Don't Turn Back (Coming Home Book 1) (8 page)

“How about the chicken tender plate? You up for that?” 

“Sounds good to me.” I tell her. “Get whatever you want. I’m just going to nibble a few bites. I had something already, before we left.”

Rebecca places her order with the waitress when she returns with our margaritas. I glance around the club and see the dance floor is filling up quickly, everyone excited about watching the band perform tonight.

“Damn, that’s good.” She tells me while licking some of the salt from the rim of the glass. “Ok, are you going to tell me why you keep looking around? Are you looking for someone? Every time I look over at you, your head is turned towards the door.”

I am so busted!

“Oh, nothing.” I say, hoping to play this off. “Just checking who’s out tonight.”

The food arrives, thank goodness, and I’m able to quickly change the subject. I decide against telling Rebecca about Brian just yet. There’s literally enough food here for three people. Rebecca dips her chicken in ketchup, and I dig into the fries. The waitress comes back, asking if everything is okay, and I order another margarita for both of us. 

“These margaritas are sooo good tonight.” I tell her and she agrees. We may have to break our two-drink limit tonight. My body is starting to feel the warm, relaxed sensation from the effects of the tequila already, and I’m ready to head to the dance floor. 

About that time, I see Rebecca’s eyes lock in on something towards the bar. “Don’t look behind you, but I swear there’s a cute guy over there that keeps checking you out.”

Not listening to her, I quickly turn around in my chair and sure enough, I see Brian leaned up against the bar, nursing a beer. A huge smile comes over my face.

“Wait, you know him?” She asks me.

“Not exactly, but I can explain,” I manage to get out, just as Brian walks over to our table.

“Brian, hey, I see you made it out tonight.” I’m grinning from ear to ear. “This is my best friend Rebecca. Rebecca, this is Brian.”

Brian extends his hand to Rebecca. She returns with a “Nice to meet ya.”

Looking towards me, Rebecca asks, “So, Jenn, you going to tell me how you two know each other?” 

“Well, we, um, met at the hotel. Brian is new in town, and I invited him out to see what we do for fun around here.”

All of a sudden, Rebecca shoots me a concerned look. “Uh Brian, will you please excuse us for a moment. Jenn and I need to go to the ladies room. Please help yourself to some fries and chicken tenders while we’re gone.” Rebecca grabs my hand and drags me down the hallway towards the bathrooms before I can get in another word edgewise.

“Ok, lady. Spill it.” She’s directing this towards me as soon as the door shuts behind us. “Please tell me how you’ve managed to meet someone and not share the details with me.”

Laughing, I volunteer the information. “No, Rebecca. Brian just moved here from the south part of the state. Remember that piece of junk car that was parked in my spot at work?” I stop long enough for her to let it all sink in. “Well, you’re never going to believe this, but that’s his car.”

I see the worried look quickly appear on her face. “Come on Jennifer. You’ve got to be kidding me. Surely, you can find someone who has better transportation than that. Even you were cracking jokes about the condition of that car.” She quickly throws this back at me.

“I know, I know. I said a few choice words about it. I shouldn’t have judged the owner so quickly without knowing who it belonged to.”

“You still haven’t told me how you know him.”

“Well, it’s a weird story, but two nights ago the cops happened to be driving through the parking lot, checking on things. Someone had reported a vehicle in the parking lot with kids left in it and they thought his car was the one they were looking for.”

“Okay, so how does this involve you?” She is still staring at me with concern.

“Brian had pulled over for the night-- short on gas and cash. The cops detected movement in the car, and they approached him. When they realized everything was okay and it wasn’t the car they were looking for, they sort of gave him a hard time about moving his car. He walked up to the hotel to use the phone, to see about getting some help. He came back last night to get a room and we talked and talked forever. In fact, we probably could have talked all night, but I needed to finish up some paperwork and he needed to get some sleep.” By this point, I’m hoping she’s accepting of the story. I didn’t bother to mention my giving him any money. I don’t need to raise any red flags.  

“Look, you know I love you like my own flesh and blood. I just want you to be careful since you don’t know anything about him, and he’s not from around here. He could be trouble.” She reaches out to give me a sisterly hug.

As I pull away from her, I reply, “I know you mean well. It’s not like I invited him home or anything. We just talked. He’s new in town, and I was being nice. He can’t help that he’s also very attractive. Did you notice those piercing blue eyes of his?” I try lightening the tone of the conversation.

“Come on Jenn. He probably thinks we got lost in here.”

Rebecca and I head back out to our table. Brian had ordered himself a beer and already finished off every bit of chicken and fries we had left.

“Sorry we took so long. Girl talk, you know.” I grin at him with my best smile.

“That’s okay. Hope you girls didn’t mind me finishing off your food. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was.” Damn, he has a killer smile and those amazing eyes are even bluer tonight than I remember from earlier.

Rebecca, being the awesome friend that she is, added, “Welcome to town Brian.  So, are you just passing through or are you planning on staying here?” She’s going to give him a chance, I hope. 

I can sense the uneasiness in his voice as he answers. “Well, if I’m fortunate enough to find a job rather quickly, I plan on hanging around here. I sort of had to leave my last place pretty suddenly, so I don’t exactly have a flowing cash supply. I’ve got some buddies over in the next town, but I kind of like the feel of it here. Do you know of anyone doing any hiring?” Funny, but I don’t recall him mentioning before about having friends close by.

“I’m not sure what kind of work you are looking for, but the fast food places are always hiring. Then, there are the local grocery stores and the new mall being built down the road. Surely something will appeal to you.” 

Looking from Rebecca to Brian, they could both go on and on, but I grab them both and pull them towards the dance floor. “Come on guys, let’s go have some fun.”

The band cranks up the beat, and a trendy tune starts blaring from the amplifiers. They play a cover song to get everyone going, and continue to play several more hit songs in rapid succession.

Both of my friends seem to be having a really good time tonight. Brian doesn’t seem to mind dancing with both of us. In fact, he takes a turn dancing with Rebecca, then turns to face me as we share a few moments together as well. When the band slows the beat down with a slow ballad, we all take a break and head back to our table. I’ve lost the little buzz I had earlier, but that’s ok.

Glancing down at my watch, I notice it’s nearing two o’clock in the morning. The band should start closing out with the last few songs of the night. Reaching up to cover my yawn, I ask if everyone is ready to call it a night. Even though I’m not ready for the night to end, we can’t hang out here forever.

Rebecca is the first to answer. “Dang, I didn’t realize how late it was getting. I don’t know about you guys, but I have had a blast tonight. Brian, where are you staying tonight? Did you drive or do you need a ride somewhere?” I could kick her for bringing this up.

I notice his eyes fall to the floor. “Well, my car is in the lot by the hotel. I haven’t exactly decided where I’ll be staying. Maybe I will see if they’ve got a room still available for tonight.” He looks over at me, knowing full well that I’m aware he doesn’t have any money for a room. I never thought to ask where he got the money for his beers tonight. I don’t want to mention this in front of Rebecca, so I keep walking towards the door leading outside.

I tell Rebecca I’m going to walk Brian to his car, so she can go ahead to her car and I will meet her there in a minute. “Thanks for hanging out with us tonight Brian. It was a lot of fun.” I’m trying to be as friendly as possible, to keep the door open for him to suggest possibly seeing each other again.

“Both of you have been fun. Thank you Jennifer, for inviting me.” He reaches over and gives me a hug. “Hopefully, we can do it again real soon. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to let loose and not worry about things.” 

I don’t mention where he is planning on staying tonight and he doesn’t volunteer it.

He gets into his clunker of a car, and Rebecca pulls up to get me. We both wave as we leave him behind in the parking lot.

I get into the car and hope the girls don’t wait for me to leave. I have no idea where I am going to sleep tonight, but I don’t want to take the chance of them following me. I glance over in the direction of Rebecca’s car stopped at the red light in the intersection, and l can already see both girls carrying on a conversion, about me, no doubt. I find myself saying out loud, “Come on, hurry up light. Change!”  

I use both hands to rub my face and eyes, tired from the night’s events. I need their car to be clearly out of sight before I decide which lot I am going to park in tonight. I have no other choice but to pull up beside the girls while waiting on the light to change.

Jennifer looks over at me, and motions for me to roll the window down. 

“You okay Brian?” She yells over to me.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I guess I just drank too many beers tonight, because my head is starting to hurt a little.” 

She motions to the gas station across the way and points. “Pull over there, I’ve got some Advil.”

I roll the window back up and pull across the street to meet them. She gets out and runs over to my car.

“Aww, I’m sorry you’re feeling bad. Here you go,” she says while shaking the bottle of Advil at me. “Just keep them. I’ve got another bottle at home. Hope you start feeling better.”

My hand briefly touches hers as she hands me the bottle. I look over to Rebecca in the driver’s seat and manage a wave. “Thanks, Jennifer. I’m just going to run inside and grab a Coke to wash these down. I really had a good time tonight.” I don’t want her to leave, yet I really don’t need her hanging around, either.

Her face lights up. “I did too. Maybe we can do it again sometime.”

This girl is too nice. I would really like to ask her if I could see her again, but given the circumstances, I’m not really sure that’s a good idea.

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight Brian.” I can see her eyes twinkle as she turns to get back in the car. I hope I didn’t just disappoint her.

Judging by the expression on her face, it looks like I’m working my magic on her with very little effort on my part. If I didn’t know any better, I would say this girl could become putty in the palm of my hand. I didn’t have intentions of meeting someone so soon, but if I don’t hurry up and figure out how I’m going to survive, I may have to seek her out for help. I seriously doubt she’ll be able to help me with a room again, but maybe she’d be willing to offer her couch. I can only hope, right?

I really don’t have a headache, but I would like something cold to drink. I hadn’t planned on spending money on the few beers I had earlier tonight, but I didn’t want to look like a lightweight, either. I am glad the girls let me finish off their plate of food-- it saved me from having to buy something to eat. Since I have very little junk food left in the car, the chicken was pretty darn good and hit the spot.

Walking out of the bathroom, I notice the same lady from the previous night working the counter. As I place my drink up on the counter, I can tell by her expression she recognizes me, too. “So, did anyone happen to turn in the money I lost?” I ask her, hoping for a miracle.

“No, but I didn’t really think they would either. This day and age, I seriously doubt anyone would turn in lost money, especially any big amount. It’s hard to find a good soul anymore. I’ve seen my fair share of people come through here, and people are always looking for handouts.” I’m not sure why she’s volunteered this much information, but I nod, pay for my drink, and walk back out to the car.