sense of the word. Kline knew pretty much everything about me, so much so that I could barely even surprise him anymore. He actually pointed out tons of investment opportunities to me before I ever mentioned them. Granted, I was usually already looking into them, but he was just a millisecond behind me. And when it came to money moves, that was saying something.
"Ready for practice?" I asked as the train started to move.
"Honestly?"
I shrugged and nodded.
"I'd rather slice my eyeballs open. I just want to go home and be with my wife and our fucking wildlife refuge."
I smirked. "You have two animals. Hardly zoo material."
"It doesn't feel like two. Stan weighs a million pounds and shits bombs, but he's actually the easier of the two."
"Well, that much I believe," I conceded easily. "Walter is a little prick."
"But I still enjoy it because Georgie does. What's that say about me?"
"That you misplaced your balls?" I joked.
"Fuck you."
I leaned my elbows into my knees. "It means you're a lucky bastard. Above us right now, thousands of unhappy assholes are leaving their miserable jobs and going to the bar instead of home."
Kline raised his eyebrows.
"By choice. They'd much rather be there than go home, but you, my friend, are one of the wise ones."
"What about you?"
"What about me?"
"You're fine with going to the bar instead of home?"
"I rarely go to the bar anymore."
"Not my point at all, and you know it."
I shrugged with nonchalance and tried not to let my thoughts run away. "I want what you have."
He smiled. I pushed.
"You think Georgie would be into me?"
His smile turned into a scowl.
"Kidding," I said through a laugh. I almost told him I'd just gotten off the phone with his wife, but that would have raised at least one flag.
It wasn't like I didn't talk to her, but I didn't tell him about it every time I did.
"How's it feel to be a year older, Grandpa?"
He laughed. "You're older than I am."
"Yes, but I've aged better. Don't take it personally. I credit most of my looks to a rigid diet of Oreos, Nutella, and Trix. Plus, you know … "
"I know?" he questioned.
"Don't be embarrassed. You can't help it."
He lifted his brows and waited. The man had legendary patience, so of course, I caved.
"It's not your fault your growth was stunted."
"Jesus," Kline breathed out before a laugh. "The only thing embarrassing is you."
I lifted my shoulders to my ears. "I can live with that."
"Come on, Thumbelina, shower faster!" I yelled through the closed door of my guest room.
Since Kline didn't live in the city anymore, he had to use my pad as his locker room post-practice. Now that I was clean and had dropped off Phil with the sitter, I figured he'd had plenty of time.
The door swung open immediately, and I bobbed and weaved as Kline's fist punched the air an inch in front of my stomach.
"Oh, good," I stated calmly. "I thought you were going to take forever, and we don't have time. Places to be and all that."
He tried to hide his cringe. I did an equally poor job of hiding my laugh.
Since I'd run into Kline, I'd decided to forgo the tattoo shop and just head straight to practice with him. Frankie didn't mind, but really, it didn't matter if he did. My shares of ownership outweighed his. But it also did matter because I wasn't an asshole. Not most of the time, anyway.
"Sorry, buddy. The faster we go out, the faster I'll have you home to your brood. But for now, you're stuck with me."
"Which is obviously the worst-case scenario," he muttered in jest. "I'll have to suffer through it. Where are we headed?"
"Monarch Bar," I answered succinctly. "Thelma and Louise are already there."
His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Thelma and Louise?"
"Oh," I said with pretense and a waggle of my eyebrows. "Twins. I can't remember their actual names."
He looked ready to interrupt, so I bowled right over him. "And they're both for me."
"What about Cassie?" he asked as we walked down the hall to the living room.
"What about her?" I replied with a hidden smirk.
"Her stuff is here, in your apartment, and you're meeting women?"
One of whom was her. "Yeah, she won't mind," I lied.
I wasn't quite sure how serious she was about our relationship-if she was as serious as I was-but I knew she was serious about being the only woman. I liked my balls, thank you very much. They weren't exactly the best-looking guys in the place, but they made sure I had a good time when it counted.
My phone vibrated in my pocket as I shoved Kline out the door and locked it behind me. His face was in full mope mode.
"Come on," I encouraged. "Once we're on the subway, you can text your little wife until we get there. Where is she again?"
"Working," he said with a sigh.
"Boy, Wes knows how to crack the whip."
"It's not him. I already confronted him about it. She's just fucking determined to do a good job."
"Well, I'd say that's a pretty good quality, right?" I asked as we stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of my building. My fingers itched to dig in my pocket for my phone knowing I had an unread text, but it was only a quick walk to the corner and we'd be on the train where I'd have a better chance of keeping it hidden from Kline's astute eyes.
"Of course, it's a good thing. There's a reason I'm always trying to hire her back."
"I thought it was horniness."
"Okay, so there are two reasons."
I laughed and kept walking, leading the way down the stairs and into the dim lighting of the subway station. We didn't have to wait long as the train pulled up and the doors opened. It was just a quick ride on the R down to the party, so neither of us bothered to go for a seat. Instead, we found a spot in the center around one of the stripper poles.
Okay, it wasn't actually a stripper pole, and guaranteed, you'd pick up some kind of disease if you rubbed yourself too thoroughly on one, but it sure looked like that's what it should be. I'd have to talk to the MTA.
My phone buzzed in my pocket again. Pulling it out carefully, I tilted the screen slightly away from Kline so I knew he wouldn't be able to read it.
Cassie: Has the Eagle landed?
Cassie: I will castrate you if you don't answer me.
Fuck. I typed out a quick reply.
Me: The Eagle is in flight.
Cassie: What? What the fuck does that mean?
I shook my head and smiled.
Me: It means we're en route. If the Eagle had landed, you'd be able to see him yourself because he'd be there.
I glanced up to see Kline staring at me in question.
"It's Cassie," I explained. "Just harassing me about using the last of the toothpaste."
He narrowed his eyes. Fuck him for being so smart.
"Oh, look," I said, jumping to turn toward the door. "Our stop."
"What's going on with Cassie?" he asked as we weaved our way through the moderate crowd and off the train car.
"What do you mean? She's still holding out, and so am I. You know how it is."
"Come on. Enough with the innocent bullshit. I don't care how strong-willed you are; there's no fucking way that chick would still be living with you if you didn't like it."
I shrugged but let my lips curve into a smile as we jogged up the concrete steps and out into the busy intersection at 34th Street.
"She always surprises me. I think I know what she's gonna do, but I never actually do."
"And that's it? The thrill?" he asked skeptically.
Not wanting to get into the details, but knowing he was one of my very best friends, I gave him the bare minimum. "It's not just the thrill."
A smile transformed his face.
And then, my friend Kline, a man who complained relentlessly about my one-eyed blinks, winked at me.
Georgia's angry eyes scoured me through the glass wall between us and the patio as Kline took his time ordering a drink at the bar.
He'd actually cheered up after I shared the little glimpse into my soft heart, and I wasn't about to ruin it just so everyone could yell the word "surprise" five minutes sooner.