“That’s okay. I don’t think either of us meant to fall asleep last night. What time is it anyway?”
Glancing over my shoulder, I check the time on the microwave. “Ten.”
“Wow. I haven’t slept in that long in a while.”
“I need to get ready to work the lunch and dinner shift. You’re welcome to hang around.”
“Can I join you?”
I stand rooted in place. My eyebrows practically meeting my hairline raised in surprise. Devyn Dane wants to come work in our little diner? Surely, he must be kidding.
“Larsen?”
“Why would you. . .I mean. . .you don’t. . .”
“Larsen, I want to help. It could be fun and I have nothing else to do.”
I ignore the shot of thrill that zips through my veins at getting the chance to spend another day with him. I had imagined that I would get off from work this evening and find the apartment he’s renting barren. It’s not like he has a real reason to stay. I’m sure he has a lackey or enough money to find a way to bring his car back home.
“Um. . .sure, if you want. You’ll probably get bored.”
“I could never get bored with you,” he whispers and I wonder if he meant for me to hear it.
&n
bsp; He leaves the apartment at the same time I slip into my bathroom to cleanse myself from the night and of my thoughts of Devyn. I need to remember that he leaves in a few days. I’m not part of his world, nor would they accept me. Hollywood is full of women doing whatever they can to look as young and perfect as possible.
The hot water washes over my skin, and while I lather myself with the soapy suds, I let myself dream of a fate that doesn’t involve Devyn. And that’s the kicker, really. He isn’t supposed to be part of my life. We met by chance, a twist of fate that shouldn’t have happened. He’ll move on, and perhaps after a year or more, I’ll be a distant recollection, one that involves a friendship and a fond memory.
Shady Pines is a place that visitors recall passing through, that one place you forgot you visited until you see it in an old picture or recall a trip and think about that one diner you stopped in to grab breakfast. It’s a blip on the radar, an insignificant place that holds no meaning unless you were raised here.
The town reminds me of looking in a mirror, its features so much like my own. Nothing special, nothing outstanding, an inconsequential memory that only evokes itself when it’s attached to something marvelous.
I’m not sure how long I’ve stood in the shower, but when I notice my wrinkled fingertips I decide that it’s been long enough. Wrapping a towel around my hair and then my body, I step from the shower and walk into my bedroom. The trek to my dresser is routine and it’s not until I open one of the drawers and grab a pair of panties that I startle at a man’s voice.
“I like your room. Not too girly.”
“Holy shit!” I scream, reaching for the panties as they drop from my hand while simultaneously trying to clasp the towel twisted around my chest to keep it from opening and reaching up to keep the towel on my head in place. I lose the battle with the towel on my head and my wet hair falls all over my face as I bend over to grab my underwear from the floor.
“I was really hoping it was the towel around your body that was going to fall first.”
Looking up from my perch on the floor, I send him a glare that I hope sends the feeling of fear through him.
“You shouldn’t say things like that.”
“Why?”
Growling as I stand with a hearty fist around the knot of my towel, I tell him, “Because we’re just friends, Devyn.”
Instead of answering, he cocks his head to the side, and I hate that I love the way the wet tips of his hair dangle in front of his eyes. My body burns as his eyes travel up my body starting at the tips of my toes. Then I remember what he must be gawking at.
I turn away so that my left side is the one facing him as I pluck the rest of my clothes from my dresser.
“I’ll. . .um. . . go change in the bathroom.”
Hurriedly he launches himself from the bed. “No, no. I’ll wait in your living room. You get dressed here.”
Shocked at how quickly he wants to retreat from the space, I try to mask my hurt. I try to shift that trusty shield back into place, but it’s useless.