Page 38 of Hounds Ascend
The first time I did that, he craned his neck to look at me, but now he’s used to it and doesn’t pay me any mind. At the end of the back road, we take a right onto a main highway that leads us into a small town. We come to the only red light in town and Cass turns into the parking lot of a small café.
He kills the bike and unstraps his helmet. I steady myself with his shoulders, the way I always do, and step off the bike. He follows suit just as I set my helmet on the seat. His foot connects with it, sending it flying off just as quickly as I’d set it down. I retrieve it from across the parking lot and set it back on the seat.
“I always forget that you have to get off the same way I do,” I say.
He chuckles. “Yeah, that’s one thing I do have to do like you.”
“You get hungry?”
“Kinda. I stopped for you, though. I heard your stomach rumbling at the clubhouse before we left and this place has thebest food there is.”
“Awe, baby. You’re so damn sweet.” I lean in and kiss his cheek.
“I try,” he grins and takes me by the hand, leading me to the door.
The café is small, but relatively busy. Busier than I thought it would be. The building is a faded shade of pink with “Juanita’s” painted across the side of it in faded black lettering. There are small tables inside scattered throughout with a small bar that seats three people and has a television directly above it.
There’s a large opening at the counter to place your order and behind it stands a young girl. She looks to be in her teens, still in high school. She wears her brown hair in a messy bun piled on top of her head and she smiles nervously, revealing braces on her teeth.
“Welcome to Juanita’s. What can I get for y’all?”
Cass looks to me as I scan the menu.
“Go ahead and order. It will force me to pick something.”
Cass orders a double bacon cheeseburger and gravy fries before looking at me again. I was going to get the same thing, but I spot hamburger steak on the menu and I’m sold.
“I’ll take a hamburger steak dinner. Can I have rice and gravy instead of a salad and fries?”
“Umm. I...I think so,” the girl says, looking over her shoulder behind the wall.
“Hold on just a sec,” she says, walking off. She returns quickly, writing something down.
“That’s not a problem. Is that all for y’all?” she asks.
“You didn’t bring your imaginary friend, did you?” Cass asks, staring at me with a straight face.
My cheeks redden and I laugh at his statement as the young girl’s jaw drops.
“Uh...I...” I stammer, unsure of how to respond to him.
“I think she left her at home, so that should be all,” he says, as if he were talking about any other normal thing.
The young girl rings up our ticket and Cass pays while I pick out a booth for us to sit in. Cass snickers when he sits down across from me.
“You should’ve seen the look on your face,” he laughs.
“That was mean!”
“So, did you?”
“Did I what?”
“Bring your imaginary friend?”
I try to keep a straight face, but he’s charming and I can’t fight it.
The young girl brings out our drinks and sets them on the table, leaving quickly. Maybe she’s terrified of Cass’s charm or maybe she’s now scared of me who she believes has an imaginary friend.
