Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 143382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 717(@200wpm)___ 574(@250wpm)___ 478(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 143382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 717(@200wpm)___ 574(@250wpm)___ 478(@300wpm)
This made sense.
I knew it did to Daisy too when, instead of conceding the point, she screwed up her pretty face so hard, I thought a false eyelash would pop off.
Raye sidled up, and she asked, “Did Shirleen show you pictures of her kickass high-rise condo yet?”
“We’re getting there,” I replied as I watched Shirleen take the hint and dig (also with perfect, lethal, almond-shaped but grape-colored nails) into her bag.
“No!” we heard boomed. “I can’t take the sugar cookie part out! You get a sugar cookie peppermint mocha, or you don’t get anything, sucka!”
Oh yeah.
I loved Tex.
“Excuse me while you pull that up,” I said to the ladies. “I’ll be right back.”
I then dashed to the coffee cubby at the front of SC to say hey to Tex.
When Otis saw me, he beamed.
He loved Tex too, mostly because Tex meant his busy load was halved, and by association, he didn’t have to be nice to customers either.
Tex saw me, threw out his hand, and I squealed and jumped out of the way since he was holding a fully-loaded portafilter, and all the sloppy, wet grounds flew my way, almost hitting me.
“We need a meeting!” he kept booming (all Tex could do was boom, I know it sounds strange, but it was part of his charm).
“A meeting about what?” I asked.
“I gotta lay down the rules. Two o’clock in the morning, and you’re by yourself on the mean streets looking for your brother?”
Shit.
Eric had blabbed.
Or Eric had shared and Cap had blabbed.
“Tex—”
“Nope!” he bellowed. “Shut it, woman. Don’t wanna hear it.”
“I was okay,” I told him.
“Because Turner was on your ass,” he told me.
“No, I was okay before that.”
“Zip it!” he hollered. “At the meeting.” He then looked at one of the crowd standing before him (Otis’s coffee was popular, but with this throng, it was clear I wasn’t the only one who noticed the white shoe polish), and he demanded, “Now, you gonna whine at me about sugar cookie syrup, or are you gonna suck it up?”
“I’m gonna suck it up, sir,” the Gen Zer, who probably had shown zero respect to any adult in his life, said to Tex.
“Damn straight you are,” Tex grumbled (but his grumble was also loud).
“Can you make one of those for me?” I requested.
Tex’s head came up so fast, his beard nearly flipped into his face, and he narrowed his eyes at me.
I lifted my hands and pressed them down as I backed away.
I returned to Shirleen, Daisy and Raye, and now Luna was hanging with them on the other side of the bar.
“I sure hope Tito hires him,” I announced when I arrived.
No one looked at me like I was crazy I’d want a big, loud man shouting at me in my place of business.
Then again, I was among Angels and Rock Chicks, so they wouldn’t.
Shirleen showed me the listing for her condo, and as I scrolled through all the pictures, I whistled.
“Dope,” I said.
Shirleen jerked a thumb at me. “See?”
“We will see at the showin’ this afternoon,” Daisy replied.
“Aaaaaaargh!”
We all turned at the loud shout to see Byron, a regular, slip on the spent coffee grounds on the floor and fall on his ass.
Whoops.
Probably should have seen to those so Tito wouldn’t face a lawsuit.
Raye and I raced to him.
“God, sorry,” I said. “I forgot to wipe them up.”
Byron was on his feet and dusting wet grounds off the ass of his jeans. “How did they get there?”
“Tex,” Raye told him.
“Oh. Right then. Whatever,” Byron said, then he walked to his regular booth at the back, across the club from Tito, and he sat back down at his laptop.
I was a little surprised at this, since we’d learned (the hard way) Tex didn’t make tea, so Byron got his dirty chais from the bar.
But I guessed that was part of the magic of Tex.
Luna bent over the grounds with a dishtowel and swiped them up.
Tex came out from behind the cubby, right at me, and shoved a paper cup in my hand.
He then lumbered away without a word.
I tasted my sugar cookie peppermint mocha.
And yeah.
Tex had magic.
Sublime.
It was late in the lunch hour when it happened.
A triple threat to a great day.
Shirleen and Daisy hadn’t left yet (the showing was at 3:00), which was awesome, because I wanted the shot to get to know them better, and since I spent a lot of my time behind the bar, mixing lunchtime cocktails, I could hang with them.
Tex was now with Hunter in the coffee cubby.
And I was making a Jessita Mojita (a regular mojito but with spiced rum, a dash of Cointreau, and a hint of passionfruit syrup) when part one of the triple threat strolled in.
Dream, Luna’s sister.
Luna tried to avoid her sister.
Raye tried to hide she didn’t like Luna’s sister.
Harlow said that Luna’s sister had issues we didn’t understand, so we should try to have patience with Luna’s sister.