Page 45 of Fresh Start
“Of course. Why would it be a problem?” she said and approached our table again. “What can I get for you folks?”
"Coffee. Water. Pancakes. In that order." Melody winked at me and then turned to Leo.
“Can I speak to you after?” she asked.
“Sure. What about?”
Melody waved her hand over our table and puckered her lips before she said, without any subtlety, “Whatever the hell is going on here.”
Leo shooed her away and turned to me.
“Sorry. She’s nosy. I’ll just tell her we used to be classmates, and that’s it,” he said.
I shook my head.
“It’s fine. I—I don’t mind,” I said, surprising even myself.
My heart should be racing. My breathing should be catching. Yet none of these things were happening.
“Are you sure?”
“I think so,” I answered.
Leo smiled.
“Anyway, what would you like to do today?” He asked. “I can show you around town, some of my favorite places—the ones still standing at least, or we can do something else. Maybe go down the beach.” As he said beach, he suddenly jumped in his chair like an excited dog. The only thing he was missing was a tail wagging. “There’s a little cove I used to go to when I was a teen and wanted to drink without getting caught. Do you want to see it? It’s... private.”
It was his turn for his face to go mischievous. The resemblance with his sister’s was uncanny.
“That’d be great. I don’t have any plans today other than visiting my parents in the evening,” I said.
“Oh yeah. You mentioned that before.” Leo said. "When did they move here?"
“A few years ago when they retired,” I said. “Random, huh?”
Leo moved his head up and down, still in disbelief. “I’ll say.”
Melody interrupted us with our order of coffee and water. She also put down some juice for us and the maple syrup for the pancakes that were on their way.
I made my coffee and poured Leo’s, too, and then passed him two packets of sugar while I poured milk in mine.
Leo grinned at me as he took the packets from my hand and added the sugar to his coffee. It was like we’d never been apart. Hell, I even remembered how he took his coffee. If that wasn’t creepy, weird, and heartwarming all at the same time, I didn’t know what was.
"I can't believe you're going to be playing Death Knight,” I said after the first sip hit all the right spots. “I'm so excited for you. Do you know any story details, or are they still in the development phase?"
Leo's smile was unmatched by anything I’d ever seen.
"Well, I haven't been cast yet, and after the lovely news that my agent shared with me, I don't know if I will be playing him. From what I heard, they wanted to go the direction of the Sewage Lizard," Leo said, and I flinched.
"The Sewage Lizard? That is one of the most panned villains in the history of comic books. Who on earth is directing this?" I asked, and from the corner of my eyes, I could tell some heads had turned from the other guests.
"That, I don't know. I don't think they've found one yet. Which is why nothing is certain at the moment. Not even my part in the film, so if you don't mind, I'd like not to talk about it. I don't want to jinx it," Leo said.
It was so exciting. Not only was my favorite comic book finally coming to the big screen, but Leo was most likely going to be playing him.
All I wanted to do was keep talking about it and geek over it, but if it made Leo uncomfortable, then I had no choice but to change the subject.
"I'm sure it will be fine, Leo. Don't worry about it. Let's just enjoy the next few days here together, and I'm sure when you go to LA, you will call me back with the greatest news ever," I said, and Leo smiled.
