Free Coffee & Crime by Anita Rodgers

had soaked through the seat of my jeans, so there was no reason to move to the car. I poised my dog to ensure a bite of everything piled on top. "No, this is fine. It's kind of like camping out."
     
    Ted’s face lit up. "You like camping?"
     
    "No, I hate it." I sunk my teeth into the dog and murmured yum-yum sounds. "Damn, this is good."
     
    "How's it going with the diner?"
     
    I wiped a big glob of mustard from the side of my mouth with a napkin. "Fine, I guess."
     
    He touched my hand to get my attention. "What I meant was when do you take ownership?"
     
    I took a slug of cream soda. "Oh, that."
     
    He leaned in closer with that sweet concerned look of his. "Something wrong?"
     
    I shook my head and focused on my hotdog. "Not wrong. A little wrinkle is all."
     
    Ted cocked his head. "Wrinkle?"
     
    I popped the final bite of hotdog into my mouth and started on the onion rings. "Did anyone ever tell you that you're a little on the nosy side?"
     
    Ted furrowed his brow and leaned back. "Sorry, is this a sore subject?"
     
    I sighed. "Sometimes things you expect to happen don't. And things you don't expect to happen do. Know what I mean?"
     
    He laughed. "Not really." He grabbed an onion ring and popped it into his mouth. "You care to explain that, or do you like being mysterious?"
     
    Now it was my turn to laugh. "Mysterious? Are you kidding? I'm an open book."
     
    He polished off his Yoo-Hoo and stared at the alley that ran behind the building. "Okay, mysterious it is."
     
    "Don't take it personally. We just met." I tapped his arm and grinned. "Do you really want to hear all my problems?"
     
    He touched my hand again. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
     
    I gathered up our trash and put it all into the cardboard carton our food had come in. "I think you've helped more than enough." I held his gaze. "Why did you do that? Fix Zelda's car?"
     
    He shrugged. "I don't know, maybe I'm just a nice guy." I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you don't believe in nice guys?"
     
    "I've heard they exist." I propped an elbow on the table and rested my chin on my cold hand. "Zelda thinks it's because you want to date me."
     
    Ted looked at his big hands and grinned. In the dim light it was hard to be sure, but I think he blushed. "That Zelda is quite a girl." I said nothing. His eyes slid back in my direction. "Maybe I was trying to tip the odds in my favor. A little."
     
    I gaped. "Wow, that's an expensive dating technique. Most guys just offer to buy you a drink."
     
    He hunched a shoulder. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. And the accident was my fault."
     
    His admission made me uneasy. "So helping damsels in distress, is that your thing? Do you do this often? Are you stalking me?"
     
    Ted recoiled. "No! I've never done anything like this before. You two seemed so lost and upset. And fixing the car seemed the least I could do. I felt bad. I just wanted to help."
     
    I scrutinized him. "So the dating part was an afterthought? Like, hey I fixed their car, maybe I could get a little action too?" I gathered the trash and started for the dumpster. "Gee, I’m so flattered."
     
    Ted followed me. "No, it wasn't like that. Do you have trust issues?"
     
    I pivoted back toward him. "Screw you."
     
    I stomped to the dumpster but he caught up to me in two strides and grabbed my arm. "Scotti. Stop." I stopped and stared at the ground fuming. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. You're right, it's weird. Who does that? Nobody, right?" He tilted my chin upward to look at him. "I can't explain it. I knew I had to find a way to see you again." He shrugged. "I mean, look at yourself. Can you blame a guy for trying?"
     
    I looked into his eyes and saw only sincerity there. Still, I wasn't ready to throw caution to the wind. "Okay. Sorry I said, screw you. That was rude."
     
    The rain picked up and my hair was like a sponge soaking it in. I pulled up the hood of my parka. "Let's dump the trash and go."
     
    We walked to