I pulled into one of the empty spots in front of Molly’s and killed the engine. Fifteen minutes of Lou talking nonstop from the second we left. I stared into the blue and pink pastels of the diner that I hadn’t been to in months. The only way I would get through at least another hour with him was with copious ice cream—or a shot of gin. And if they put onions on my burger…

“I am happy you said yes, Darzsa,” Lou said. “I’ve been worried about you.”

We walked inside and waited for two seats at the counter. “Why? I haven’t done anything.”

“That’s the point. And you can’t say I don’t invite you out for drinks or breakfast.” Some seats opened, and Lou claimed two stools at the end. “You don’t even come on our monthly outings anymore.”

I didn’t blow them off because of Mathieu—that’s where these guilt trips led—I was just...overwhelmed by hanging out with Lou and the girls from the club.

On stage, they all had it together. Lou was born to entertain, and when the wig and heels came off, he was the same undeniably. I couldn’t stand up to my dad over a plate of dumplings. 

“I’m here with you now,” I said. “I know I haven’t been around lately, but I promise to come to the next breakfast.”

Lou glanced up skeptically from the menu. “I won’t have to beg you, will I?”

“You have permission to kidnap me.”

“No take-backs.” Lou clasped his hands together. “Ramone will just die when I tell her about—” Lou grabbed my wrist. “He’s here!”

Mr. Red Truck came over in a uniform with a pad in his hand. He towered over me in these high seats, and he somehow had on a shorter-sleeved shirt than earlier. Guess I was wrong about him being short.

“Hello again,” he said. “What will you two have?”

“I didn’t know you took orders, too.”

“We had a rush when I got back, so I’m still filling in.”

Lou leaned over the counter and fanned himself with the menu. “I’m sure you’re pretty swell at—ouch. Okay, I’ll have water to drink and a burger with everything on it. Also, a banana split but double chocolate with extra nuts.”

He never ceased to embarrass me whenever I went out with him. But this Josiah didn’t seem to mind; either that or he was dumber than a sack of potatoes.

“And you?” Josiah asked for my order, and I realized I hadn’t looked at the menu much yet.

“Go ahead and get a clean sheet for him,” Lou said. “Pull up a chair, too. You’ll be here all night.”

I kicked Lou’s stool and glazed my eyes over the various ways to dress a burger and some other dishes I’d be crazy to try. “I’ll take a burger with extra cheese, but I want one slice under the patty. Two tomatoes and absolutely no onions. And lettuce, however you do it.” I looked at the desserts and ignored Lou’s sighs. “A sundae, both chocolate scoops and with extra chocolate syrup. Oh, and no onions. Also, a Coke.”

“The sundaes don’t come with onions,” Josiah finished scribbling down my order, “unless you want them added.” 

"Well, if I get any onions, I’ll—”

“Excuse my friend,” Lou added. “He’s not used to being out in public, especially in fine establishments like this.”

This was one step above a hole in the wall, not a five-star restaurant. Lou was laying it on a little too thick, and I was close to losing my appetite a second day in a row. 

“I’ll get these in for you two,” Josiah said.

Lou smacked me in the arm with the menus before he handed them to our rude waiter. Another waitress brought our drinks and told us our burgers would be out shortly.

“Look what you did, Darzsa. You scared him off,” Lou whined.

“Me? You did everything but throw yourself across the counter at him.”

“Not like I didn’t want to; you saw those muscles.” Lou lifted his hair and sipped his water. “And don’t think I didn’t catch your peepers on him.”

“I was more shocked that he looked like he was born this century.”

Lou bit his lip and drained the last of his water. He pursed his lips on the straw to withhold a one-liner, possibly to the benefit of my crummy weekend. “You know what you should do—give me some change first—to have a little more fun.”

I dug some nickels out of my pocket, and Lou twisted out of his seat and found the jukebox in the corner. He sat back down and hummed to the guitar riff, and I prepared myself to hear some hare-brained scheme.

“What’s this idea?”

“Remember that little jazz club we used to go to?”

“The one where you tried to fight the saxophone player?” I asked.

“That’s the one. Across from it, there’s a bar. Cheap drinks, soft music, available men… Very willing and available men.”

“What are you saying?”

“You’re a real catch, Darzsa. Don’t waste your time on you know who. You can probably go in that place and get like five numbers off the bat. But not Rick, because I saw him first.” Lou waved a waitress over to refill our drinks. “I’m not saying sleep with every guy in there—maybe one or two. But not in that bathroom.”

Lou’s short attention span came in handy when Josiah returned with our food. He placed Lou’s down first and then mine. 

“Your burger with extra onions.”

I bit into my burger, making sure there were no onions hidden in the patty, and let this building stand. I flipped over the bun and checked everything while Lou did another round of flirting.

“I take that you like it,” Josiah said.

I almost didn’t hear him over my chewing; it was the best thing I had out of here and in the past week. “It’s okay.”

Josiah smiled and said he’d bring out our desserts soon. I must have been starving, or this burger was that good. He could have lost the cheeky attitude, though. 

“And that there is why you’re single,” Lou said.

“I’m not—so you want me to be like you?” I waved a fry at him. Were these fresh? “You clearly want us to get kicked out with all you’re doing.”

“Do tell what I’m doing, Darzsa,” Lou responded flatly. 

God, he was insufferable. Thankfully everyone in our vicinity was too preoccupied to care about our conversation. “What if he gets the wrong idea?”

“You’ll be the first man I know to drop dead of a heart attack before thirty, and it won’t be from eating those,” Lou said. “Have a little fun, Darzsa. You wouldn’t act like you had a stick up your ass if you…well, had a new stick up your ass.”

“Get bent, Lou.” 

“Oh, trust me. I want to—”

“Don’t finish that sentence.”

My sundae arrived, and once again, it was just as I ordered it. I would have been impressed, but I wasn’t handing out stickers for scooping ice cream in a bowl. Lou dropped further talk of prospective men, only delaying it to our usual Thursday meetups. Josiah brought the bill, and when Lou paid, I was sure he slipped his number in with the tip.

“I hope you enjoyed your meal,” Josiah said.

“Oh, it was wonderful, and your service was exceptional. I’d love to get more of it soon.” Lou finished off the banana. “We’ll be here bright and late Sunday morning, so hope to see you then.”

“I’m not usually on Sunday shifts, but our breakfast items are short on onions, so you won’t have to worry.” Josiah winked at me and cleared our plates. “You all have a good night.”

We left the diner, and I anticipated another string of nonsense on the way back, but Lou was unusually quiet. Good. It gave me time to be alone with my thoughts, but not my usual mixed bag of panic. For some reason, I couldn’t get scrambled eggs out of my head.