Seventh Seal - Jacquelyn Faye Page 0,63

good buddy Dennis to take his shift."

I chuckled. "I'm surprised he said yes."

"He wanted the OT. He has grand designs on buying a Corvette."

"Dennis?" I was a little shocked by the revelation. I always saw him as a truck kind of guy. Not a sports car fanatic.

"It's been his dream since we were kids. He's getting close, too." Jimmy didn't sound too impressed.

"Whatever makes him happy."

"You mean besides you?" He grinned at me.

"I hope I do."

"Don't doubt it for a moment. You have that effect on all of us." He reached over and rubbed my leg reassuringly until we pulled into Bunyan's packed parking lot.

Luckily, Sherry and Derek had already gotten one of the larger booths, wide enough for six people, but perfect for the four of us. I slid in across from Sherry and Jimmy sat next to me, across from my ex-boyfriend. The only way it could have felt more awkward would have been if Chief had shown up and pulled up a chair.

"I'm so glad you guys made it! This might be my first double date since high school." She grinned and leaned against Derek.

"Wouldn't have missed it for the world," I lied through my teeth. "Hey, Derek."

"Dot." He gave me a small smile.

"You remember Jimmy?"

"The fireman. Yes." He reached across the table and shook Jimmy's hand.

"So, what's new and exciting?" I asked Sherry, not Derek. Wanting to get the conversation going and away from Derek.

"Since I saw you a few hours ago? Not much. Thanks for fixing the war zone."

"My pleasure."

"War zone?" Derek leaned forward a little, his curiosity piqued. Even Jimmy was staring at me. I probably should have told him, too.

"Yeah. Had a visitor this afternoon. The flaming sword wielding kind. Downtown took the brunt of the damage."

"Was everyone okay?" Jimmy asked concernedly.

"Well, it was close. Not every day you get your ass handed to you by an arch angel. I managed to dodge most of it, but Yuki learned what it felt like to go in like a wrecking ball."

"An arch angel?" Derek asked dubiously.

"Yeah. They don't like me very much."

"How did you kill it?" That was my Jimmy. Straight to the point and assuming I'd won.

"I didn't. Believe it or not, Candace came flying out of the Bistro we were having lunch at and scared it away." I cocked my eyebrow, still uncertain how she had managed to pull it off. She was about as scary as a Pomeranian in a tutu.

"Well, just try to keep the fighting to a minimum. We don't want a repeat of the other night, either," Sherry said absentmindedly as she perused the menu.

"The other night?" Derek asked. With every question, his eyebrows moved closer to his hairline.

"Vampire attack on an anti-witch coalition. Fun stuff. You should hang out more," Jimmy answered him with a chuckle.

"It would appear so." He took a long pull from his dark beer and didn't sound honest at all. For the first time since we had broken up, I felt as though he might be glad. Which was good.

"Lady Dorothea!" The bubbly, non-human, blonde waitress that I always seemed to find myself saddled with, the one whose name I could never remember, stopped at our table. "Good to see you again! The usual?"

"Please." I shrugged. I was kind of starving, and sixty-four ounces of steak sounded like it would fill me up quite nicely.

"Jimmy?" She blushed when she said his name.

"Not for me. Just the porterhouse, please."

"Beer?"

"You betcha." He flashed a smile at her. I gripped his knee and gave it a little squeeze.

She turned to Derek and Sherry and took their orders before flashing Jimmy a demure smile and heading for the kitchen. "She wants me," Jimmy said jokingly.

"Probably between two pieces of bread with a light coating of mayonnaise," I answered him warningly.

"Well, I'm safe. The only person's lips who are touching my exquisite flesh are yours, love." He grinned and kissed me.

"Keep flirting with her, and I'll carve some of your ass off for her sammich."

"Me? I never flirt."

His cousin scoffed.

"What?"

"You flirt. You just don't realize it. Nor do you pay attention when girls flirt with you, which makes you doubly dangerous."

"Right?" I nodded at her.

"Don't know what you're talking about," Jimmy answered defensively.

"I don' think he was flirtin'," Derek agreed.

"You shush. You're twice as bad with that honey-dipped accent," I said with a laugh. Sherry grinned and nodded.

"I don't think they appreciate the fine subtleties of the finer points of our personalities, Jimbo."

"We're totally unappreciated."

"Slaves to the women