Second Hand: A Tucker Springs Novel 2

nervously. “For MoJo,” he said. “I think she’d like to see you.”
I found myself smiling. “You bet,” I said. “For MoJo.”

chapter 16

“Y
    ou got a dog.” Denver shook his head in disbelief. “And you’re carrying it in a baby sling. Who are you, and what have you done with El?”
    El gave Denver the finger and started to fish MoJo out of the carrier, pausing to hand Denver the leash. “Here, hold this. I need to put her down so I can have a cigarette.”
    “Seems like it’d be easier with her all tucked cozy like that.”
“Yes, but I don’t want to give her that close a dose of secondhand smoke.”
Denver’s eyes went wide, and he held up his hands as he backed away. “Now you’re freaking me out.”
Yanking the leash out of Denver’s hand, El clipped the lead to MoJo’s collar and encouraged her to explore the outside of Tucker Laund-O-Rama while he slipped the other end over his wrist and fiddled with his cigarette. “It’s a favor for a friend,” he murmured after he’d taken a long draw.
Denver relaxed significantly. “Hey, you never answered me about the Fourth. Jase says I could have it off if I want, but I had to give a full report.”
El waved him away. “Forget it. Dumb idea.”
Denver grunted and raised his eyebrows, but didn’t press the issue. “So we forget the Fourth. Tell me about the dog. You’re babysitting. Oh, this must be for Strawberry.”
El averted his eyes. “No, I adopted the dog. But as a favor. Look, you can go in and get started. I won’t be long.”
“The hell you get off that easy. What the fucking fuck, El? You adopted a dog for this kid?”
“Paul’s not a kid.” El inhaled half the cigarette in one furious draw, at least metaphorically. “But yeah. I took in MoJo because Paul asked.”
All signs of teasing died in Denver’s face. “Shit. You’re serious about him. Like, serious, serious. Holy fuck.”
“Nothing is happening.” El sighed and leaned back against the wall, nudging MoJo away from the smoke stream as she came back to explore his feet. “He has no idea. I fucking kissed him and he’s still clueless. It’s cute, but it’s also clear he isn’t interested. At all. On any level of any kind.”
“Except to ask you to adopt a dog, which you gladly do. Shit. And he didn’t even figure that out?” Denver looked wary now. “Is he . . . you know, mentally challenged?”
“Fuck off.”
“I wasn’t joking, El. I mean, I’m not going to judge. I’m trying to figure this out. Nothing about this is like you at all.”
El didn’t answer, because it was true. He finished his cigarette and whistled to MoJo, who trotted happily after him inside.
“Nothing’s going to happen,” El said to Denver as they settled on their plastic benches, watching MoJo try to bite at some itchy spot on her back as their clothes entered the first spin cycle. “He isn’t interested. I’m just a friend to him. I wondered for a minute, but I don’t even think he’s gay. Or if he is, he’s not interested in acting on it.”
Denver was quiet so long El thought he’d fallen asleep or something. When he glanced over, however, Denver had this weird look on his face, something between disgust and disappointment. “What?” El complained. “Why are you looking like that? What did I do?”
Denver took so long to answer, El wasn’t sure he would. “You know, you’re probably my best friend, if I’m even capable of having such a thing, which is the only reason I’m saying this at all. Otherwise I’d let you go off and be an idiot.” He held up a meaty hand when El tried to protest. “You carry on about your sister picking up guys at bars and me taking home vapid twinks from Lights Out, saying we’re deliberately setting ourselves up for a fall to keep ourselves in a negative relationship pattern or however you spin that bullshit. Well, pot, this mooning over someone who isn’t gay or won’t act on it and doesn’t realize you’re into him, this guy you’re fucking adopting puppies for? It ain’t any different than what we kettles are doing.”
El stared at MoJo for almost a full minute before he could say anything, and even then all he could manage was, “Watch the dog. I’m going out for another cigarette.”

    The thing was, El knew Denver was right. He was doing exactly what drove him crazy in other people. Plus he was dragging it out by always making sure Paul had an out: that when they met they were having dinner for MoJo,