CHAPTER TWO
Clint
I’m not all that surprised to find Billie gone when I wake up in the morning. She may very well be the absolute best night of sex in all my experience. Okay, no. She’s not the sex. She’s the one who makes it so amazing. I’m not surprised because from the outset this is just one of those things intended to be experienced and let go of. I know that now and it’s not something I’m just figuring out. I knew it going in.
The bed still feels particularly empty when I wake.
I like what’s been done with the hotel. It seems renovated. On the other hand, the bar looks pretty much the same as it always has. The Hopewell Bubbler is an institution in these parts. For the most part, Hopewell Springs is a quiet little town but there are bursts of tourism that just overrun the place. That’s why this hotel is so important to the community. The bar has always managed to keep its Hopewell Springs feel without giving in to tourist trap kind of things.
I figure I’ll be avoiding the Bubbler for a few weeks. I don’t want to make Billie uncomfortable. Hell, I don’t even have her phone number. This is just casual sex. It was very good casual sex, but it isn’t anything more than that. I certainly don’t want her to feel awkward. One thing is certain. The next time I show up there, I’ll show up with a few friends, so it won’t seem like I’m stalking.
I can’t get her out of my mind, though, as I shower and get dressed. It’s a hell of a welcome on my first day back in town. She’s not from here. I’m certain I would remember her. I walk through the lobby and see Lynda at the front. I lift my hand and wave. “Wow,” I say. “Familiar face.”
She smiles brightly and says, “Why Clint West, what are you doing at my hotel?”
“I... uh…”
“Why Clint,” she says, “you look uncomfortable. I hope you weren’t doing something naughty.”
“Stop teasing, little girl,” a voice says, and I see Charlie step out from behind her.
“Charlie!” I say. “I didn’t know you and Lynda were together.”
“You know Clint?” she asks. “But he moved here after high school.”
Charlie says, “You’re looking at the owner of West Funding, LLC, right there.”
She goes pale and her jaw drops. “Oh, Mr. West! I’m so sorry.”
I laugh. “No. No way. I’m still the boy who pulled on Mary Kline’s pigtails. No. You’re not allowed to treat me like some kind of bigshot.”
It takes her a second but she finally giggles. “Wow. Well, just give me a minute to get my foot out of my mouth.” I smile. I get it. She just found out she’d been teasing the man who financed the remodeling of the hotel. “Are you just here for a visit? I don’t have a reservation for you.”
“I’m back,” I say. “The way I figure it, at this point, my business is successful enough I don’t have to live in the big city. I can work from an office here and let my employees back in the smog do the heavy lifting.”
“And the community is tight here,” Charlie says.
“That’s great,” I reply. I see her turn to him and whisper, “Is he a Daddy?”
“That’s not a very polite thing to ask in front of him, little girl,” Charlie corrects. “But yes, he is.”
“Ooh,” Lynda says. “Good to know.”
She turns to smile at me, and I wonder for a moment if he knows about me and Billie last night. Could she know Billie? It doesn’t seem possible that she would know Billie and I wouldn’t but then again, I’ve been away for quite a while. Hopewell Springs is a small town but even small towns grow and Billie could be a new addition to the community.
Charlie nudges Lynda and Lynda says, “Oh yes.” She turns to me and says, “Daddy and I are going to dinner right now but maybe you’d like to stop by and visit sometime?”
“Absolutely,” I say.
She smiles brightly. “Great! I’ll have Daddy text you when we figure out a day.”
I smile and reply, “Sounds like a plan.”
“Okay, we’ll see you later then,” she says “Bye!”
Clint says goodbye as well and I head out.
Since the Bubbler isn’t an option at the moment, I head to the Burger Bin, a fast-food joint that might only seem like the best hamburger place in the world because of nostalgia but nonetheless remains my go-to whenever I’m in town.