Page 39 of The One I Left Behind

I pause, second-guessing what I want to say, but at this point, fuck it. “I didn’t want to eat there without you.”

“What?”

I stop at the light and face her. Her forehead crinkles.

The light turns green, and I accelerate, giving myself time to come up with the right response. “I thought maybe I only enjoyed it so much because I liked being there with you. Watching how much you enjoyed it.”

“Oh.” She tucks one hand between her crossed legs.

I really need her to stop doing things to draw attention to her bare legs.

“Does that mean you’re going to watch me like some creep while I eat?”

I shake my head, thankful she turned it into a joke. We made some progress a few weeks ago before we got the news about Coach Marks, but we’re still in this awkward stage where we’re not friends yet. “Would that bother you?”

“Yes, very much.”

I glance over, and she’s smiling. That has to mean progress.

I pull into the parking lot of By the Slice, and since it’s a little later, it’s not packed full of families. I turn off the engine and climb out of the cab. Sadly, Gillian does the same, so I’m not able to open the door for her.

She meets me at the back of the truck, her purse crossways over her body, resting between her tits. I’m left adjusting myself as slyly as I can on the way into the restaurant. Beating off in the shower isn’t taking off the edge anymore.

She talks to the hostess, and this isn’t the first time I’m surprised about someone she knows that I don’t. So many new people have come to Willowbrook or the surrounding towns since I moved away, which I guess is to be expected. But when I was in San Francisco and pictured back home, I always imagined it to be exactly how I left it.

The young hostess sits us at a table smack dab in the middle of the place. Might as well put a spotlight on us too.

“This is awkward,” I say, lifting my menu.

“Thank goodness it’s not Saturday night.” She tips her menu down, smiling at me.

“We’d definitely be on the Canary Wall again.”

“I paid Tammy to take that down,” she says and puts her finger over her lips.

“How did you manage that? And she got past Melvin?”

She puts her menu on the table, leaning over, and her tits distract me for a second. By the time my eyes reach hers, she’s clocked that I was staring at her chest. She doesn’t say anything, but the flush on her cheeks makes me think I’m not the only one feeling the sexual tension.

“Melvin loves Tammy. Like, loves her and will pretty much do anything she asks.”

“But that goes against the entire code of the Canary Wall.”

“Are you really arguing the ethics of the Canary Wall?”

“No. I’m just saying she’s messing with the rules. I’m assuming Tammy is the blonde bartender?”

She nods. “She’s new to town too. It seems like she’s been around for a long time, though. She’s good people.”

“She wouldn’t give me the time of day.”

“She’s Team Adams.” She leans back and opens her menu again.

My fingertips tip her menu down, and Gillian wears a sheepish smile.

“Team Adams?” I ask.

She nods. “Some people took sides when you left. I may have recruited Tammy after a night at The Hidden Cave when I had a smidge too much to drink.” She opens a small space between her finger and thumb.

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