“Ex-boyfriend.” I wrinkle my nose. “She’s not my biggest fan.”
Her jaw slackens. “You’re the bastard?”
“In the flesh. So, you know about me?”
Good.
She narrows her eyes. She knows enough.
Not good.
“Oh, I’ll make sure we take really good care of you.”
And I’m no longer eating here.
“You from out of town?”
Perched on the stool, I peck at the keyboard on my Mac next to my untouched club. The question was raised by an old-timer who’s spent the majority of the time since his arrival scrutinizing me. Cecelia’s been mostly avoiding me since our earlier exchange. When she realized I wasn’t leaving, she had no choice but to resume her shift. She pauses her fifteenth wipe of the counter, her circles in three, no doubt just to fuck with me, in wait of my response.
“Just moved here,” I reply over the top of my screen. Though much older than me, he’s got near-perfect posture, a thick silver mane, and appears meticulously groomed. Ex-military.
“Moved from where?”
“Not far.”
“What for?”
“I guess you could say I just switched careers.”
“What were you doing?” The man asks, his tone a little louder than socially appropriate, no doubt due to some hearing loss.
“Lot of this and that. Mostly, I was in service.”
Cecelia snorts.
“Military?” He yells across the bar. “Ah, I got you. I served in Nam. So, is this your first week back as a civilian?”
Cecelia watches me, and I smirk. “Exactly.”
“Hard at first, but you’ll get used to it. There are benefits to being a veteran.”
Eyes rolling down her frame, she doesn’t miss it. “I’m hoping that’s the case.” My cock springs to life as her lips part slightly, the small taste of her from this morning lingering on my tongue. “It’s going to be an adjustment being a real citizen,” I toss in for good measure. Getting her to both listen and believe my truths will be a new sport. Fingers itching to touch her, I resist and click out of a few screens.
“What brings you to this part of Virginia?”
“Something I can’t live without,” I admit easily and feel Cecelia tense just before the cook calls for pick up.
“You don’t look the type for a small town.”
“Actually, I was raised in a town just like this, about ten hours from here.”
“Well, DC isn’t far away if you ever need to scratch the itch for some city life.”
“Thanks for the heads-up.”
“Name’s Billy.”
“Nice to meet you, Billy. I’m Tobias, Cecelia’s boyfriend.”
Cecelia coughs, and Billy smiles, his teeth untarnished from age. A good majority of Cecelia’s customers are wearing dentures. This isn’t the type of hipster town with micro-breweries popping up from a population spike. In fact, it’s probably one of the last American small towns that the rest of the US has forgotten about. And a damn good place to hide.
“You never mentioned a boyfriend,” Billy says to Cecelia.
“I’m a best-kept secret,” I interject, giving him a wink.
Billy rolls a toothpick across his lips. “Don’t kid yourself, son, every man who frequents the place thinks he’s her boyfriend.” His grin amps up. “If I was thirty years younger—”