Page 53 of Love at a 7-Eleven

Chapter 20

Lila

"Did you get in touch with Drake?" I asked Caleb the question when I came back from my mom's bedroom with her. He had been in the living room talking to my dad. We were both still wearing our travel clothes, and he still managed to look handsome and dapper.

"No, we were talking. I haven't looked at my phone. Hang on, and I'll check."

Caleb started to look at his phone, and I looked at my dad with a questioning glance, wondering what he said to Caleb. My dad smiled at me.

"He's leaving too early in the morning for us to get breakfast," Caleb said. "But he's just finishing up with his last customer at the shop if you want to go by there and meet him tonight."

"Yes, let's go," I agreed with a nod.

Within a few minutes, we had said goodbye to my parents and were on the road headed to the tattoo shop where Drake had been working. Caleb drove, and he held my hand. We talked about him meeting my family on the way to the shop. I asked him if he and my dad had a good talk, and he said it was great, so I left it at that. We didn't hold hands or make any other contact in front of my family, and it was so nice to be able to touch him again in the car.

He had been such a champ about them all being there. They loved Caleb, and they were picky and honest whenever I had been interested in someone in the past. It was a long day at the end of a long week, and you would never know it with the way he smiled and interacted with them. Whatever he and my dad said to each other was good, too. They were both happy afterward.

My chest was alive with butterflies at his touch. I didn't know what I was in for with meeting Drake and I didn't care. Caleb had done such a good job with my crew that I owed it to him to make it smooth with Drake. I figured I would follow his lead.

Crown Tattoos. I read the sign on the way inside. We walked into the front room of the tattoo shop which was decorated in blacks and browns with a lot of plants. Loud, bassy music was being pumped through some nice speakers.

"Oh hey, are you Drake's brother? Of course you are, bro!" The guy had been yelling at us from the hallway, and he entered the front room with a big smile and wave. He was carrying a broom and wearing a beanie and a vintage t-shirt with a neat mustache. "Hey, they just walked next door. He went to talk to Anthony. He said to tell you to meet him over there." The guy was still having to yell over the loud music. He came closer to us and propped the broom against the wall. "I'll be in here cleaning up, man, if you need anything. Drake still has his stuff in here, so I know they're coming back. But he said to meet him over in the pub. I think they're getting nachos." He moved and gestured behind him, toward the hallway. "You can walk through the back of the shop, or just go back out the front door. Your brother and his client just went over there to hang out with Anthony for a minute. He owns both of these buildings, and they join in the back. You can go either way."

"Oh, we'll go back out front, it's closer," Caleb said.

The guy put a hand out, and he and Caleb did one of those handshakes that cool guys do.

"It's nice to meet you, bro. Caleb, right?"

"Yes, I'm sorry, I should have said that," Caleb said.

The guy glanced at me, and I smiled at him.

"And this is Lila," Caleb said.

I shook his hand and within a few more exchanges, we were back on the sidewalk, heading into the next house. The door was marked with a sign that said Anchor Bar & Grill in the same style as the shop next door. I could tell they had the same landscaping and general vibe. The front room was large with mood lighting and the same loud music. It was decorated with colorful eclectic décor like the place next door. It was similar, except it was packed.

Caleb looked back at me and smiled. He was a gorgeous specimen of a man, and I was proud to be there with him. The bar area was on the right with two rows of tables in the middle and to the left of the room. There must've been eight tables, and all of them were full. I glanced around, to see if I could find anyone who looked like Drake.

"There's my favorite Decker, right there!"

It was a deep male voice, and I looked up to find Eric Soren, long-time center for the Chicago Blackhawks. He had been playing professional hockey for what must've been a decade. He was also good friends with my father and an established family friend. He had come our way from the direction of the bar, and we met up in an empty spot near the door. Eric leaned in to hug me, and I hugged him back. He was close to my brothers, too. I hadn't seen him in a year or so, and he hugged me for a long time.

"It's been too long, Lila Decker. You're looking amazing. A real woman. Out on the town. Fancy seeing you here."

Eric paused and glanced reluctantly at the bar and then back at me. "The bartender was checking on something for me," he said, pointing that way explaining why he had to walk away.

"Yeah, of course. It was great seeing you."

"It was. Maybe I'll see you again if you end up staying here. Either way, I'll come by the house and see the family soon."

"Yeah, I'm not sure how long we're staying, but you should come by. It was good seeing you!"

It was crowded in there and Eric had walked away, headed toward the bar without so much as acknowledging Caleb. I wasn't even sure if he was aware that I was there with anyone else. He had looked straight at me the whole time. I glanced back at Caleb when Eric walked away and he leaned in to speak to me.

"They're in the very back," he said. "I just got a text from my brother."

I stared at him as I thought of the prospect of making our way through the crowd. The place was crowded. "If they're in the back, do you think it's faster to go next door and walk around? That guy was telling us we could go through there."

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