Delta: A Spy Novel

Chapter Eighteen

            Pierre, being Pierre, interrupted. “Finally.”

            Astrid’s gaze switched to his, a frown appearing on her face. “What do you mean, finally?” she demanded. “If you didn’t take so long in the shower and then insist that I eat breakfast before showering, you wouldn’t be waiting for me, would you?”

            He shrugged, giving her a once over with his eyes. Charlie, noting this, frowned briefly before turning back to Astrid. “Aren’t you going to be hot in all that?” he questioned dubiously, gesturing at her outfit.

            She was wearing long dark jeans tucked into her usual boots, which were evidently holding her gun and knife. Over her t-shirt she wore an old-fashioned leather flying jacket, something that looked vaguely familiar to my eyes, but I couldn’t place it. A gift, I thought…

            “She’ll be hot in anything,” Pierre put in, grinning at her. Charlie’s eyes darkened and met mine; I mimed puking and a smile flickered briefly on his face, the first I’d seen in a while.

            “I’ll be fine,” Astrid insisted, not even blushing. This was considerably surprising, seeing as her huge crush on Pierre. “It’s a lot cooler now that it’s finally rained. I mean, it was ridiculously hot for August anyway, even if we are in the south of France.”

            I gave her a blank look. “August? It’s September fifth.”

            Astrid sank down on the couch beside Charlie, looking mildly surprised. Charlie looked a little surprised himself; I wondered how he had missed the fact that Astrid had been sitting next to him for years. It just didn’t matter to her like he wanted it to.

“Really?” Astrid was saying. “September already? But we’ve only been here like three days!”

            I actually couldn’t believe it. “Honey, do you ever look at a calendar?” I asked in exasperation. “You arrived here on September third. Now it’s September fifth. It never was August!”

            “Really.” Astrid looked thoughtfully at me. “Huh. How about that.” I rolled my eyes, and she stuck her tongue out at me in protest. “Hey, give me a break – it’s not like I read French newspapers!”

            “It’s called the date and time on a phone,” I pointed out, noting Charlie’s half-smile with pleasure. I was providing comic relief; good. We needed it. “Or just look at a watch?”

            “Whatever.”

            I mimicked this, causing her to stick out her tongue out at me again. For those of you who don’t know, sticking out your tongue at someone is the same as saying “I don’t have a comeback.” Or it might imply that you want to make out with that person. But let’s not go there.

            Appropriately enough, Pierre took that moment to say, “Did you two ever date?” as he looked at us with a strange expression.

            Charlie, Astrid, and I all did a double take, staring at him. “Who, me?” I asked, taken aback. “Date Astrid?”

            “Date Josh?” she said at the same time. “Are you kidding me?”

            “Do I look insane?” I shook my head in disbelief.

            Astrid gave me an offended look, although it was obvious she was trying to contain her laughter. “I don’t exactly think you walk on water either, Josh.” She turned to look at Pierre, eyebrows rising. “But, no – we haven’t dated. And you couldn’t pay me enough to, either.” She stuck her tongue out at me.