asked.
“Yes, and I hit the fuck-off button! That means leave me alone. It means the person you are trying to reach doesn’t want to talk to you.”
He did not look well. In fact, he was looking a little green around the gills. “You are grumpy. That’s really no way to treat your best friend.”
He growled, glaring at me through eyes that were barely open. “Xander, please go away. Go away and I will call you later.”
“I don’t want to wait until later, which is why I am here now. If you would have just answered your phone, I could have given you another hour. You didn’t and now I’m here. Get up.”
He whimpered, sounding very childlike. “What. Do. You. Want?”
I grinned. “How about I go get some coffees and something greasy and eggy while you shower? You stink. Bad.”
He glared at me. “Did you come over here to insult me at,” he paused to look at his watch, “nine in the fucking morning? On a Saturday?”
“I didn’t come over here with the intention of insulting you, but you made it very easy. Have you seen you?”
He groaned, leaning his head against the partially open door. “Xander, I love you, and usually, your neurotic behavior is cute, but not today. Today I want to sleep. I want to do nothing but sleep and not think.”
“Are you hungover?” I questioned, even though I already knew the answer. I needed him to admit his problem. I was sure that was the first step to curing the hangover.
He gave me a dry look. “No, not at all. I usually look like this first thing in the morning.”
I shook my head, clicking my tongue at him just like a mother hen. “Aren’t you getting a little old for this nonsense?”
“Again, why are you here? Can you just text me the lecture?”
I held up a hand. I knew what it was like to be hungover. Not recently, but I remembered the college years. Even then, I didn’t remember ever being quite as bad as he looked. I liked a good buzz, not a good drunk. It was probably part of that need to be in control all the time. I didn’t like my brain to be muddled and foggy. “I’m going to get the coffee and food. Take a minute for yourself. I’ll be back in fifteen.”
“Don’t come back,” he whimpered. “Please, drive across town and get the stuff.”
“I’m coming back. Trust me. I have something to show you and you want to see it.”
I walked away and went to retrieve the usual hangover cures. Greasy breakfasts were the ultimate cure. I was knocking on his door once again twenty minutes later. He opened the door with a towel slung low around his hips, his hair wet but still sticking up.
“This had better be fucking good,” he snapped, snatching one of the coffees from the tray I carried.
I pushed the door open and put the food on his small table before pulling out one of the Egg McMuffins. “It is good. I think it’s good. It’s going to need some tweaking, but I got the general idea.”
“Please, for the love of all that is holy, speak English. I can’t understand geek right now. My brain feels like a wet sponge and my mouth a dry cotton ball.”
“Sit, eat, and I’ll explain.”
He flopped down in the chair and grabbed one of the sandwiches. “My skull hurts.”
“Did you at least have a good time?”
He grinned and nodded. “Of course.”
“Is your good time still here?”
“Nah, I went to her place.”
“Good plan.”
He sucked down the coffee. “What’s the thing you need to show me?”
I smiled and wiped my mouth. “Remember your problem?”
“Problem?”
“The rudders and the ships in the harbor.”
He nodded. “Yes. Two separate problems.”
“No, the same problem. Rather, both problems solved with one solution.”
He rubbed his head. “God, you are exhausting.”
“Eat and I will show you.”
“Show me where?”
“Down at the docks,” I answered.
He did not look impressed. “I don’t want to work. I want to relax.”
“You don’t have to work. I want you to watch. I want you to observe and give me feedback. I trust you to tell me where it’s wrong. I need a second pair of eyes and only your eyes will understand what you are seeing.”
“Can you tell me what you’ve got up your sleeve?”
I winked. “I have to show you.”
“Where’s your girlfriend? Can’t you show her?”
“I just dropped her off. She is working today, and she wouldn’t understand like you.”
He grinned. “You had another sleepover.”
“I