We both laugh, and Dante flexes his fingers and stretches his neck from side to side as if he’s getting ready to run a marathon. “All right. Why don’t you take your cute little ass right over there?” He points to a booth in the back corner, the same one where Riley and I shared our first meal together. “And I’ll go and live up to my reputation,” he states proudly as he puffs out his chest.
As Dante disappears into the kitchen, I take a seat. I’m only there for a few minutes before a glass of water appears in front of me. I look up to see Dave. A sheepish smile tugs at the corner of his lips. “Do you mind if we talk?” he asks.
I nod and wave at the seat across from me. “Thanks for the drink,” I say as he sits.
Dave’s eyes scan the diner briefly before they land on me again. He heaves a deep sigh. “I just want to apologize to you.”
“That’s really not necessary,” I offer with a shake of my head.
He leans forward, propping his elbow up on the table. “No. It is necessary. I took advantage of you while you worked here, and since you’ve left, things really haven’t been the same. Now, the diner’s turnover rate is insane, and I can’t seem to keep a waitress to save my life.” Leaning back against the booth, he places his hands in his lap and sighs. “You were a good employee. You could handle the traffic that came through this place, and the customers really liked you.” He looks out the window and a sardonic laugh escapes him. “Gus still asks about you. He’s always wondering how you’re doing.” Dave turns his attention back to me. “Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I am sorry and that if you ever want to come back, you’re more than welcome.”
I take a sip of my water and lean back against my seat. His apology is sincere and heartfelt, and I can tell he means what he’s said. “I appreciate it. Thank you. But you should know I’m sorry about how I left.”
Dave leans forward and takes my hand in his. His touch confounds me just as much as his words do right now. “You were going through a hard time. I never should have given you an ultimatum.”
“I was going through a hard time, but that’s no excuse. I should have left my personal problems on the other side of the front door. I let my hurt and animosity get in the way. I was here to work and that’s what I should have done.”
“Am I interrupting anything?” Dante comes to a stop right next to the table, holding two plates loaded with grilled cheese and sweet potato fries.
Before I can answer, Dave says, “Nope.” He releases my hand before he looks up at Dante. “We were just catching up.” My eyes flicker between them, and I want to laugh. A skittish Dave is a sight I’ve never seen before. The table vibrates, and I know he’s bouncing his leg in nervousness. He peeks at Dante out of the corners of his eyes before he looks back at me. “Are we good?”
I smile. “It’s water under the bridge.”
“Just so you know, I’m taking my break,” Dante informs Dave.
“All right, I’ll take over.” Dave hustles out of the booth, avoiding Dante. “Catch you later, Kelsey.”
I wave at him. “See ya, Dave, and thanks.”
With a nod, he taps the table a couple of times and leaves, scooting around Dante.
My eyes widen. “What’s with you telling Dave what you’re going to do now?”
“He fucking left me here by myself to run the place all day because he had personal errands to run.” Dante shakes his head as he sits down across from me. “When he came in this morning, I told him if he pulled that shit again, I was going to personally talk to the owner. I’m sick of it. He’s done it to you before and now he’s doing it to me even more than he used to. Now, tell me what you two were talking about?” Dante asks.
I turn my attention back to him. “He just wanted to apologize.” I shrug.
His eyebrows rise in disbelief and I know we’re thinking the same thing. Dave? Apologize? And we both laugh.
As we attempt to catch our breaths, Dante steers our conversation in another direction. “So, how’s it going? You know with Riley being gone and everything?”
I take a bite of my sandwich before answering. The hot, melted cheese strings out like rope, and the heat burns my lips. I chew quickly as I reach out for my drink to take a quick sip of my water. “It’s hard. I miss him terribly, but I’m hanging in there.”
“I heard the FOB he’s at got hit yesterday. It’s been all over the news.” Dante’s eyes are soft and sympathetic as he looks at me from across the table. The gesture alone has tears welling up in my eyes. But, I blink them away because this is supposed to be a happy reunion.
I look down, take a deep breath, and pick at the crisp crust of bread. “Yeah. I was on video chat with him when it happened.” My voice is quiet and unsure as I look back up at Dante. “I still haven’t heard from him and I have no idea why. All I know is that he’s safe.”
“Damn. I don’t even know what to say.”
“There’s nothing you can say, really.” I shrug and try to smile.
“I’m sure you’ll hear from him soon,” Dante says before taking another bite of his sandwich.
I shake my head before picking up a fry and swirling it in the ketchup on my plate. “Can we please talk about something else?” I plead. I’m trying with everything in me not to let my mind wander to what could have happened. He’s fine is the mantra I need to keep telling myself.
“Sure.” He nods in understanding. “What are you doing for Christmas?” he asks.
“Nothing really. I’ll probably just stay home.”
“Speaking of which, did you get moved into Riley’s all right?”
“Yeah, I’m still not unpacked, but I don’t have a lot more left to do. Just our room, mainly,” I answer before finishing off the remainder of my lunch. “I am so full now.” I lean back against the booth and groan.
“Am I still the best cook this side of the interstate?” he asks, wiggling his eyebrows and causing me to laugh.
“Yep. Still the best.” I take a drink of water. “Now, tell me what you’ve been up to.”
“Nothing much, really.” He shrugs as he pushes his plate away from him. “I’ve just been working out and running this place.”
I laugh at his comment. As much as I’d like to give Dave some credit, Dante and I did kind of run this place. “I can see that, and by the way, you’re looking buff.” I point toward his bicep with an arched eyebrow.
He flexes his muscles and winks at me. “You like that, huh?” he teases.
“You must be stealing all the ladies hearts.” I laugh.
Dante puckers his lips and shrugs nonchalantly. “You know me. I have to keep my options open.”
And I do know Dante. He’s a good-looking man. With his skin as dark as milk chocolate, hair kept short and in waves, the high cheekbones, strong jaw, and plump lips, I can see the appeal. Too bad I look at him like a brother. Plus, it would just be weird. Most nights, the diner was a revolving door of Dante admirers. And most of them, he admired back.
“No one’s captured your attention?” I ask.
He nods, and a flirtatious grin spreads across his face. “A lot of women have captured my attention.”
Wadding up my napkin, I toss it at him. “You’re such a pig.”
He gasps. “Me? Noooo.”
“Yeah, you.”
Dante’s eyes turn from joking to soft. “I’m just waiting for the right woman, Kels. I saw what heartbreak did to you, and I don’t want to go through that.”
My lips purse and my eyebrows lower in confusion. “You’ve never been in love before?” I lean toward him.
Dante looks away from me, training his eyes on the world outside the window. Truckers pump gas. Moms and dads herd their children into minivans. Cars speed down the road, bypassing the diner, towards the interstate. “Nope. You can’t get hurt if you don’t let them in.”
I reach across the table, taking his hand in mine. He turns his attention back to me as I squeeze. “True. But you won’t get to experience how amazing
love is if you don’t let anyone in either.”
Dante looks at me for a second before he sighs. “Well, I better get back to work,” he says, making his way out of the booth. He’s effectively stopped our conversation, and I have no other choice but to let him do it. Dante’s always been one of those people you don’t push. He has to want to open up to you, and if he doesn’t, then he’ll keep you locked out.
I nod and smile a sad smile at him.
“Come here.” He waves for me to get up. Dante pulls me into a hug and murmurs, “Don’t worry about me, okay?”
“Not possible. You’re like my brother. I’m always going to worry about you,” I reply, squeezing his large frame back.
“I’ll text you my schedule and we can see about dinner.” Dante releases me from his clutches and smiles down at me.
“Sounds good.”
As he walks back towards the kitchen, tying his white apron around his waist, he spins around and starts walking backward. “Oh, and don’t be a stranger. We miss you around here.” He winks at me, spins back around and disappears back into the kitchen.
I smile and a twinge of sadness sweeps over me because I kind of miss being here, too.
“Hey! What’s up?” Jen’s voice rings through my phone.
“Not much, just on my way home.” I flip the blinker as I turn onto my and Riley’s street. I can’t believe I’ve been out most of the day. Dusk hangs on by a thread, its color a bright contrast against the darkening sky.
“Where were you?”
“I went to the diner.” I turn into our driveway and continue. “I haven’t seen Dante in forever.”
“How is he?” she asks.
“Good.” I put the car in park before shutting it off. “Being there just made me… I don’t know.” I sigh. “I feel so selfish sometimes, and I’m not trying to gain a pity party. I had this whole other life before Riley, and then when everything went sour between us, I kind of just stopped communicating with everyone. Then, you know when we got back together, we were just trying to fix our relationship, and now he’s deployed and I don’t know what to do with myself.”
“Hmm… let’s see here. I wouldn’t go so far as to call you selfish. You met someone, Kels. No one can blame you for that. Relationships take work, and sometimes it becomes your main priority. We all know you didn’t intentionally put us on the back burner for Riley. You fell in love.” She laughs. “For the first time, at that. I can’t blame you for being swept away with it all and neither will Dante.”
I get out of the car, make my way up the porch stairs, and see a package sitting in front of the door. “God. Even to my own ears, I sound depressing.” I laugh as I bend down to pick up the brown box. Tucking it under my arm, I unlock the door. “I promise, the next time we talk, I won’t be all blah… blah… blah.”
“Will you shut up?” Jen laughs, and I’m sure she’s probably rolling her eyes at me right now. I set the box on the kitchen counter and search for some scissors. “You’re not depressing. You’re lonely and that’s okay, too.”
As the scissors slice down the center seam, the tape gives way beneath the sharp blade, and giddiness fills me because I know it’s from Riley. Last week when we talked on the phone, he told me he’d ordered me something. No matter how much I begged him to tell me what it was, he wouldn’t relent. After putting the shears on the counter, I lift the flaps of the box to see another box wrapped in silver paper. Odd.
“Huh.” I look at the postage label, but there’s no return address.
“What?” Jen asks, intrigued by my one word sentence.
“Last week, Riley told me he had ordered me something. And when I got home, there was a package waiting for me on the porch.”
“Well, does it say anything on the package?”
Flipping the box every which way, I look to see if there’s a personal message on it. “No.”
“Just open the damn thing, Kelsey,” Jen’s exasperated sigh trickles through the phone.
Ripping into the paper, what greets me makes a burst of laughter rise up out of me. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. Nestled in a silver box in silver wrapping paper, is a light pink vibrator, probably seven inches long. I’m laughing so hard that I have to place Jen on speakerphone. I barely hear her asking what the hell is so funny. Finally, I’m able to get my hysterics under control. There is no way in hell I’m telling her about this. “Oh my gosh.” I have to take a deep breath and wipe away the tears from my eyes. “He’s so sweet.” Always making sure our, or should I say, my needs are met.
“What is it?” she asks.
“Just something that reminds me of him,” I answer. It’s probably a little shorter in length and it definitely doesn’t have the girth that Riley does, but I’m sure it will do. “Hey, can I call you back? I need to let him know that I got his gift.”
“Have you heard from him yet?” she asks. “You know, since yesterday?”
I shake my head even though I know she can’t see it. I can’t believe it was only yesterday that I heard the explosions going off. The high-pitched screams of the blasts ringing out as the impact was made. People yelling. “No. I haven’t.” My once good mood is now gone.
“Are you sure you’ll even be able to get a hold of him? I mean, is there some sort of protocol or something?”
“What do you mean, protocol?”
“After wherever they’re at was bombed yesterday. Don’t they have to make sure that their place is secure before they can call home?” Jen asks. I wish I had an answer for her, but I don’t because I have no clue as to what is going on.
“I don’t know… I don’t know anything.” I sigh. I put the box on the counter, lean forward on my elbows, and rub my forehead in frustration. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to talk to him. I don’t know when I’ll get to speak to him again.” Tears well up in my eyes, and as hard as I try to force them away, they fall, unbidden, anyhow. “Can I call you back?” I croak out.
“Don’t cry, Kels. Remember, you need to be strong.” Her words wash over me like salve to a fighter’s wound, but right now, my lacerations are too deep, and I’m not sure anything but time will heal them.
“I’ll call you later. I just need to talk to him, to hear his voice.”
I hang up before she can protest. Jen’s heart is in the right place, and I know she’s just trying to be there for me. But Riley’s been gone for almost a month now. Then yesterday morning, I get the grand introduction to what life is really like for him, and I’m trying to adjust to not being around him every day… It’s just too much right now.
Sniffing back my tears, I wipe my face as I try to call Riley on FaceTime. It rings and rings and rings before voicemail finally picks up.
“Hey, it’s me. I thought I’d try to call even though I wasn’t sure you’d answer.” A broken sigh escapes me. “I just realized I never got to tell you I love you, too. I always will. Come back to me, please. I need you, now and always.” My parting words come out as a whisper before I disconnect the call.
It’s as if time is standing still. I’m on autopilot and don’t know how to turn it off. I can’t recall making my way upstairs or into my bedroom. I don’t remember changing out of my clothes and slipping into one of Riley’s t-shirts that smells like him. My reflection stares back at me in the mirror as I brush my teeth, but I don’t recognize the woman looking back at me. My eyes are puffy and my nose is swollen. Splotches of red dot my cheeks and my hair hangs haphazardly on the top of my head. I go through the motions of my nightly routine. After brushing my teeth, I wash my face before applying moisturizer. As I open the cabinet to look for some Q-tips, I find a piece of crinkled paper stuck behind Riley’s cologne. I reach for it and open it up.
Babe,
This is my second note to you. I know you’ve been crying a lot, but stop it. Look at this time apart to continue finding yourself. Hang out and be you.
A chuckle escapes me at that part. A small smile begins to tilt my lips, and I can a
lready feel the numbness slipping away.
What I’m trying to say is that if all you do is wallow, then these next eight months are going to be the longest eight months of your life. Now, for your next gift. Go and look in the linen closet on the bottom shelf. I miss you and I love you.
Yours,
Riley
The note falls from my hands as I rush to the closet. Swinging the door open, a gasp escapes me. I can’t believe he took this. It’s the brown cashmere blanket we cuddled under beneath the willow tree at his parents’ house. It was the first time we’d been intimate since we had gotten back together.
My fingers skim the smooth material, and as I climb in bed, I huddle under the blanket and stare at the empty spot next to me. I pull Riley’s pillow over, burying my face into the cold cotton. His scent barely lingers in the threads, but it’s enough to wrap around me like a blanket swaddles a newborn baby. It warms me from the inside, and a sense of peace comes over me. I can still hear the words he whispered that day.
Scavenge (Smoldering #1.5) Page 3