Free Finding Orion by Erin Lark Page B

but
failed miserably.
    "I had
to tell him," Simon said. "He wanted to know who I was gushing over."
    "Yeah,
but you won't let me see him," David added, then to me he said, "You wouldn't happen to have any pictures, would you?"
He tossed me a sheepish grin.
    I shook my
head. I rarely saw David, and up until recently, he refused to open up around
me. It was nice the guys were having a good time, even if it was at my expense.
    "Well?"
David asked, nodding at the letter. "Aren't you going to open it?"
    " Bree's too good for us to do that," Simon said for me,
hooking his arm with David's. "She would never—"
    I sighed and
opened the letter, turning it toward them so they could see. Given their
mirrored expressions, I couldn't tell if it was good or bad.
    "That
bad, huh?" I asked, folding the letter.
    "Only if
a guy asking you on a date is a bad thing." Simon took the note from me,
and as he and David stood to either side of me, he read the letter, batting his
eyes in the most girlish way possible. "My dearest, Brianna..."
    "It
doesn't say that," David complained, glaring at Simon.
    Simon
searched his pants for a pen, but came up empty-handed. "Okay, so it
doesn't actually say that, but I bet you he thought it."
    "Give me
that." I took the note in my hands, and with the boys smiling from ear to
ear, I read it.
    Just in case Simon kept the last one.
    Let me take you to a real restaurant this time.
    "It's a
rematch," I said, turning the note over, half expecting to find something
else.
    "So, are
you going to call him?" Simon asked.
    "Or
should we?" David finished for him.
    "Guys,
give a girl some room, will you?" I rolled my eyes, and like last time, I
shoved the note into my slacks' pocket.
    " Aww , that's not fair."
    "Don't
you have some reality show to watch or something?" I joked.
    "What,
this isn't it? Damn, and I really like the main
character, too." David hugged me and excused himself, sluggishly padding
back into the apartment.
    "You
will let us know how things go, won't you?" Simon squeezed my hands. "Don't
keep us in the dark. Besides, you know David will pester the hell out of you
when he comes over to fix that fan in your bathroom."
    "Oh,
speaking of, we'd have to wait probably until next weekend. My schedule is kind
of up in the air at work because we have a few temps going back to school."
    "That's
right. You have some seniors working for you. Well, that sucks. Hopefully Farrin can find some replacements."
    "God, I
hope so. Last year Karie and I got stuck working
sixty hours a week because he was too cheap to hire on another person full
time." I groaned. "I really do hate working there."
    "Weren't
you supposed to search for a better job?"
    "I did.
The best one I could find was in the city, and I'd have to take the ferry to
get there."
    Simon winced at
that and the subject was dropped. Riding the ferry meant an hour commute at the
very least, and during rush hour traffic? The slight increase in pay would've
been wasted on tolls, fares, and gas. And
you can forget about living in the city. I'd never be able to afford it on
my salary, not even with as much as I had saved up.
    That was
exactly why I hadn't moved out of my apartment. I lived above the bar for the
same reason Simon and David did—cheap rent. Jonah got most of his pay from the
patrons downstairs. The rent he got from the rest of us was just icing on the
cake.
    Simon checked
his watch. "I should let you go. I'll see you tonight?"
    I smirked. "Maybe. It depends what kind of crap Farrin tries to pull and if Karie wants to go out for dinner."
    "Fair
enough. I'll let David know you'll be expecting him on Saturday."
    "Sounds
good."
    We said our
goodbyes and I headed down to the bar. Maybe it was time I gave Jace a call.
     
     

 
    Chapter Nine
     
    Stalker.
    It was the
text I sent to Jace before I left for work that morning.
It wasn't so much an accusation as it was my odd sense of humor. I blamed it on
the guys and their bubbly personality from this morning. It