He comes back with two fat burgers and a big plate of well-done fries. We sit next to each other at the bar, studying the wall of clean bottles while we eat.

“Thanks for the burger,” I say.

“You look anemic.”

“Sure know how to charm a girl,” I say, taking a huge bite of my burger.

“You okay?” he asks. He’s looking at my wrist. The bruises.

My sleeve rode up when I held my burger to my mouth. I should be more careful.

“Other guy looks worse,” I say, staring at the now-shiny bottle of Tuaca on the top shelf.

Arnie pats me on the back. Just one pat, his hand resting lightly between my shoulders for a split second.

“Thanks,” I say.

We finish our burgers and share the plate of fries in silence. It’s a nice quiet. It’s a good burger. Arnie remembered that I like my fries crispy.

“Need a shower,” he says, throwing me his keys when we’re done eating. It’s a statement, not a question.

“Do I smell?” I ask, sniffing my pits.

“Like roses,” he says, gathering up our lunch plates. “But you have twigs in your hair.”

“You could have told me that like an hour ago.” I comb my fingers through my hair and pull out one leaf. It was probably in my car. But I’ll take the hot water and the quiet.

“Wouldn’t have been as much fun.”

“Butthead.” I grin. “I’m totally going to mess with the settings on your beard trimmer while I’m up there.”

“Do it,” he says, tugging at one of my curls. “I could use a new look.”

Arnie’s place above the bar is old, cramped, and cleaner than you’d expect from a guy who’s always single and works until three in the morning. I’ve been here before. He lets me shower and use his phone to call ahead and book new gigs. I’ve crashed on his couch a few times when I rolled into town over summer break or Columbus Day or something. He’s never made a pass or even hinted he might want to. He’s old enough to be my dad, but that’s not always a limiting factor with guys. Some of them seem to like that more. Arnie is just quiet and easy and likes having company that doesn’t expect too much from him. There’s nothing there, but there’s nothing missing.