Page 23 of The Finish Line

“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—”

“Try forty, and Billy, don’t finish that sentence,” I warn, as Cecelia finally smiles and walks over to me. She lifts my sandwich and takes a large bite. It’s an act of kindness, a rarity since I showed up, and my shoulders ease back a little.

She chews slowly, and our eyes meet and hold. She’s in there, hiding, both the girl I met and the woman I love, as she was yesterday. Maybe her dream haze anger has passed. “Done with this?” she asks, snatching the plate just as I reach for the other half of the sandwich.

Maybe not.

“It’s true, Billy. He’s my old flame,” Cecelia snarks in an indicative way that means trouble is coming. “He’s here to try and win me back. But I’m thinking of passing.”

Billy lifts his brows. “Well, what’s wrong with him, other than the way he dresses?”

Billy–1, Tobias–0

She crosses her arms, lips lifting. “Quite a bit.”

“Does he always dress like that? He could be in one of those rap videos in that getup.”

Billy–2, Tobias–0

“It’s just a part of his disguise. He’s a professional liar.”

Shit, here we go. And no doubt she’s going to make this publicly painful.

Bring it, baby.

“That’s never good,” Billy says, sizing me up as Cecelia begins to tick off my crimes on her fingers. “He’s a thief, a liar, and the first time he kissed me, he didn’t ask permission, so definitely not a gentleman.”

“Shame.” Billy analyzes me with a crease between his brows. “You should always ask a woman’s permission.”

“And he betrayed me,” Cecelia adds, and there’s nothing humorous in her tone. I feel that blow so much I grunt through it.

You hurt, I hurt. Look at me.

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