Chick with a Charm by Vicki Lewis Thompson Page B

for that,” he said as they walked in the door. “I’ve never had storeroom sex.”
    “Oh, I have,” Miles said, looking worldly.
    “Here?” Griffin was trying to picture that happening without him or Kevin knowing.
    “Not here. At that bar we used to go to back in college.”
    Kevin didn’t look convinced. “Yeah, right.”
    “I have! I have great memories of storeroom sex. The smell of cardboard boxes can still get me hot. And it would work great in this setup, too. I’ve noticed that the storeroom isn’t off the kitchen, like in some places. It opens off the same hall as the bathrooms.”
    As they sat at their usual table, Kevin shook his head in obvious disbelief. “If you’ve made it with a chick in a storeroom, then I’m Clarence Darrow.”
    Miles stuck out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Clarence.”
    Their banter made little impression on Griffin. All his attention was focused on Lily. She stood behind the bar and leaned casually against the polished surface while she talked with the long-haired waiter. What was his name again? Sherman. Yeah, that was it.
    Lily had glanced over at him when he’d first come in and given him a brief but dazzling smile. That smile coupled with the low-cut black tops she favored when she was tending bar had him salivating. He’d needed every last ounce of his self-control to keep from marching over to the bar, cupping his hand behind her head and French-kissing her blind. But this was her work environment and he wouldn’t compromise that.
    Sherman was entirely too friendly for Griffin’s taste, though, and Lily seemed perfectly happy in Sherman’s company. The guy was a little young for Lily, but some women liked younger guys. Maybe he should wander over to the bar and give her their order.
    “Earth to Griffin. Come in, Griffin.” Miles waved a hand in front of his face.
    He turned to Miles. “What?”
    “I asked you twice if you wanted to order a sandwich. There’s not a huge selection, but it’s better than my alternative, which is to go home and nuke a frozen pizza. We figured you’d go for that plan. Am I right?”
    “Sure. Let’s do that.” Griffin swiveled back to continue watching Lily, who was busy mixing drinks. Sherman had left and was now on the far side of the room, taking orders. Griffin didn’t expect Sherman to take theirs, however.
    Any minute now Lily would come over and take their order, the way she always did. Pretty soon he should figure out how he wanted the evening to go. He hadn’t thought about spending the whole night at the bar, but on the other hand, he didn’t want to go home until Lily was ready to leave.
    He also had to decide what to do if he spent the night at her place again. Waking up with no change of clothes, no razor and no toothbrush wasn’t his idea of suave. Maybe he and Lily should go home, pick up Daisy and anything Lily would need, and then go to his place. If he was going to work the next day that would make it easier.
    “You know, it’s like sitting here with a robot, a robot who looks like Griffin Taylor,” Miles remarked.
    At the sound of his name, Griffin turned his attention back to his friends. “Excuse me?”
    “Kevin and I were wondering if you were going to partake in any jovial guy talk tonight, or if we could expect you to spend the entire happy hour staring at Lily.”
    Griffin didn’t like appearing to be a lovesick fool in front of his friends, so he leaned back in his chair and loosened his tie. “What sort of jovial guy talk did you have in mind?”
    “Oh, the usual. Whether the Cubs are likely to move up in the standings this weekend. Whether Britney Spears is hotter than Jennifer Lopez. Whether you’re aware that your fly’s down.”
    Instantly Griffin checked, and just as instantly knew he’d been had. “Funny. You guys are a real riot.”
    “So are you,” Miles said. “Kev warned me about the state of your brain, or what’s left of it, and I thought he was