“I don’t have a body, so I borrowed this one.”
“You borrowed a body?”
“Yeah. It’s ah… something else I’m not supposed to be doing.”
So he was able to get into other people’s bodies and control them? That was really scary… but also really cool. “If you ever get in my body, I will kill you.”
He snorted. “Being in your body would hurt too much anyway. I have a feeling you take up every last inch of real estate you got inside there.”
“What?”
“It can get kind of crowded, you know? Two souls instead of one. The bigger the soul, the more painful it is.”
“Does it hurt now?”
“Not much. This guy’s not too bright.”
“You are so going to owe me for keeping all this to myself.”
“That’s why I’m here,” he explained. “I know you’re getting ready to tell your Target you aren’t gay. You shouldn’t do that.”
“What? Why?” Telling the Target I was gay was exactly what I needed to do.
“I’ve been watching her like you said. Turns out she just went through a bad breakup. I heard her telling her friend she didn’t want to date anyone.”
Great. Could this job get any worse?
“So if you stay gay, you won’t be a threat, you know? She won’t have to worry about you hitting on her all the time.”
“We could be friends?” I said, trying to work it out in my mind. I was so used to dating the Targets I never really tried to be their friend.
“Exactly. Her very gay, nonthreatening, and unavailable friend.”
It wasn’t a bad idea. I was already unenthusiastic about trying to romance her anyway. At least this way I would only have to pretend to like her as a friend.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked.
He made a face like he was uncomfortable and shifted. “Yeah, I’m sure.” He shifted again. “Oh, and I heard her making plans today for some fundraiser. The person who was helping her put it together bailed. You should offer to help.”
I liked it. “Okay, I will. Thanks, man.”
“Sure thing. Now I gotta get out of here, drop this body. He’s starting to get annoyed.”
“Where are you going to do that?” I asked, still amazed he could take over someone’s body.
“Probably outside behind the building. If he doesn’t come back to refill your water anytime soon, it’s because he’s still waking up.”
“You mean that puts them to sleep?”
“Yeah, kind of. It wears off fast though.”
I glanced toward the door. I needed to get back out there. “I’ll talk to you later,” I said as he pushed the trashcan away from the door.
We both exited the bathroom, him going in one direction and me in the other. I wasn’t looking forward to sitting around with wet pants the rest of the night, but I couldn’t leave. I had too much to accomplish. My plans had changed. I was no longer going to try and date the Target. Instead, I was going to be the fun, gay friend who offers to help organize fundraisers.
This might actually work out better than I originally hoped.
Frankie and Rosalyn were laughing when I rejoined them at the table. “Ladies, sorry about that.”
“You look like you peed yourself,” Frankie said.
“My sister, the joker,” I said, trying to sound affectionate, and pulled on a strand of her hair. She looked at me like I lost my mind.
Maybe I had.
“So what did you want to tell me before?” the Target said.
For once I was thankful Frankie didn’t do what I told her to do.
I put my hand under the table on her thigh and squeezed. “Actually, I should be the one to tell you. After all, I was the one embarrassed.”
“Embarrassed about what?”
“My sister told me that she confided my secret to you.”
“Your secret?” she asked. A second ticked by and realization dawned in her eyes. “So it’s true. You’re gay?”
I squeezed Frankie’s thigh again just to be sure she got the message. I nodded. “Yes, it’s true. I don’t normally go around telling everyone, though. I know it can make some people uncomfortable.”
“Oh.” Understanding came into her eyes and she reached her hand across the table for the one that was lying next to my plate. “I assure you it doesn’t make me uncomfortable in the least. And for anyone that it does… who needs them anyway?”
I smiled and released Frankie’s thigh. I could feel her questioning gaze on my face, but I ignored her and focused on the Target. “I’m relieved to hear you say that. A guy can never have too many friends.”
She smiled. “Absolutely.”
Score.
After a few minutes of small talk, I mentioned I was looking for a few charities and fundraising organizations to get involved with to help me and my business get established in the community since I was fairly new in town.
What a surprise that the Target needed help with one she was planning.
Score again.
I was feeling quite pleased with myself when dinner came to an end. I was also feeling confident that this job might not be as hard as I originally thought.
On the way out of the restaurant, Frankie leaned in close and hissed, “What are you up to?”
I just smiled and continued on my merry way.
It was none of her damn business.
Chapter Fourteen
“Question – an expression of inquiry that invites or calls for a reply.”
Frankie
I went shopping with Rosalyn. She called me about a week after our pizza dinner and asked me to take her to that vintage store I told her about. I almost said no, but I hadn’t seen Charming either since that night; he was being quiet. Too quiet. I wanted to know what he was up to.
So I said yes and we went shopping. It was actually really fun. Until she started talking about Charming. Apparently, the reason he’d been leaving me alone was because he was devoting all his time to annoying her. Only she didn’t think he was annoying. She liked him. At one point she actually sighed and wished he wasn’t gay.
I actually threw up in my mouth when she said that.
But then she went on about how sweet and fun he was. About how he took her to the local ice arena to go ice-skating and then they went to a fondue restaurant for chocolate.
I had to act all happy and make noises about how fabulous my brother was. I could have spoken up and admitted to all my lies right then and made him look bad. But I would have made myself look bad too. I didn’t want to look bad to her; I liked her.