Page 41 of Tourist Trap

“So this place hasn’t changed.”

The room is open, a bar against the back wall with bottles lined up and photos and memorabilia from the town along the walls. A dozen or so mix-and-match tables are dotted along the room. In one corner, there is a big bulletin board with notices, and next to it is a calendar shouting out specials for each day and events. Tuesdays are bingo nights, while Thursdays are ladies nights.

“The good ol’ locals bar,” June says with a smile. “Too dingy and off the beaten path for the tourists.”

“I like it,” I say, looking around again. And it’s the truth: ever since we first came after my twenty-first birthday, I’ve loved it here.

“Don’t lie,” Deck says with a laugh.

“I’m not! I genuinely like it. It’s cool. A little quiet, though.” I don’t know the last time I was in a bar without some kind of music on, and without it, it feels like somethingis missing. But upon my perusal, I see a few speakers in the corners of the room. “Do you think the sound works?” Lainey nods.

“Oh, yeah. Tuesday is bingo night, and they have a whole setup for number calling.”

“Do you think it could play music?”

Lainey shrugs. “I mean, yeah. I set it up when I’m cleaning up sometimes with an aux cord.”

My eyes light up.

“We should dance,” I say, a wide smile.

“What?” June says with a laugh.

“Come on! It’ll be fun!” The few sips of my drink are already making me feel warm, brave, and a bit chaotic. Or maybe it’s just this place, this town, my friends.

I’ve always felt right at home, the mostmeversion of myself, in Seaside Point.

“Hey, Benny?” I call as he walks away from whoever he was talking to.

“What can I do for you, little lady?”

I smile wider.

“Do you think we can play some music?” I ask, and he looks to the speaker in the ceiling, then back to me. “I want to dance!”

A wide grin spreads over his face, his eyes wrinkling at the edges.

“Only if you agree to dance with me.”

I put a hand out to shake.

“Deal.”

FIFTEEN

MILES

“Fuckingtourists,” I groan as I turn onto Sandshore Road, almost hitting a family that’s jaywalking across it.

The father turns to me and starts screaming at me while the mother continues walking, staring at her phone like nothing happened. I point to the very clearly painted crosswalk he is decidedlynotstanding in and flip him off.

He continues to curse at me through the window that’s down.

“There’s a crosswalk for a reason,” I say as they finish crossing the road, then move on toward my destination.

I should have been there almost an hour ago, but at the last minute I had a tourist come into my shop telling me their AC wasn’t working. When I told them it wasn’t a simple cabin air filter issue, they proceeded to argue with me for an hour before leaving with nothing. It’s pretty typical this time of year, but fuck, does it drive me up a wall.

But at least I’ll always have the Seabreeze. The bar and grill in the corner of Seaside Point with little to no atmosphere is far enough off the boardwalk that it isn’t too interesting for tourists and is mostly just a local hangout.

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