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beautiful, but that you’re Nolan’s partner and I
shouldn’t…” She stopped and took a deep breath. “Well, now neither of us can
talk.”
    The hostess rescued them from their silence and led them to
a table in the corner. By the time they were settled with menus, John had
regained some of his composure. “The steaks are excellent here.” Then, alarmed,
he asked, “You’re not a vegetarian, are you?”
    “Oh hell no,” Lucy answered firmly. “I’m a drug rep. Being a
meat eater is part of the job description. And also I don’t chant, believe in
reincarnation or think that I’ve ever been abducted by aliens.” She looked at
him sidelong. “You?”
    “None of the above.” John laughed. “You’ve done this
before.”
    “The first-date tango? Oh yes. I like to get the weird stuff
on the table right up front.”
    “Thank you. You have no idea what a relief you are.” He
wondered how take my old
friend to dinner had somehow turned so quickly into a date, but he
was glad. He loved how upfront and open she was. After the bar-crawl routine,
she was like a breath of clear air. “I could tell you stories,” he said
ruefully.
    “Do it.”
    “What?”
    Lucy put her menu down. “Tell me your best date-from-hell
story.”
    John thought about it. Usually women wanted to hear his
paramedic stories—tell me your best save, tell me your worst scene. One
particularly creepy young woman had wanted to hear all the details of a car
crash decapitation, in excruciating detail, during sex. He hesitated a few
seconds, then told Lucy all about her. She listened, and she laughed, and she
sympathized.
    He liked talking to Lucy.
    They ordered steaks. When the waiter had gone, he said, “All
right, your turn.”
    She pondered for a moment. “I dated a paramedic once.”
    “Anybody I know?”
    “No, up in Chicago. He was a nice guy, mostly. Except he had
this kink.”
    “Wait, let me guess,” John said. “He wanted to tell you all
the gory details of his runs during sex.”
    “Worse.” Lucy leaned closer and spoke softly. “He dressed up
like Elvis.”
    “In bed?”
    “Yes.”
    John laughed. “I think you win.”
    “Actually, it would have been okay if he’d warned me,” Lucy
mused. “But he went into the bathroom and came out in this white jumpsuit and
black wig…” She shuddered. “I suppose the jungle bedroom decor should have
tipped me off.”
    “Probably. Maybe people should come with little cue cards or
something. You know, like business cards, only with all your kinks on the back,
so potential partners would know what they were getting into.”
    Lucy nodded. “And a fake name and phone number on the
front.”
    “Right. Exactly.”
    Their salads arrived, and John ordered a fresh round of
drinks.
    “What would yours say?” Lucy asked.
    “What?”
    “Your card. What would it say on the back?”
    John glanced at the hovering waiter and then back at her, grinning.
“You’re kind of a brat, aren’t you?”
    “Yes. Didn’t Nolan warn you?”
    “No.” The waiter finally retreated, and John changed the
subject. “How long have you known Nolan?”
    Lucy sipped her drink. The look in her eyes said she knew
why he’d changed the subject, but she let it go. “Since before kindergarten. We
grew up next door to each other. I think we were probably six or seven before
we knew we weren’t brother and sister.”
    “Hmmm.” Since John knew they’d later ended up in bed
together, it was an interesting statement. But he didn’t know if she knew that
he knew. “Has he always been so stubborn?”
    “Yes. Always. When Nolan was six his dad bought him a
two-wheel bike, and he was determined to learn to ride it that day. He was out
there for eleven hours. My mom timed him. Eleven hours. He couldn’t even walk,
his legs were so shaky. But he learned to ride that damn bike in one day.”
    John smiled. He knew his partner. He could see it all too
well in his mind. “We were out on a run this time…”