Less Than Nothing Read Online Free

reluctantly accept it and taste it.
    “How’d I do?” he asks, standing uncomfortably close. Okay, maybe not that uncomfortably.
    “I’ve tasted worse.” It actually tastes like ambrosia. Something about the ratio of nutmeg to vanilla, maybe. Better than when I made it. I realize he must have been paying close attention when I’d done so, which sends an involuntary thrill up my spine.
    “Good.” He sits next to me and fixes me with a stare that makes me feel completely vulnerable. I raise the cup carefully to my lips again and take another long sip. “Since you accepted my peace offering, hear me out. I have a proposition,” he says.
    “I’ll bet you do.” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them.
    He actually laughs, and his whole face lights up. “Hey, relax, would you? I mean a business proposal.” Something about how absurd he obviously thinks making a pass at me would be burns in my gut like a hot ember, but I don’t trust myself to croak out another stupidity, so I nod and slurp my coffee, waiting to hear what he has in mind.
    He runs a hand through his thick hair and squares his shoulders, and I realize he might be a little nervous, too, even though he seems to exude confidence with every gesture and word. “Okay. This is just an idea. If we’re both making around the same money, have you ever thought about trying it with another voice and seeing how that works?”
    I think about it, but not that hard, because he totally took me by surprise again, which makes one too many times in a short period. Nobody catches me off balance, and this guy seems to do it effortlessly.
    I purse my lips. “I can tell you how it’ll work. Half the money I’d make on my own.”
    “How do you know?” he asks, his voice soft.
    “It’s simple math. Same number of prospects, two musicians. Divide by that number. I don’t need a calculator.”
    “Maybe, but your math is based on an assumption. That we wouldn’t make more as a dynamic duo than we would as solo acts.”
    “Right. It’s a safe assumption.”
    “Not necessarily. At least, that’s not how it worked out last time I tried it.”
    “Last time?” Crap. He’s sucked me in again. Stop. It. Now . No more questions! Shut him down and get it over with.
    “Yeah, back home I had a partner in crime. We actually made a lot more money than we ever did on our own.”
    “Back home?”
    “Yeah. Seattle.”
    “Really?” Derek’s a long way from Washington. “Why didn’t you stay there, if you were making bank?”
    He laughs again. “I wouldn’t say making bank. But I did okay.” He drinks the last of his coffee and sets the empty cup down on the arm of the sofa. “It rains nonstop in Seattle. I decided to head south. One street’s the same as the other after a while.”
    “It rains here, too.”
    “Not in the summer.”
    “Summer won’t last forever,” I say, voicing my inner fear. My tone must have cut a little too close to the surface, because his gaze softens as he nods.
    “True. But it’s here now, so might as well make the most of it, right? Besides, I’m not planning on being around much longer. Maybe a week. So this would just be a short period.”
    “Where are you going?”
    He ignores my question and rises, carries his cup to the trash, and pitches it in like a basketball player. When he returns I’ve made up my mind, but I still have a question.
    “You’re carrying around a lot of money,” I try, framing it as a statement.
    “Oh, that? Yeah. That’s my savings. It’s not that much, and it’s got to last me a while. I try not to spend any of it, but this seemed worth it,” he says with disarming frankness.
    I feel like a complete loser. He’s made enough to save. Mine’s gone as soon as it hits my guitar case. I’ll freely admit I’m lousy with money. Budgeting isn’t one of my strong points.
    “You didn’t have to buy me another coffee, Derek,” I start, but his smile stops me. “What?”
    He shakes his