The guys couldn’t help but admire the quality driving, not to mention the beautiful wheels.
“Hot damn,” muttered Mark.
“You got that right,” confirmed Carly, outright gawking at the striking driver as he exited the vehicle. “On a scale of one to ten, that boy’s an eleven.”
“I’m right here, you know,” scoffed Daniel.
“Oh, lighten up, babe. You know you’re my sirloin steak. I’m not ordering anything else off the menu.” She batted her eyes innocently before a wicked grin broke through. “But…that doesn’t mean I can’t peruse the dessert selection every now and again.”
Standing at a cut and athletic six feet, the stranger’s physique could barely be contained in his wife beater shirt and workout shorts.
“The guy’s gotta be freezing,” said Vanessa, watching her breath vaporize in the cold. “How could you be out in this weather without a jacket?”
“I’m not complaining.” Carly outright swooned as a lock of hair escaped from behind the stranger’s ear, falling onto his chiseled cheekbone. Daniel eyed her with obvious annoyance.
“Car, didn’t you say you were hungry?” I asked, clearing my throat loud enough to catch her attention.
“Uh-huh,” she sighed, not bothering to take her eyes off the guy. Her obliviousness to Daniel’s irritation was downright epic.
“Why don’t you go inside and grab something? A bag of chips. Maybe a candy bar. Or something…anything,” I remarked, now nudging her.
She blindly dug around in her purse, pulling out a wad of crumpled bills, and handed it over. “Surprise me.”
I stole a glance back at Daniel who just shook his head. “Sorry, man, did my best.”
He forced a small smile. “Valiant effort.”
I took the wrinkled cash and flattened it out the best I could before heading inside the gas station. Scanning over the assortment of snacks, I grabbed a couple bags of potato chips and decided on getting a Snickers bar for myself. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to have something edible on hand, given that bonfires were more notorious for having liquid refreshments than actual food. The bell above the entryway rang as I made my way up to the register, and the pleasant mixture of honey and musk engulfed me, masking the noxious smell of ammonia from the recently applied floor cleaner.
Curiosity got the better of me as I looked over my shoulder, only to find the last human being I ever wanted to see heading towards the back of the store. That familiar, damned knot formed in my stomach, as it always did anytime Reese Blackburn was near. I rocked back and forth on my heels, trying my best to keep my patience in check as the old guy in front of me continued buying virtually every lottery ticket available.
Come on, come on, come on. I needed to get out of here. PRONTO.
Footsteps started making their way to the counter from the back of the store, and I immediately deflated, knowing a confrontation was now inevitable.
“Montgomery,” spoke a silvery voice directly behind me.
I regrettably turned to face the ass-hat in question, giving him my best artificial, Pan Am smile. “Blackburn.”
The guy always looked like he’d just waltzed off the set of a Tim Burton movie, and tonight was no different. He was dressed in his typically peculiar attire, sporting a gothic knee-length horseman’s jacket laced in chains, a pair of black slacks, a silk tapestry vest, and dark brogue boots adorned with skulls on the metallic buckles.
“Never thought I’d see you south of Providence Street,” he remarked in the sarcastic fashion he always saved for me. “Get lost on your way to the country club?”
“No, I was actually out looking for your heart. Should’ve known better that it’s long gone,” I retorted. “And what about you? Never thought I’d see you out in public on a full moon. Get lost on your way to your cult meeting in the woods?”
“That’s later in the evening,” he chuckled, flashing me that dimpled smile and perfect set of pearly whites. Such infectious, boyish charm seemed misplaced, considering he was stab-worthy. It really was a shame, because Reese wasn’t half bad looking.
And by ‘half’, I mean not entirely.
Sure, he had cheekbones that could cut glass, not to mention bedroom eyes so amber they looked to be stowing flames inside them, but still…
Okay, okay. Even I had to admit, Blackburn was hardly an eyesore.
Even with my heeled boots, I still stood a good half foot shorter than him, but his lean frame thankfully made him less imposing.
The old guy in front of me started ordering cigarettes as well, causing my fisted fingernails to start biting into my palms. Knowing how quickly our conversations always descended into verbal smack downs, I grasped at anything I could think of to divert us back to small talk until I could move to the register.