“Now you see why I refused to sleep with that thing in the room. That could’ve been one of us,” he said, walking down the sidewalk toward the restaurant.
I laughed. “Don’t worry. Kevin didn’t like you like that. He told me you weren’t his type,” I teased.
“Yeah, I figured you were more his type. He would’ve gone from six to midnight when you slipped out of your bra and scurried over to bed. I know I did.” He smirked.
I smacked his bicep and gave him a shove off the sidewalk, embarrassment flooding through me. “God! Don’t you ever shut up?”
He chuckled as he fell a few steps behind me.
“Never, Crash.”
Chapter 6
Oliver
We took a corner booth at the restaurant.
The waitress was an older lady who seemed to have been working there for the past 30 years. She wasn’t checking me out like the last waitress we had, and when I looked over at Crash, she looked much happier than she did the night before. This waitress was down to business and barely looked at either of us.
We both ordered coffee to start. Then I went with a plate of biscuits and gravy, a pound of bacon, and half a dozen eggs, while she opted for a short stack with a side of bacon. The waitress rushed off to put our order in and left us alone.
There was a small TV in the corner of the diner, tuned to the local news. Old timers were sitting around the counter, sipping their coffee and eating their breakfast. Some held newspapers in front of their faces, while others seemed happy, watching TV and chatting. It seemed nothing ever happened in that town because everyone was talking about the stolen vehicles the news reported on the day before, the stolen truck left at the gas station, or the goat that was going around town and terrorizing everyone.
“We need to get out of town as soon as possible,” I mumbled.
“Now who’s paranoid?” she asked, smirking, perfectly happy trying to get under my skin any way she could.
“This town is way too small for all the entertainment we’re providing. I’m surprised someone hasn’t pointed us out already,” I said, feeling anxious. I was never anxious, so it was eating at me.
I felt like I was being watched, and I couldn’t shake it. I’d glance around the restaurant and then turn my attention to the window. She watched me as I took in every face, from the cars that were passing by, to the people at the gas station across the street, and the people who would pull into the parking lot at the restaurant.
“So, where did you grow up?” she asked, stealing my attention.
I looked over at her with confusion on my face. “What? Why?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. We’re sitting here with nothing to do, and we’re going to be spending plenty of time together. Instead of arguing, I thought we could have a civil conversation.”
I took a deep breath as I turned my attention back to the window, to think it over. Finally, I wet my lips and said, “I grew up in upstate New York.”
“Wow. What brought you to this area?”
I shrugged. “Work. Moving around and trying to find my place, I guess.”
“Do you have any siblings? Family?”
“None that I talk to.”
“How come?”
“Because I wouldn’t allow them to stuff me in the box they wanted me in.”
Her brows knitted together.
I leaned forward, resting my forearms on the table. “I’m an only son, so my dad had high hopes for me. He expected me totake over the family business, and I didn’t want to. I went against everything he tried to force on me. In high school, I caused trouble and got kicked out. I had to go to another school. Repeat offender. Eventually, no school would take me. The plan was to ship me off to one of those schools for troubled youth, an all-boys school, but I was out of there before wakeup call. Haven’t been home since.”
“Wow.” She bit her lower lip. “Don’t you miss them, though?”
“Who? My parents?”
