Leaning close, I whispered to her and her alone, “Do you want to leave?”
She nodded, her arms crossed in front of her as if she was protecting herself from something. What she felt she needed protection from, I had no idea, but it was a crack in the armor and a way I could spend some time with her. Alone. Reaching out, I took her arm and motioned for her to follow me.
“Come on,” I said. “I'll take you home. Or wherever you want to go.”
“Hey, where you going?” Cason asked, turning, an annoyed expression on his face as we started to walk away.
I shot him a look over my shoulder, a taunting look as if to say, “I won” even though I wasn't sure I had just yet. But at least, if I had some time alone with her, I had a better shot at winning than either of those two bozos. Hailey wanted to get out of there, and who was I to force her to interact with others if she didn't want to?
And the look on Cason and Ben's faces as we walked away together was priceless. I reveled in it for a moment as we made our way toward the parking lot and away from the crowd.
I had to make them think I'd done it again. That I beat them. That I got the girl. I knew it would be a thorn in their side and nothing made me happier.
***
“How does this place even stay open?” she laughed, taking a sip from her milkshake. “I don't remember it ever being full.”
Betty's Diner was empty except for the two of us. But that's because everyone – and I mean everyone – was at the bonfire.
“It's a staple around here,” I said. “Just like Driftwood. Some things are just institutions and will never disappear completely.”
“The Driftwood – which you guys now own,” she said, looking a little more relaxed and her eyes twinkling for the first time since we'd met.
Her smile was warm, genuine and she seemed more confident now that we were away from the crowd. She was no longer hugging the hoodie close to her body and spoke a little more confidently.
“Yeah, that was Cason's idea,” I said, running a hand through my hair.
The front door of the diner opened, the bell overhead tinkling, and I cringed. I just had a feeling I knew who was coming through the front doors. It took everything in me in that moment to not jump up and stab them both in the heart with a spoon.
“Speak of the devil,” I muttered and sighed.
Hailey turned around just as Cason and Ben entered the diner, wide
smiles plastered upon their faces.
“How'd you find us?” I asked when they reached our table.
“Easy,” Cason said, slipping into the booth next to Hailey. “It's the only place open and your truck is out front. Didn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure that one out, chief.”
Ben sat down beside me. “Besides, I was in the mood for a milkshake,” he said, a cocky smirk on his face.
“Yeah, of course you were,” I grumbled.
“So, Hailey,” Cason said, turning toward her with an arm behind her on the bench. “What did you miss most about Black Oak?”
“Truthfully?” she laughed. “Not much. No offense or anything, but it's not like I ever had a lot going for me here. I still don't, but hopefully, that'll change soon.”
“Oh, I have no doubt it will,” Ben said, leaning across the table, closer to her. “A lot has changed since you left. It's like a whole different town in some ways.”
“That's what everyone keeps telling me,” she said. “Yet, I see that so much has stayed the same.”
“Like what?” Cason asked.
She looked at the three of us, her lips curling up in a grin, and I so badly wanted to know what she was thinking. Instead of enlightening us though, she passed and gave us something that was a little more benign. “Well, like the diner,” she said. “This milkshake tastes exactly like I remembered it. And the bonfire – that hasn't changed a bit. And I have to tell you, that brought back so many memories.”
Judging by the look on her face and the air of sadness around her, not all of the memories that came back to her at the bonfire were good ones. She stared down at her hands for a moment, seeming to be lost in thought, before looking back up at the three of us.
“I don't mean to be blunt, you guys,” she said, biting her lip. “But why all the attention? To be honest, it's a little overwhelming and unexpected. I mean, it's not like any of you noticed or paid attention to me back in high school.”