The Alibi Room.
Dexter hadn't been sitting for long when he noticed Ted and Marianne following him in. He found it hilarious. Are these two stalkers?
Chuckling silently to himself, Dexter ignored them and went about his business.
Ted and Marianne took a table not far from Dexter, ordered two beers, and quietly began their surveillance.
Dexter pretended not to see them. He lit a cigarette and silently appraised the new bartender Kevin had hired.
Gotta say.
Kevin's taste was spot-on this time.
This woman... her rack was huge, but somehow her body balanced it out perfectly. It looked natural. More importantly, she was beautiful.
After checking her out, like any normal man, Dexter briefly imagined what it would be like to fk her.
Not bad.
Just then, Kevin came lumbering over, carrying a heavy keg. Seeing Dexter, he immediately grinned. "Done for the day?"
That keg wasn't light, but Kevin made it look easy. His strength really was ridiculous.
"Yeah," Dexter replied with a smile.
A moment later.
Kevin finished changing the keg, wiped the sweat from his brow, and hurriedly waved Katherine over. "This is Dexter. He's the other owner of the Alibi."
"Dexter , this is Katherine Austin. She's the bartender I hired last night."
Hearing this, Katherine immediately flashed a bright smile and extended her hand to Dexter . "Mr. Dexter , I had dinner at your restaurant. The food was amazing."
"Thanks." Dexter shook Katherine's hand. Hmm, slightly plump, feels nice. "Come by often when you have time."
"I can't afford it. Any chance for a discount?" Katherine asked, her tone slightly flirtatious.
Dexter grinned. "I can give you a hard time, but I can't give you a discount."
Hearing this.
Katherine blinked. "????"
Kevin, Kermit, and the others—plus Ted and Marianne who were eavesdropping—couldn't help but chuckle.
"Mr. Dexter , you're so funny. I'll have to make sure to add a little spit to your drink later," Katherine said with a pouty, mournful look.
Flirtatious to mournful in a split second. So natural.
This beauty was no simple character.
Dexter smiled but didn't say anything more.
Katherine went back to work.
Now that he had help, Kevin was much freer than before. He sat down opposite Dexter . "Dexter , let me ask you something. I need some advice."
"Shoot," Dexter replied.
Kevin mentioned Veronica's plan to buy a Mercedes. "I want to buy it too, but spending that much money all at once... I really hate to let it go."
"Simple. You two work every day. Right now, a car doesn't mean much. My advice? Buy a house first," Dexter said.
It wasn't that Kevin wasn't interested in real estate, but he had zero interest in houses in this South Side slum. Instinctively, he pushed back. "I feel like buying a house makes even less sense. At least you can drive a new car. A house just sits there, and you have to pay property tax every year..."
Dexter understood Kevin's thinking.
On one hand, Kevin wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.
On the other, like most people here, Kevin had limited foresight. Even though Dexter had already told him property values here would skyrocket in a few years, Kevin still didn't take it seriously.
This kind of limited perspective wasn't strange. Look around the world, in any country—most people were like this.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many poor people.
"You asked for my advice, and I advise you to buy property." It's hard to force a change in someone's perspective, so Dexter didn't push it. "If you buy a house, you'll thank me later. Of course, if you want a car, buy a car. It's your money anyway."
Kevin still couldn't decide.
Dexter watched him, wanting to laugh but also feeling a bit wistful.
Thank God Veronica is relatively smart. Otherwise, life for these two would be tough.
Time flew by.
Dexter stayed for a while longer, then left, planning to swing by Svetlana's place to see how the second fruit stand project was coming along.
Once Dexter left, Ted and Marianne stayed for a few more minutes, then left as well to head to the hospital to find Bianca.
---
Under the blazing sun.
Inside the dilapidated ice cream truck.
With a lull in customers, Karen was rolling a joint while Lip smoked a cigarette and rested.
Lip really liked this feeling. He watched Karen for a few seconds, silently calculating his earnings so far today.
Thanks to the weed, the income was decent. Not amazing, but not bad either.
"Karen, let's go see a movie tonight," Lip exhaled a cloud of smoke and suggested.
Stuck in this broken-down truck in the sweltering heat, covered in sticky sweat, Karen had actually lost patience a long time ago. Hearing him, she forced down her irritation and smiled at Lip. "Sure. What do you want to see?"
"You choose when we get to the theater. I'm good with whatever," Lip replied.
They chatted for a bit.
A customer arrived.
Lip got up to work—selling goods, taking cash.
This life made Lip feel pretty good.
Karen glanced at Lip surreptitiously, then lowered her head, a clear look of disgust washing over her face... This hellish life was definitely not what she wanted.
Karen felt that Lip was pathetic and hopeless. Making a tiny bit of money in this heat and actually feeling proud of himself?
What is there to be proud of?
Karen sighed silently, thinking of luxury cars, thinking of yachts.
As she thought...
Because she didn't want to spend the whole summer roasting in this truck with Lip, Karen's gears started turning.
Maybe...
Get pregnant again, and ride the momentum to marry Lip?
---
Time flew, and before they knew it, evening was approaching.
After being somewhat forced to accompany Estefania shopping all day, Steve finally dropped her back at the house. He made up a random excuse, got back in his car, and drove toward the Gallagher house.
On the way, Steve bought some coffee and donuts.
Arriving at the Gallagher house.
He didn't see Debbie, only Frank on the couch. Steve ignored him, placed the food on the dining table, grabbed two coffees, and headed straight upstairs.
Fiona was still sprawled out on the bed, fast asleep.
Steve watched her quietly for a moment. Then, he set down the coffee softly, climbed onto the bed, and got to work.
Moments later.
With Steve's fingers working their magic, Fiona moaned and woke up, quickly pulling off her sleep mask.
Seeing it was Steve, Fiona immediately flashed a brilliant smile.
Steve smiled back and stopped his hand.
"Don't," Fiona grabbed Steve's hand immediately, guiding it back to work.
Soon.
They were tangled together.
After Fiona showed off her oral skills, she hurriedly pulled a condom from under her pillow and put it on Steve.
Her gonorrhea hadn't cleared up yet, and she didn't want to infect Steve.
Steve found this a bit odd.
After all, Fiona never used these things before.
"In the few months I was gone, did you get pregnant?" Steve couldn't help but ask.
A flash of panic flickered in Fiona's eyes. "No. Just short on cash lately, didn't buy birth control pills."
That explanation sounded reasonable enough.
Steve smiled and didn't ask further.
They went to war.
Steve was lacking a bit of stamina.
He couldn't help it; he had just gone a round with Estefania before coming here.
Back-to-back sessions were definitely exhausting.
Fortunately, Fiona was so lost in the moment she didn't notice.