“Yeah, sure, go ahead.” She stepped out of the way, and went to the fridge. Grabbing a couple of juices, she placed them on the table. If he was going to his truck he wouldn’t want a cold beer.
Minutes later he came back into the house. “Is one of those for me?” he asked.
“Sure is.”
“Great.” He took a long gulp, and then got back to work underneath the sink. “What’s keeping Juliet?”
“Ah, she had to work. Something about it being really important and I could handle this with you.” She moved toward the prepared Caesar salad, and began to serve it onto plates. “Did you get to the post office okay?”#p#分页标题#e#
“Yeah, and I got to the supply store. Vincent got me back my truck this afternoon, as otherwise I’d have gone myself.”
“Vincent’s a good guy.”
“He’s always there when I need him,” Cole said. “It’s good to have friends you can rely on.”
“I know what you mean.”
Minutes ticked by as he worked on the pipe. There was some whacking, and some movement, and then he had something flammable. She really should have paid attention. Within thirty minutes, the pipe was fixed, and no leak was present. “That should do well now for some time.”
“You’re fantastic, thank you.”
“Always a pleasure to help a woman in need.”
“Well I’ve got dinner.” She pointed at the table to which he took a seat. “I didn’t know what else to do, and this was left over.”
“It’s fine. I got cooked for, so I’m happy.”
“I guess I’d better ask about payment.”
“It’s not going to cost you anything.”
She smiled. “You’ve got to charge something.”
He took a large bite of chicken and stared at her. “I’ve got a request, and we can consider it payment.”
“I’m listening.”
“I want you to go on a date with me.”
Okay, that was not what she was expecting. “A date?”
“Yes, a date. With me, Danny, and Vincent. They’ll bring their own dates. It’ll be dancing and stuff.”
“Oh, wow, I didn’t expect that.”
He chuckled. “See, I’m full of surprises. If you don’t want to though, it doesn’t affect anything.”
“If I don’t want to what?”
“Go on a date with me. I’m not asking you as your boss or anything. You’ve still got a job.”
She began to laugh. “I’ll go on a date. It’s a weird kind of payment though.”
“Let’s just say it’s something I want to do. Vincent said to me that I’ve become a bore. I’m lame, pretty much, which I didn’t like to be called. I want to prove him wrong.”
“And you do that with going on a date with me?”
“We’ll be going dancing. Are you adverse to dancing?”
“I love dancing,” she said, smiling. “A lot.”
“Then that’s it. This Friday, I want to take you dancing.”
“You’ve got yourself a date.”
After they ate, she saw him out of the apartment, and then went and sat down on the sofa. Cole had asked her out on a date.
A few hours passed before Juliet stumbled into their home. By that time, Elena had already gotten changed and was sitting with a carton of ice cream.
“I’m so sorry about that. It’s been a crazy day, and I’m not even going to get started.” Juliet flopped down onto the sofa beside her and sighed. “Did our leaky pipe get fixed?”
“It got all fixed.” She handed her friend the spoon, and Juliet began eating ice cream. “I forgive you.”
“I knew you would. I’d have been here if I could, and you know that.” Juliet took a second scoop. “What was the damage?” This was Juliet’s way of asking how much it cost.
“It didn’t cost us a thing.”
“How is that possible?”
Elena took the spoon back, and ate some more ice cream. “He wanted payment in other means.”
#p#分页标题#e#
“You didn’t screw on the couch, did you?”
“No, ew, of course not. We totally did it in your chair,” Elena said, laughing.
“For real, what did he want?”
“A date.”
“A date?”
“Yes, a dancing date. Vincent and Danny think he’s some boring guy, and he wants to prove them wrong.”
“How do you feel about this?” Juliet asked.
“I don’t know. On the one hand I’m happy, and on the other hand, I don’t know. Should I feel used?” She had been gloriously happy at the thought of going on a date with him, and then that had turned to doubts.