Her voice is husky, and she starts to laugh. “Oh, it’s definitely taboo. Or at least it used to be...”
Her voice drops off, and I look at the phone. “What’s going on with you two? Is everything okay?”
“Uh, can we not talk about me right now? Let’s focus on you.”
I know there’s something she’s not telling me, but before I can pry, she says, “Look, you always say you don’t want any of the sordid details... I’m saving you.”
I know she’s covering up and hiding something from me, but there’s no sense pressuring her. She’ll tell me when she’s ready and not a minute before.
“Fine. But I’m here when you want to talk.” She doesn’t answer, and I blow out a breath. “Look, I have to go. I want to go in and be seated when he gets here.”
She gets quiet and serious fast. “Do you have your mace?”
I roll my eyes. “Yes.”
“Okay, and you’re going to call me as soon as you leave. I mean, well, uh unless you go with him.”
“Really? I think you know I’m not going to be sleeping with him, Cass. I promise I’ll call you after dinner. Even if he suggests something else, it’s only going to be dinner for me. I want to go home, take a long bath, and try to figure out how I’m going to be able to deal with Walker and Sam for another month.”
She’s quiet, and I know she’s worried about me. That’s just who she is. “It’s going to be okay, sis. It’s all going to work out exactly like it’s supposed to.”
I breathe in and out, letting her words settle over me. “I know. I know you’re right. I’ll call you after, okay? I love you, sis.”
“I love you too.”
I hang up the phone and finish touching up my makeup. I don’t have anything to fix the bloodshot eyes, but at least I’m presentable. I look around the half empty lot and get out. The restaurant isn’t one I’ve eaten at before, and quite honestly, it doesn’t seem like much from the outside, but maybe when I get in it will. Sometimes little hole in the wall restaurants end up being the best food you can eat.
I put my phone in my purse and my purse over my shoulder and walk in the restaurant. I’m seated almost immediately, and I order a water. If I was in Whiskey Run and close to home, I’d order something to calm my nerves because I’d have no trouble finding a ride back home. But here in Jasper, where I don’t know anyone, I don’t even consider drinking alcohol.
I’m going to use this date to sort of try and break the pull I have toward Walker. I know it’s crazy, and it’s probably not going to work, but I have to try something. I can’t keep up like I am.
I look at my phone, and it’s exactly six-thirty. I keep an eye on the door, but I’m not noticing anyone that looks like the guy from the profile. I open the app to see if I missed a message, but there’s nothing new. The last one was when he messaged me at noon, letting me know he was looking forward to tonight.
“May I take your order?” the server asks as he sets my water, salsa, and chips on the table.
I gesture to the seat across from me. “I’m waiting for someone.”
He nods and tells me he’ll be back.
I go through social media on my phone to waste some time while keeping an eye on the door. The restaurant is picking up, and before I know it, twenty minutes have gone by. I check the app again and decide to send my date, Jason, a message. Almost instantly, he replies, “I’m so sorry. I got held up at work. I won’t be able to make it.”
I drop my phone in my purse and pull out a twenty from my wallet, which is more than enough to cover my salsa, chips, and water. I lay it on the table and walk out of the restaurant. I’m bent over, digging in my purse again for my keys when an uneasy feeling hits me. The parking lot is empty. The lights are all out, and I turn in a circle, trying to figure out why everything is lit up across the street but not here. Deciding not to stick around to find out, I pull my keys from my purse and walk briskly toward my car.
And that’s when I hear it.
Feet on the pavement behind me—loud and getting louder. I’m digging in my purse, searching for the mace I know I have in there, when a voice stops me. “Brooklyn, is that you?”
The voice sounds friendly, and I breathe a sigh of relief. It’s someone that knows me. I turn to see who it is and come face to face with two men. They’re big and menacing, and I take a step back... right into the chest of another man that puts his hands on my shoulders. “Brooklyn Waters? You’re coming with us.”