“Dad’s not supposed to be moving anything heavy,” Jon agreed, thinking back to the time when his father threw his back out while trying to unload a dishwasher he’d bought for Mother’s Day from his truck bed, alone. Doc Bradley, their family physician, had laid down the law and proclaimed his father officially over-the-hill. He let him know that under no uncertain terms was he allowed to move heavy objects without assistance from there on out.

 “From your mouth to God’s ears,” his mother prayed. “But you know how he is when he gets an idea into his head.”

 Jon nodded. He could see where this was heading from a mile away. “Just let me know when and I’ll make sure I’m there to help out.”

 “You’re such a good son,” his mother praised. “One day you’ll make some woman very happy.”

 Jon’s eyes narrowed and he felt the darkness creeping in around his thoughts. He didn’t have the heart to tell her that would never happen. Happiness wasn’t in the cards for him, and even if it was, he sure as hell didn’t deserve it. “Sure, Mom. When do you need me?” he asked, desperate for redirection.

 “Not next Saturday but the one after that, say seven-ish?”

 “Seven-ish it is.” As much as he loved talking to his mom, Jon needed to get off the phone. He couldn’t risk the conversation heading down the path he knew it would if he kept her on the line any longer. “Talk to you tomorrow?”

 Disappointment laced her tone, but she didn’t voice any complaints. “Okay, my little dumpling,” she said.

 “I can hear you smiling,” Jon said with a smile of his own.

 “Smiling? Me? Never.”

 Still smiling. “Love you.”

 “Love you too, Son. See you in a couple weeks.”

 Jon hung up the phone and polished off the rest of his sandwich. It tasted like saw dust, but just the simple act of eating took some of the edge off. The trick was to focus on other things, and he was a master of avoidance.

 Staring at the phone still clutched in his hand, Jon debated on whether he should call Patricia. As much as he would have liked to call her that instant and set to work sealing the deal, he quite enjoyed the thrill of the chase. Far too much, in fact, to just steamroll into it. He was a man who liked to tease a woman’s senses, make her crave him as much as he craved her, until the sex between them was guaranteed to be nothing short of explosive.

 Okay, sure, he had asked her to dinner, which could have been misconstrued to sound like he meant sooner rather than later, but in all actuality, he hadn’t specified when he wanted to take her out, just that he did. Would she be mad when he didn’t call? Most definitely. Did he care? Not a lick. Just like a frightened kitten with its sharp teeth and claws, with a little bowl of milk and the right words spoken in a soft, soothing voice, she’d eventually let her guard down, and then he’d be free to stroke her all he wanted.

 Tonight, Jon planned to take it easy and let his dinner plans simmer on the back burner for a bit. Slipping into a nice, form-fitting black cotton T-shirt and dark wash jeans, Jon dialed up Travis and grabbed his keys as he headed out the door.

 “You got the booze?” Travis said by way of answering.

“That depends, you got the ladies?”

 “In the bag, baby.”

 “Then I’ll see you in ten.”

Annoyed. Aggravated. Attitudinal. Patti was all of those things as she strutted into the sandwich shop Tuesday afternoon and made her way to the back where she and Lynn agreed to meet for their weekly lunch date. She wore her emotions on her sleeve as she dropped into the last available chair. “Talk about a week from hell,” she groused, slamming her purse down on the table.

 Lynn looked up from her phone and arched an eyebrow. “I smell gossip,” she said, setting her phone aside. “Spill.”

 Patti took a moment to collect her thoughts and to order a small sub before venturing down that treacherous path of depression and disillusionment. “So, I start with catching Kyle in bed with a hooker—”

 “Oh, my God! A hooker?” Lynn screeched. If Patti could have seen her own face in a mirror that day, she imagined it would have looked something like Lynn’s now. Her jaw dropped in shock, her eyes wide in stunned disbelief.  Lynn reached out to cover Patti’s hand. “I’m so sorry, sweetie. Did you kick him in the balls? Tell me you kicked him in the balls.”

 “I wish,” Patty said with regret. “I did throw the bitch’s spike heels at the back of his head, though.”

 “Did you make contact?”

 Patti grinned. “Did I ever.”

 “That’s my girl.” Lynn patted her hand and drew back to her side of the table to resume eating. “So a hooker, huh?”

 Patti’s shoulders lifted and fell. “I don’t think she was actually a hooker. I mean, I don’t think Kyle would ever have to stoop that low in order to find someone willing to spread their legs, you know?” In fact, Kyle was pretty damn handsome. He was tall with an athletic build. His dirty blond hair was wavy and he kept it at the perfect length to entice a woman to run her fingers through it. And his smile was killer. It’s what drew her to him in the first place. He used all the clichéd, cheesy pick-up lines that men and women both laugh over, but he delivered them with a knowing smile, and that made him just plain cute in her eyes.

 A man who could make a woman laugh was something to be treasured. But it was all blown to shit when he proved to be like all the rest of the men she’d ever dated. Now, all she could see was the troll living inside of him, using women without regard to their feelings.

 “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig,” Lynn said.

 “I know.” Patti sighed. She picked at the wrapper surrounding her sub. She’d lost her appetite.

 “Sweetie, I think we both knew going into this thing that Kyle was never going to be the man you would marry. It was fun while it lasted, but, hey, it’s over now and good riddance. The man was not good enough for you.”

 “Thanks.” Patti’s lips curled up in a soft, shy smile.

 “You’re welcome. Now eat. I will not have that jerk making my friend anorexic.”

 Patti did as she was told. They ate in companionable silence, and when they finished, Patti decided to steal a few more minutes with her friend, so she walked with Lynn back to her office. She used the time to tell her about losing her job and about Jon.

 “You mean to tell me that guy from the club the other night hit you?”

 “He did,” Patti said as they came to a stop outside Lynn’s workplace.

 “That’s gotta be fate if ever I heard it.”

 “Not everything is fate, Lynn,” Patti chuckled.

 “Well, no, not everything,” Lynn agreed with a roll of her eyes. “But how often do you meet some random person twice in forty-eight hours? I think someone is trying to tell you something.”

 “Oh, so now the angels are matchmaking? Come on, Lynn, that’s just crazy talk, even from you. Besides,” she said with a twinge of hurt, “he said he’d call and he never did. I think that speaks for itself.”

 “It’s only been a day!” Lynn shouted in exasperation. “Give the guy some time for crying out loud.” She backed toward the revolving glass doors and pointed a finger at her. “Promise me that when this guy calls, you’ll go out with him. One date, and if he turns out to be a total bastard, you never have to see him again.”

 “I don’t know, Lynn,” Patti whined. Sure, she was attracted to the guy, and yeah, he seemed to be interested in her. But how interested could he be if he wasn’t more eager to see her again, and was it even a good idea for her to get even remotely involved with another guy so soon after Kyle?

 “I can see you grinding your gears and I don’t like it. Stop thinking for once and just have some fun!” Lynn stopped just outside the doors, forcing people to go around her if they wanted inside. “Do it for me. Promise you’ll give it a try when he calls.”