Dream Catcher

Chapter 9

In the late afternoon it became a pancake bonanza at King's Diner. Oliver Lee, the owner, was dressed in his Elvis costume, thanking customers for trying his peanut butter banana pancakes in his Elvis imitation.

Elvis hits blasted through the air, and customers giggled when Oliver forgot he was at work and began miming the lyrics and dancing to the music next to the register. Dani spotted Billy and Derek as they came in and Billy raised a hand to say hello. Derek's words from the day before echoed in her head and she averted her gaze, pretending not to see him.

"I will never understand how people eat pancakes in the afternoon," Dani said under her breath during a quick break.

"Honey, people love pancakes like they love their sex. Anytime and anywhere," Dolores chuckled.

"No, I'm pretty sure that's just you," Dani smiled.

"It'd be you too if you gave it a try, darling."

Dani blushed and ducked her head before mumbling, "Not everyone likes pancakes."

"Well apparently that handsome detective does," Dolores motioned for Dani to look up.

Entering the diner was Detective Jax Michaels. His aviator sunglasses hid his blue eyes and his dark suit seemed out of place in the kitschy diner.

"Hi," he smiled, looking at Dani as he removed his sunglasses.

"He's like Richard Gere in An Officer and a Gentleman," Paula said.

"Who?"

Paula ignored Dani's question and nudged her forward.

Dani's hand tightened around the menu she was holding. She felt Dolores push her forward again so she forced a smile, "I see you're back."

"That I am," he followed her to a booth and took a seat. "I'll have a club sandwich."

Dani nodded, about to walk away when his voice stopped her.

"By the way, if there are any other criminals in here, please let me know."

"I don't know about any criminals but I do know there's a very annoying person here today," she said staring pointedly at him.

"Is that so?" Jax grinned.

Dani nodded.

"Well then, just point him in my direction and I'll take care of him for you."

Dani felt her cheeks heating up, "Are you trying to hit on me right now?"

"Does it seem like I'm trying to hit on you?"

"I'm not sure. You seem like a very flirty type of person."

Jax chuckled, "What's that supposed to mean? What's a flirty type of person like?"

"You know..."

Jax shook his head, "No, I'm afraid you'll have to explain for me to understand."

"Dolores said you're handsome," Dani blurted. "Handsome men usually know they're good-looking which makes them flirtatious and conceited. They also tend to think everyone else finds them handsome which makes them annoying."

"Do you think I'm handsome?" Jax asked.

"No, I just think you're annoying, remember?"

"That's right...what was it that you called me? A Jaxass."

"You have to admit you're being perverse right now."

"How so?" he leaned back into the booth and waited for her to answer.

"Not too long ago you were accusing me of dating a murdering gang member. I also recall you asking if I used drugs."

"So?"

"So why are you being flirtatious with me all of a sudden?" Dani asked, her hands on her hips. "Does it make sense that you suddenly trust me when I haven't given you the explanation you asked for?"

"Who said I trusted you?"

Dani blushed. He was right. He never said he trusted her. He was just flirting with her...at least she thought he was.

"Fine. Forget what I just said. What I meant to say was that you're being too nice all of a sudden and I want to know why."

"Can't a man be curious?" Jax asked. "I do still have questions for you. How did you know about that necklace? Then there's your friend that was having an affair."

"She's not my friend."

"Right, your high school enemy. Whatever. You knew about her affair. How? You have secrets and I hate secrets. I guess you could say my curiosity is outweighing my suspicion and since you catch more bees with honey..."

"You think being nice to me will make me spill my guts to you? This is why I think you're a Jaxass."

"Normally, I don't take too well when people make fun of me but I'll just consider it your cute nickname for me. After all, I've been calling you Panda Eyes."

"Do what you want," Dani sighed.

He was trying to be funny but his presence made her nervous. She almost ran into a young child whose parents weren't watching him.

Dani swerved to the left to catch her balance but ended up crashing forward, her arms and face stretched outward into a giant stack of syrup soaked pancakes. The pancakes were pushed forward and right into a customer's lap. Dani heard the male customer cursing before she looked up and saw what could only be the Incredible Hulk's long lost twin brother. She gulped.

"Dani are you okay?"

Dani recognized Billy's voice and Derek's laughter behind her. Both males helped pick her up, touching her bare arms. Dani's skin shivered at the contact. She dreaded the thought of seeing either of their nightmares. She quickly pulled herself away.

"What the hell are you doing?" the customer's voice cut through the din of the diner. Oliver ran forward apologizing and grabbed Dani's hand to steady her.

"I'm so sorry," Dani whispered.

"You think saying sorry is going to clean my pants?" the customer asked.

"It was an accident," Billy said.

Derek shook his head, signaling for Billy not to get involved.

Dani could've sworn she heard one of the Booty Pirates yelling something like, "Fee fly hoe hum Pancake Man looks really dumb."

"You think I care?" the customer stepped forward. "How are you going to make this up to me?"

He was talking to Dani, who refused to look at him. She couldn't muster up a sarcastic remark like she normally did. The customer grabbed her arm, causing Dani to take a step back and hit a hard chest.

"You want to let go of that arm now?" Jax asked in a low voice.

The customer seemed flustered and quickly let go of Dani who began rubbing the bare skin he had touched.

Jax noticed Dani's widened eyes and quick breathing. He whispered, "Are you okay?"

Dani gave a quick shake of her head and he gently grabbed her shoulders and stepped in front of her.

"Your girlfriend just spilled pancake syrup all over me. What are you going to do about it?"

Jax chuckled, "I think she already apologized to you. What else do you want? Those look like cheap jeans you can wash at home. What? You want a couple of bucks for some dry-cleaning? Why are you trying to scare her?"

The other customers began murmuring disapproval at the angry customer.

"Look pal, this is none of your business," the customer took a step forward but Jax didn't budge.

Jax held up two fingers, "Two things. One, I'm not your pal. Two, it is my business."

"Yeah? How so?"

Jax turned to Dani who still didn't have the courage to look up and with a single finger, wiped away some of the syrup that was on her cheek. He licked his syrup-covered finger and turned back to the customer, "Didn't you just say she was my girlfriend?"