Page 16 of Standing Still

We are not getting anywhere with this conversation, but every time she takes a mouthful of her food, she makes that… sound. Jesus. It’s been a while since I heard a woman make a noise like that. And definitely since I’ve heard Elle do it. I grit my teeth again, trying not to let it get to me. But fuck… She’s really enjoying that food.

I can’t really blame her. I know how good the food is here. We only provide Craig with our finest catch. That sours my mood a little. I’m not a complete asshole, though. I get why she is so against all of this. She doesn’t know how Acer changed over the years. All she knows is how he treated her after Darren and her mom were gone.

She also made a very good point about me moving to New York for six months out of a year. I couldn’t do that. I’d rather die than move to a city, especially New York. Jared’s words come back to me from earlier.You’ve got to sweet talk her.

Tapping out a nervous beat on my fork, I surreptitiously look up at her. Am I really going to do this? How far am I willing to take this to get what I want? Not just what I want. What I need, for thepeople who work for me, for the people of this town. I don’t have to be an asshole.

I can show her that Mystic isn’t the place she remembers, bring her around to my way of thinking, show her things can be good here. I won’t let it go too far, just enough to convince her. And if I have tosweet talkher, or flirt a little to get her to remember that, it’s not that big of a deal. I’m not setting out to hurt anyone.

“So you reconnected with Dawn?” I ask. “That must have been…”

“Awkward?” she shakes her head. “Surprisingly not. She welcomed me like I’d never been gone,” She glances away briefly, like that pains her. “I can’t believe how pregnant she is.”

“Yeah, her and Tom are churning them out.”

“I don’t really remember him that well.”

“He’s a good guy,” I nod. It’s true he is. “He works for my brother.”

“Oh, which one?”

“Jared, his construction firm.”

“I always liked Jared,” she smiles.

“Yeah, he’s the most mellow of my brothers.”

“How’s Denny doing? He must be what, twenty-two?”

“Twenty-three,” I tell her. “He’s just graduated. He’s back home for the summer before he tries to find work.” I roll my eyes. Denny is the only one out of the five of us who went to college. And the only one who has no idea what he wants to do with his life.

“God, the last time I saw him, he was what, ten?”

“Roundabout that. He’s changed. He looks like a miniature version of Lewis.”

“So a heartbreaker then,” she smiles.

She had a crush on my older brother when we were kids, before we got together, and she forgot all about the blue eyed, blonde-haired dreamboat my brother was often mistaken for. I give her a look that says I’m not pleased about that comment, and she laughs. Another sound that does something to my chest.

“Will you see Dawn before you leave?” I throw that one out there like a grenade.

“I’m sure I will,” she says, dabbing at the corners of her mouth with a napkin after setting her cutlery down. She’s finished every last morsel on her plate. As have I.

“Are you leaving tomorrow?” I hedge.

“Given the circumstances, probably not,” she sighs, taking a sip of her drink.

“How long do you think you might stay?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Why do you think?”

She nods reluctantly. “Ben, I know you and I had our issues back then and things are tough right now with all of this, but I hope we can figure it out amicably and get the best result for everyone.”

I’m almost tempted to snipe again, but I hold on to that thought. I have to start as I mean to go on. “So, have you had enough?” I indicate the empty plate. “Or do you have room for dessert?”

“I’m stuffed,” she says.

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