“Does that make me crazy! Does that make me crazy… possibly…!” Lucy sang, twirling on her high-top running shoes, skirt flaring a little while she danced, coffee pot clutched in her hand. “Who do you, who do you, who do you think you are! Bless your soul! Do you really think you’re in control?”

She grinned at the only customer in the diner as she stopped to refill his coffee. He smiled indulgently when she danced away from him still singing. She replaced the coffee pot and danced around Amber, grabbing the other woman by the waist and swiveling her around. Amber laughed, rolled her eyes, threw her arms up and succumbed to a few dance moves. There was no resisting Lucy when she was in a good mood.

“And now that you are having the time of your life… well think twice… that’s my only advice!” The two women sang to each other completely off key until the song ended.

Amber collapsed onto a stool, still laughing. “Where do you get the energy, girl? I’m way too out of shape for your shenanigans.”

“Shut up, Amber, you’re not even thirty yet!” Lucy countered, still bouncing. “I’ve seen you get down and dirty in the club. You had plenty of energy for that.”

“Tequila, it’s the perfect fuel for a body running on fumes.”

Lucy sat on the stool next to Amber and contemplated the empty diner. “Another quiet one.”

Amber nodded. “Yeah, Dalton was talking about maybe letting one of us go if it keeps like this,” Amber said worriedly.

Lucy squeezed her arm. “If it comes down to that, I’ll definitely be the one to go. You know I don’t need this job the same as you and Kendra. I have my sister, or I can go back to the farm if I’m desperate. You need this job.”

Amber laid her head on Lucy’s shoulder. “Why you got to be so sweet all the time, Luce? I don’t want to lose you. Who else is going to force us all to dance with coffee pots and bring in bounty hunter eye candy?”

Lucy laughed and patted Amber’s back. “I’ll be around. You won’t get rid of me that easily. I’m like herpes, once you pick me up, I never truly go away. I just keep flaring up, causing an unbearable itch and pain when urinating.”

Amber burst out laughing and swatted Lucy. “Ew, Luce! For someone that’s been hiding under a rock for twenty-one years, you sure managed to learn a lot in just a few months.”

Lucy grinned. “Google and iPhones. Best. Inventions. Ever.”

“Are you still coming over to my place tonight?” Amber asked.

Crap! She’d forgotten about that. Lucy chewed on her lip. She knew how Mack would feel about her evening plans, especially on such short notice. He was definitely going to tell her he didn’t want her going, that he wanted her in his home at his beck and call. But she’d made these plans days ago and she shouldn’t have to run every little thing by him. She was an adult and she was capable of making decisions on her own. She was getting sick of the constant conflict every time she wanted a little independence.

Decision made, Lucy said, “Of course! I wouldn’t miss it. I just need to make a phone call.”

Despite her conviction, she really wasn’t sure how the conversation with Mack would go. Actually, that wasn’t true. She knew exactly how the conversation would go. And predictably, it didn’t go well.

“I forgot that I promised Amber I would go to a thing with her tonight,” Lucy told him, deciding it would be best just to tear the band-aide off completely. She leaned against the wall, peeking around the corner into the diner. They still only had a few customers, so she didn’t need to rush back to work. Dalton was pretty chill about personal calls as long as the waitresses didn’t take advantage of his generosity.

Mack remained silent for a moment and then said, “Then unpromise her. I’ll be there to pick you up at the usual time.”

Lucy frowned. Yup, pretty much down to the exact words, she could have predicted how this talk was going to go. “I’m not going to do that, Mack. I made a commitment to her. I’m going out with Amber after work and you can’t stop me.”

“You think I can’t fucking stop you?” he growled into the phone. “You really want to make a challenge like that to a man like me, baby? How many days did it take until you could comfortably sit last time you challenged me?”

Her breathing grew a little ragged as she thought of the consequences to her words. He was right. She really should think before she spoke. But she was getting sick of being bossed around all the time. “Look,” she said, going for a more conciliatory tone. “I’m not saying I don’t want to see you, Mack. I’m just saying I need to spend the evening with my friend. I’ve been at your place every night since… you know.”

“Since we started fucking,” he said bluntly.

She gritted her teeth. “Yes, and I need some girl time, okay?”

“Not okay,” he said bluntly. “Be ready to go when I get there.”

Lucy was left staring blankly at the phone because he’d hung up on her. What an asshole! She slammed the phone back into the cradle, giving brief consideration to the possibility that she might have broken the antique and stormed toward Dalton’s office. She gave a quick knock and shoved it open when he responded.

“Hey Dalt,” she gave him a tight smile. “If Kendra can come in early for the evening shift can Amber and I check out early? It’s another dead one out there.”

Dalton was happy to let the younger women go and Kendra was excited to get a few extra hours on a slow night.

“So where exactly are we going?” Lucy asked as the women linked arms and walked down the sidewalk toward Lucy’s apartment. She wanted to shower and change before they went out.

Amber giggled mischievously. “I’m guessing you’ve never been to a sex toy party, have you?”