“So? Who’s that?”
“Some guy I went to high school with, who I think is obsessed with Elijah.”I do my best not to glare as I speak.
Slowly, Marissa rises back to her full height. Then she turns and gives me a wicked grin.“Perfect. We can gauge his reactions and bring Eli up. Test him a bit.”
“Rissa, no,” I immediately decline, leaning back on the couch. “I’m not going into town and eating at his diner for the first time, only to act like a child.”
“The first time?!” She screeches.
I shrug.“I’m not a big socializer. I normally do take out.”
“We. Are. Going. Jesus, you antisocial fuck.”
That’s how I end up walking into Tabitha’s Place with Marissa on my arm.
It’s 11 a.m. on a Friday, so it’s mostly dead, and we take the booth I’ve seen Elijah occupy several times now.
The smell of eggs and bacon wafts through the air as we look over the laminated menus, and Marissa chats away about the old-school beauty of Fort Myers and how I need to get out more.
“I’m going to go deaf with all of this nagging,” I complain, and Marissa somehow manages to look extremely demure as she flips me off.
“Oh shit, is that him?” she suddenly asks.
I follow her green eyes to where they rest on Bennett as he refills an elderly man’s coffee cup. From here, the man appears to be Mr. Grames, the cemetery caretaker.
I make a small confirming noise in the back of my throat.
“Damn, he’s hot. He’s got that buff, boy-next-door thing going for him.”
“Marissa,” I groan, running a hand through my hair.
Suddenly, I feel a bit underdressed in my black t-shirt and jeans. Not that I’ve ever dressed nicely to head into town before.
“Shit, he’s coming this way.” Marissa suddenly goes quiet, her eyes narrowing in on her menu.
A moment or two later, a large shadow envelops the table. Bennett is handsome, truth be told. And he’s damn near as big as me, which is a feat of its own.
“Morning, what can I get you to drink?” His friendly voice cuts through my thoughts, and I look up from my menu to find him smiling brightly at Marissa.
She blushes, returning his smile with one of her own.
“A coffee with cream and sugar, please,” she replies, and he begins to write in his little notepad. I notice that he’s not wearing his baseball cap today.
When Bennett’s eyes turn to me, they’re not quite as warm. In fact, he doesn’t even bother to smile. I suddenly remember how much I disliked him in high school.
“And for you?”
“Water for me, thanks,” I say.
Bennett nods and turns on his heel, making his way to the drink station.
“Uh,” Marissa looks between the two of us as he walks away. “Does he hate you or something?”
“Well, in high school he was super popular, and I was… well, I was a loner. You remember me telling you that back then, right?” I ask, and she nods. “He didn’t care for me much. Was never straight up mean, but just petty enough to be an asshole. Plus, Elijah blew off his dad to hang out with me once, so I’m sure he hates me for that as well.”
Marissa whistles lowly. “Sheesh, Row. You’ve made yourself an enemy. A hot one.”
“I get it!”
