The next few days had gone by without much drama, thankfully. I worked both places and was having a good couple of day's, money wise. Jacob had texted me later the night that he left asking how I was doing and we had been texting constantly about nothing really interesting since then. A lot of small talk or talk about his cars. It was weird to be constantly looking down at my phone waiting for a notification. I once again felt like I was a middle school child waiting for her crush to text back. That seemed to be a theme for me lately.
At the same time, it felt nice to talk to someone all the time. He was working really hard to get the crappy Mazda he bought put together because he thought he could sell it quick.
"Some douchey frat guy will probably buy it for more than it's worth" He had texted which made me laugh. I did learn it was his first time working on a car like this. He usually did older cars or just maintenance work. This was his first time starting from scratch and rebuilding everything from the ground up, interior, motor, and everything. He had told me to come hang out with him while he was working on it and I was planning on doing so on my next day off. He told me I could bring Miles, so that was the real selling point for me.
He hadn't been to the bar lately either and I had to admit that I kind of missed him around. It was a feeling I did not enjoy but I couldn't really help it. It was like this weird pull constantly in head. Maybe it was because I didn't have a healthy personality? It would be no surprise to me if someone told me I had an addictive personality. It's partially why I didn't mess around with drugs anymore.
So maybe I was becoming addicted to Jacob Black…
I sure as hell hoped not but that's where it felt like this was going. If so, I was in trouble.
"Are you okay?" My coworker Megan asked. She was serving and with only a few tables, bored out of her mind. She was leaning against the service well of my bar staring at me. "You look like you're on another planet." She laughed.
I blinked before shrugging and leaning against the other side of the well. "Just tired, I suppose."
"Right." She nodded but it was obvious she didn't believe me. "Well the guy at my 31 is so creepy I've been avoiding them at all costs. He keeps trying to make eye contact while I stand over here. Not going to happen, buddy." She ranted. I looked over at her table and laughed.
"You can keep trying to look over here all you want dude. Until I can go to the table without you staring at my chest, I ain't getting you an extra ranch." She turned around to make herself look busy and I got stuck with the guy. The guy put his hand up and flagged me down. I wanted so badly to roll my eyes but I couldn't so I left the bar and made my way over.
"Hey, can you bring me another ranch here, honey?" Don't call me honey. And stop looking me up and down like I'm a piece of meat.
"Sure." I turned and made my way to the kitchen. With it being a slow morning, there weren't many people working today. "Can I get a side of ranch?" I asked one of the cooks and turned to lean against the counter, pulling my phone out of my pocket.
"Here you go." He pushed it towards me on the counter and I glanced over at it.
"Thanks." I shouted over my shoulder and looked down at my phone again. I was in the middle of texting Jacob back when the cook behind me interrupted me.
"Didn't you need a ranch?" He asked and I turned and put my elbows down on the counter so I could see him better through the heaters.
"Yeah, but I'm in no rush to get it to this table so he can wait until I finish this text." I picked my phone back up and he started laughing. Megan rounded the corner then.
"Can I get a fucking ranch for this fucking piece of shit table." She yelled.
"It's right here." I pushed the ranch towards her.
"Are they that bad?" The cook asked and I nodded while Megan went on a giant rant about them. I laughed before pocketing my phone and heading back out the bar while Megan followed me with the ranch. When I rounded the corner I noticed two new people were sitting at the bar and I hoped they weren't sitting there long while I was in the kitchen.
When I rounded the corner of the bar to face them I faltered a bit for two reasons. Both of them were inhumanly gorgeous and both looked so young there was no fucking way they were of age. Maybe I'd get the satisfaction of telling two supermodels that you had to be 21 to sit at the bar.
"Hi, can I grab you something to drink?" I put two napkins down in front of them.
"What would you recommend?" The girl asked in the daintiest voice. I almost snorted in her face. Almost. There is no way someone could be that perfect.
Also, I hate when people ask that question. I don't know what your taste buds are like so how the hell am I supposed to know what you like? Again, I was in the wrong business.
"Rainier is on special right now." Using the specials is always an easy cop out.
"Sure, I'll have that." She smiled and I wondered how much money she spent to get her teeth that perfect. Cosmetic surgery isn't cheap. Or so I've heard.
"Same." He finally spoke and goddamn he was a good-looking man. He had a cocky grin on his face that was killing me.
"Can I see an I.D.?" I asked and I was SO ready to try to find the fakeness in their I.D.s or watch them falter when they go 'Oh, I forgot it.'
Unfortunately for me, he handed me a driver's license but I noticed she pulled out a passport and I was instantly deflated. Passports were next to impossible to fake, which meant she actually was of age. Sure enough both of them were freshly 21. I did notice they had the same last names. I also happen to notice the wedding ring when I handed her passport back and I wanted to laugh.
Married at 21? Give me a break. Could they even drink at their wedding?
I turned around to go pour their beer when Megan rounded behind the bar and went to the computer that was a few seats down from the couple. A beer ticket started printing a few seconds later.
"This guy is really testing all the patience I don't poses right now." She muttered and turned around to me. "Like would ever think to go out in public and just stare at a guy's package?"
"You mean you don't do that?" I asked with a smile and she rolled her eyes. I put the two beers down in front of the young couple. "Do you want to put any appetizers in?" I asked and they both shook their head.
"No, we are just waiting for our car to get out of the shop." He answered and I nodded before putting their two beers in the computer.
Megan ran her beer to the creepy guy and walked back over to lean against the well so I walked down to the end of the bar and leaned against it with her.
"That guy has to be the best looking man on the planet." She mumbled nodding towards the couple at the bar who had their heads tucked together obviously talking privately.
"Hardly a man. Just turned 21." I said quietly back and she laughed.
"Like you have room to talk. You're only two years older than them!" She crossed her arms. "Even a five year age gap isn't that big. I could do it. I'd climb him like a fucking jungle gym." I busted out laughing. "Shit, I'd probably climb her too." She added.
"Why not both at the same time?" I asked and she faked a gasped.
"I like the way you think."
"Don't you have a boyfriend?" I ask because I had heard her talk about him before.
"Minor detail, right now." She waved me off and I laughed again. "Oh, better idea! Threesome with Kevin." She added.
"So are you taking the guy or girl with you?" Both of us were quietly laughing.
"The guy. Kevin doesn't need to see another girl naked while I'm there."
"I'm sure the guy at your 31 would like to join." I joked and she gagged.
"You couldn't give me enough money to sleep with that guy." She went back to ignoring them, or more specifically him.
"So who are you taking?" She asked and I shrugged.
"Well I would need a third so I guess both. I don't know if I could get over being the only one not married though. Maybe we could turn it into a polygamous relationship."
"You don't have a boyfriend?" She asked, almost confused. It reminded me of the guys at the bar a while ago who also thought I was lying when I said I didn't have a boyfriend.
"Uh…no."
"You hesitated." She narrowed her eyes at me.
"No boyfriend" I said with a little more confidence.
"Right. But there is someone." She wasn't asking.
"Sure." I shrugged. "A good friend."
"A good friend to sleep with or…? Come on, I need more detail than that."
"Haven't slept together yet." I didn't want to go into a full report of Jacob and I's relationship because there wasn't even a relationship to begin with. And I didn't know if I wanted one. There was a friendship there that much was obvious. And an attraction on both ends but it was complicated. I didn't know what was going on in my head half the time so how I was supposed to communicate that to him if I couldn't even understand it.
"Yet. So it'll happen." She shrugged like there weren't ten billion things going on inside my head. Yet? Did I say yet? Fuck. Girl talk was hard.
"We'll see."
"So why no relationship? Too early?" She carried on with her interrogation.
"I was in a bad relationship in the past. I figured I needed a break before I can even think of getting back in to another." I gave her the spark notes version.
"How long ago was that?"
"Over a year now. Give or Take." I think this was the most I've ever talked to a coworker, let alone another girl about girl things.
"That's long enough. How bad could it have been?" She leaned more in the well.
"Bad." I shook my head.
"Oh…OH!" She frowned when I didn't say anything else. I'm assuming she's thinking along the right lines of how things went but I wasn't willing to offer details of that. "Yikes…"
"It was a long time ago. I'm working to get past it. Which is why I'm taking my time." I was surprised at how much I was sharing with her. My phone vibrating in my back pocket pulled me out of my thoughts.
'About to trash this Mazda. This sucks. How's work?' Jacob had sent me. This isn't the first time he's complained about this car to me via text. Pretty much every time he's working on it or working on getting a part he gets mad. I found it comical. I put my phone underneath the bar rail so it wasn't visible to guests and texted back.
'The poor Mazda. Slow. Boring. The usual.' It wasn't much but it's how we had been the last few days. I saw the three dancing dots appear on my screen right away meaning he was in the middle of responding.
'What time are you off?' He asked and I told him 5. I only had two more hours left and then I was free. 'Come over after work. Keep me company while I debate on destroying this car.'
I thought about it. Did I really want to spend my evening with company? Usually I'd love to go home and just crash in my pajamas and watching something silly on tv, all cuddled up with Miles. However, I did still feel bad about the whole cop complaint fiasco. I really shouldn't be rude and avoid him.
'Need to go home and change first.' I sent back, making my decision. I could always go for a little and then leave. Nobody was forcing me to hang out and be social.
'And pick up your boy' He responded and I couldn't help the smile that grew on my face even if I tried. The fact that Jacob enjoyed dogs, especially Miles, as much as I did was so impactful to me. Miles was my best friend and my guy and Jacob acknowledging that was incredibly attractive to me.
'Yes!' I sent back with a bunch of dog face emojis before pocketing my phone.
I looked up to see Megan in the process of cashing the creepy guy and his friends out as another table sat down. I glanced down the bar rail to see if the supermodel couple needed another round but they were nursing the heck out of the two beers they had. I also made awkward eye contact with the chick before we both turned to look away at the same time. I had the feeling this was going to be a long couple of hours before I could leave. How was it that a minute ago I was practically talking myself out of this and now I'm beyond giddy? I was giving myself whiplash.
It had been a long time since I felt anything like this as far as a guy was concerned. I was constantly feeling like a middle school child because that was the last time I had anyone flirt with me. I had met Nick so long ago and so young that I never had to flirt or had anyone really flirt with me. Even things with Zack that one time didn't really involve much effort on both of our parts. Hell, he never even really flirted with me. We just sat down to talk one day while Nick was treating us both like garbage and one thing led to another.
Don't get me wrong, I'm no stranger to casual flirting. It pretty much comes with the job. But fake flirting with a sixty year old man just for shits and giggles is very different than someone actually looking to get to know me. Which brings me back to my original dilemma of not wanting anyone to get to know me. Wouldn't that defeat the whole purpose of a fresh start? I don't think I've ever thought so hard on one thing before. I was starting to give myself a headache.
With a sigh I pushed myself off of the wall by the service well and decided to distract myself with cleaning the bar. I could probably kill at least an hour with that. I walked over to grab a wet rag out of the bucket next to the register when a phone ringing distracted me. At first I thought it was mine because we had the same generic ringtone but I quickly realized it was the supermodel chick's that was sitting on the bar.
"Uh oh." I heard her tell him and she flashed the phone in his direction. He looked half annoyed and half amused.
"Excuse me. We'll take the bill whenever you have a moment, please." He said in my direction. The guy even spoke like he was out of this world. I wanted to snort but held it in.
"Yeah, of course!" I said in my obviously fake serving voice and swiped my card on the computer to print their seven-dollar check for two beers they haven't even finished. I had noticed the girl answer the phone and looked a little unsure of herself which was an odd look coming from someone who seemed so put together. She got up and made her way outside after squeezing his shoulder. I folded their check and put it down in front of the guy who was pulling his wallet out.
"Thank you for everything." He flashed me a million dollar smile and I was hit with the reminder of Megan saying she'd climb him like a jungle gym. I didn't know whether to be hot and bothered or laugh. "Keep the change." He put a twenty down.
"Are you sure?" I double-checked. Did he know he put down a twenty and not a ten? Was I an idiot for questioning it and not just taking the money and running? Probably.
"Of course. Thank you." He looked amused again before following his 'wife' out the door. As he was leaving though he passed by Megan who was leaning against the wall leading to the kitchen who looked like she was about to chase after him.
"Goddamn, it should be illegal to look that good." She continued to watch him while she walked backwards to me.
"True. But not my type." I agreed leaning against the wall with her.
"Uh, excuse me? What?" She laughed and looked offended. "Then what's your type?"
"He's too….skinny. Like, I'd need some more meat on him." I tried to explain.
"What?" She started laughing.
"Like, I don't want to feel like I'm crushing him if I was on top." I summarized. I know I never really had many girlfriends in my life but talking kind of raunchy with Megan was actually pretty fun. She never seemed to judge anything coming out of my mouth. And the look she was giving me while laughing made me laugh too. "What? I'm tall. There's a lot of weight here." I gestured to myself while she laughed even more.
"That's funny. I get it, I get it. Nobody said you had to be on top." She smirked and I silently hoped nobody was listening in on our conversation.
"Now where's the fun in that?" I smirked back.
Realistically I was somewhat lying through my teeth but it was fun being cheeky and making jokes with her. I hadn't had sex in over a year now and by the end of our relationship Nick and I's sex was hardly enjoyable. I couldn't even tell you the last time I was actually on top…or the last time I actually wanted to have sex with Nick. Thinking about that time in my life was bringing my mood down so rapidly it was miserable. Funny how I hadn't had to deal with him in a long time and he still managed to ruin my day.
"I'm tired of getting sat. Do you want to pick up a table?" Megan broke me from my thoughts by gesturing to the group of four hipsters that had just sat themselves at one of her tables.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure." I mumbled. I walked over to grab menus but a constant vibrating in my pocket distracted me. I tried to pull my phone out on the sly to see who was calling.
Jacob.
I frowned down and hit the decline button before pocketing it again. I barely managed to get a drink order for this table Megan pawned off on me before my phone was buzzing with a text. I went behind the bar and pulled it our yet again.
'Are you ok?' He had sent.
Was I okay from what? I was confused, to say the least. So he called me to check if I was okay? Did we even know each other like that? Maybe he thought he was talking to someone else.
'Ok from what?' I sent back, confused and now a little annoyed. He knew I was working, so why call?
A few moments passed with no response, which caused my annoyance to grow. Okay from what?! Fortunately I didn't have a lot of time to ponder on it because I was distracted by work again. I tried not to look at my phone for the rest of my shift but I couldn't stop myself from randomly checking it but he never responded.
After I had clocked out and was walking out to my car I decided to text him again.
'Seriously? What was that about?' I sent before unlocking my car and climbing in. Before I could even get settled and back out of the parking spot my phone dinged.
'Heard there was an accident up by you. Just checking. When are you coming over?'
I reread it several times trying to formulate a response in my head. I didn't know if I found his concern sweet or weird. Maybe I thought it was weird because nobody had ever showed me concern like that? Was this how normal friends acted and I just wasn't normal? I looked back down at my phone and sighed. I was probably a bad friend for originally thinking his concern was weird.
Why he was so interested was beyond me at this point.
'Just got off work so probably in like 2 hours' I sent back and threw my phone in the cup holder.
I spent the whole drive home thinking about all my past friendships. I didn't have many and I was sure that all of them weren't very normal. This left me with little room to decide if I was actually a bad friend or just surrounded by bad people. Nick didn't really hang out with very many people either so I couldn't use that to judge. Not that I would want to use Nick as a judge of character.
I was surprised when I was pulling in to my place. I hardly remembered actually driving. The thought of Miles happily greeting me managed to pull me from my moderate self-loathing.
And sure enough, Miles did not disappoint me. He was wagging his tail so hard his butt was starting to shake and his tongue started hanging out. It was hard to think poorly of yourself when a face like his was just staring back so happy. I took him out and went back inside to change into comfier clothes before we jumped back in the car.
I was pretty spot on when I told Jacob two hours because all too soon I found myself pulling up to the curb of his home. I wondered how this was going to go. We had been texting a lot but the last time I actually saw him was slightly awkward. He had never brought up anything about that awful night again. I was curious as to what he ended up telling Charlie but didn't have the courage to ask. I hoped none of that past awkward-ness would rub off onto today.
I didn't have a lot of time to dwell on it though because Miles was itching to get out of the car. He started scratching at the door.
"Okay! Okay! Don't ruin the car!" I could barely reach over his body to open the passenger door. He bounced out the second he had enough room to and took off. I'm sure I looked like a mess while I scrambled to get out of the drivers seat to chase after him.
"Hey!" I shouted following him to the back. I heard his bark, which made me pick up my pace.
"Hey big guy! Where's your momma?" I heard Jacob before I saw him. I rounded the corner to see Miles standing up and jumping on Jake while he rubbed his face. I felt a little out of breath and I didn't know if it was from chasing after Miles or from the sight of Jacob petting my dog looking beyond handsome. He was covered in grime and grease but still looked like some sort of god. It was hardly fair.
"Hey!" He greeted me with a big smile. I was still struggling for air.
"Hi." I squeaked out.
I wasn't prepared when he stopped petting Miles and took a giant step towards me and wrapped me in his arms. I couldn't stop myself from wrapping my arms around his torso, even if I tried. I could feel the heat coming off of him even through the hoodie I was wearing. It was oddly comforting.
Is this how friends greeted each other?
Was it normal to hold on for this long? Probably not. But it felt too good to let go.
And seriously, this guy was like a walking space heater. He didn't seem too concerned about it so I figured I should probably stop mentioning it. But should I mention that he still hasn't let go of me? That might seem a little hypocritical since I also haven't let go. Fuck, we were treading into dangerous territory here.
We were both pulled from whatever witchcraft was keeping us under some spell by Miles barking at something at the edge of the tree line. However before I could gather my wits enough to yell for him, Jacob already had. And naturally, Miles happily obeyed.
"How do you do that?" I tried glaring at him but I'm sure it wasn't very intimidating.
"Do what?" He asked. It dawned on me that we hadn't really let go of each other, just pulled back a little. With a weird cough I forced myself to take a step back from him and drop my arms. I instantly felt the cold through my sweater.
"Just say something and make him instantly listen? I have to yell like, three times before he even acknowledges that I spoke." I crossed my arms to try and get that warm feeling back. Jacob chuckled and bent down to pet Miles who had trotted back over towards us.
"I guess I just have a way with dogs." He sounded smug. It made me feel like I was missing some inside joke. He stood back up and his tone changed so much so that I felt like I had missed half of a nonexistent conversation. "How was work?" He was too serious for my liking. This goes back to the whole 'were we on this level of friendship for you to be this concerned over my wellbeing?'
"Uh…" I stuttered not knowing why he was so serious. "Fine? I made a little more than I thought I would because this server, Megan, got annoyed at all of her tables and gave them to me." I rattled on. He probably had no idea what I was talking about but his serious expression made me want to ramble some more. "She's hysterical. She is probably the last person who should be in the hospitality business. She hates everyone." Why was I still talking?
Jacob blinked at me and I was mad that I still couldn't read his face. He just looked so serious. I thought about asking him about his texts asking if I was okay but decided against it. I settled for, "How's the Mazda?" Subject changes were my specialty.
He let out a sigh before turning back towards the garage. "I kinda regret buying it. A little more work than I thought it would be."
I turned and looked at the shell of a car and raised an eyebrow at him. "You didn't think this would be a lot of work?" Seriously, you could hardly even tell that it was a car at all.
"I knew it would be but it's not as easy finding parts. Should have just bought an American car. At least I have parts for those just laying around." He sounded different when he was talking about cars, I noted. I could tell he absolutely loved working with them. I wished I enjoyed going to work that much. Damn.
"So how far are you?" I asked though I don't know why since the car was so dismantled.
"Here, I'll show you." He turned to head in towards the garage while I followed. He started talking about parts and tools he needed but everything he was saying was going over my head. It sounded like he needed a lot still. But he seemed more than happy to talk about it.
I ended up sitting on what looked like the beat up back seat of the Mazda in front of me.
"I'm boring you." He leaned against a work tabled filled with tools.
"No!" I protested. "I just don't understand anything you're telling me." I laughed. He smiled brightly which just made me want to smile.
"Then I'll just have to teach you."
"Good luck with that." I snorted. "I know that a car has four wheels and you can honk the horn. That's about as far as that goes. You should already know that." After all, he had already fixed my car once.
"How is your car doing?" He asked turning to grab some tools.
"Fine. Hasn't been making any noises. Could probably use a good wash though." I shrugged. There was no doubt a lot of dog hair floating around all the seats.
"I've got a vacuum if you need one?" He said as he wiped his hands on a nasty looking rag. Again, doesn't that defeat the purpose of wiping your hands in general?
"I might take you up on that. I've got a lot of dog hair in there. And a lot of my hair since apparently I shed as much as Miles does."
"I used to have long hair and I would just find strands of it everywhere." He chuckled while I tried to picture him with long hair.
"No way. I can't picture you with anything other than the hair you have now." Who knows though? Man buns are in now.
"My hair at 16 was probably a little shorter than yours is now." He said and I looked down at my hair that had a slight kink in it from the ponytail it was in earlier.
"Bullshit." I laughed. I wonder if he braided it or styled it. "Did you ever curl it?" I teased.
His brows pinched together. "No." He scoffed. "I never did anything to it. I barely brushed it back then." He was in the middle of pulling some weird metal thing from a box and taking all the packaging off.
"So what made you cut it all off?" I asked, curious.
"You just get older and realize it gets in the way. Pretty common for younger kids on the rez to have longer hair." He started playing with something under the hood and I lost sight of his face.
"Is that a native American thing? Long hair?" I asked.
"I suppose. Different tribes believe it symbolizes different things. Some turn your first hair cut into a ritual of sorts." He explained.
"A ritual? For what?"
"Well it could be separating yourself from the past. Or the loss of a loved one. Serves as a reminder of your loss. There are a bunch of different things."
"Interesting. Guys with long hair are in right now. Man buns are all the trend. You should grow it out again." We laughed and I leaned back in the seat, getting comfortable. Miles was hanging out at the entrance to the garage sniffing the ground while I thought over his words. It made me realize I knew nothing about his culture or where he came from.
"So exactly how big is the reservation?" If I was going to be his friend then shouldn't I know things like this? I feel like constantly asking myself questions like this just proved that I was in fact, a bad friend. I wanted to know all about him but wanted him to know nothing of my past. How hypocritical.
"Not very big actually. It used to stretch the coast but things change and here we are. Only a few square miles now."
"You guys should take back what is yours." I leaned forward and put my chin in my hand. "Fight the man." He laughed and I couldn't stop the smile from crawling on my face. I had the thought that I wanted to make him laugh more.
"Right. History doesn't seem to agree with that statement." He still had a smile on his face before he disappeared under the hood again. "Plus it doesn't help that the Makah tribe up north has been causing a little trouble with us." His voice was a little muffled.
"Trouble how?"
"Not too sure all the details since I've only heard my dad talk about it in passing. Mainly about tribe practices and fishing territories. Rumors are going around that they are thinking about taking it to court. Crazy, right?"
"You can teach a man to fish and he'll eat…no, you can catch a man a fish…Shit never mind." I plopped back in the seat. He stood up straight with another smile on his face.
"Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime." He was chuckling while I let out a huff.
"You knew what I meant." I crossed my arms and looked away from his handsomely distracting face. "So who would go to court for a whole tribe?"
"Don't know anything like that but if I had to guess the council would get together and find some legal representation or something like that." He shrugged.
"Council?" I asked. I felt like I knew nothing.
"Yeah. We have a council of elders that watch over the people. Kind of like being self-governed. They are the highest form of power out here. My dad's on it." He explained.
"Wow. That's pretty cool. That must make you like royalty or something." I teased him and he rolled his eyes.
"Hardly." He had one of those shit-eating grins on his face that made me feel like I was missing the punch line to my own joke. I was starting to notice that he wore that expression often. I didn't like feeling out of the dark this much.
"I feel like there is so much to learn." I pulled my legs up onto the seat with me to get comfy.
"Well I would be happy to teach you. My dad would too. He loves telling the stories of our ancestors. We usually have bonfires and retell the stories when the weather is nicer. I'd be more than happy to bring you to the next one." His smile grew the more he spoke.
"Is that what you say to all the pretty girls?" I laughed before I could think too much about what I had just said. I was still just teasing him.
He opened his mouth to respond but quickly shut it before he could get a word out. His smile shrank a bit. I felt horrible for bringing the mood down.
"The last girl I brought with me ended up with someone else." He finally said and went back to whatever it was he was doing under the hood.
"Ouch. Did she cheat?" I asked. I probably shouldn't be prying, especially when I'm not willing to give any information in return, but I was too curious to know what kind of girls he dated. I wondered what she looked like.
"No. We were never together technically. She just used me to get over her shitty boyfriend who left and then when he came back into the picture she went back to him and got married. That was a long time ago." He never came up from under the hood while he spoke. I was reminded of the couple today that were both wearing rings. Maybe it was a bit more normal around smaller towns to marry young? I still thought it was a little weird but I guess I didn't really have any room to judge.
"Like an emotional crutch. Well, regardless of if you were together or not, still pretty crappy to ditch someone completely for someone else." I shrugged. "Is she still around?"
He let out a snort and stood up straight. He looked over at me and I felt like he was checking me out even though I was curled up. Not even the hot kind of checking out, just like he was generally looking to see if I was okay. I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Unfortunately. I just snapped at her a few hours ago actually for not minding her own business."
So not only was she still in the picture but he still had contact with her. I could almost physically feel the red flags going up in my head. I had enough baggage and trouble to last me a lifetime. I didn't need to be bringing someone else's baggage into my already shit storm of a life.
All I could really do was nod and look over at Miles who had laid down at the front of the garage and was staring into space.
"But there are absolutely no feelings on my part anymore." He added. I nodded again, not knowing why he felt the need to add that bit of information. And he did specifically say on his part. What about hers? I didn't need to get into a crazy weird love triangle.
"Hey, you do you." I shrugged again and he once again wiped his hands on a dirty towel. I finally couldn't hold it in anymore. "That towel is disgusting and wiping your hands on it is doing absolutely nothing. Get a new towel."
He glanced down and started laughing. "It's more about just getting the big chunks of grease off than actually cleaning my hands."
"Ew."
"What's the matter? Don't like to get dirty?" He snickered. Did he just make a bad sex joke?
"No, can't say I'd enjoy being covered in grease all day." He smiled and threw the towel on one of his benches. He started to tell some story about playing in the mud when he was younger but he was interrupted by Miles jumping up and letting out a string of barks. He started to take off toward the tree line.
"Hey!" I jumped up yelling to go chase after him. I made it just far enough to watch him jump into the tree line and disappear. "Miles!" I shouted again. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and my anxiety skyrocket.
"Hey, don't worry about it. I'll grab him. Wait here." He walked towards the trees. He sounded so calm.
"Wait, no!" He turned around and looked at me. I was instantly hit with the memory of those eyes staring back at me from the shadows. His eyes seemed so intense in that moment that I was reminded of that night, so much so that I had to look away.
"I'll be fine Baylee. I know these woods like the back of my hand." He turned and continued to walk to the trees while shouting for Miles. I couldn't bring myself to stop him or say anything about the growing darkness. I was still stuck thinking about his eyes.
Or the eyes from that night in the forest.
"What's all this noise?" I heard a voice say from the house. I turned around and could make out a man sitting on the porch by the front door to the home. I didn't have much time to think about it. A bark from somewhere in the woods had me whipping back around to look into the trees. My mind started racing again with all the horrible possibilities. What if Miles got attacked by something? What if he just ran away and got lost? What if he ends up getting hit by a car on some back road because he's all alone and wondering? I felt like I wanted to vomit.
"Everything alright?" The voice behind me said a bit louder this time and I was torn on what to do. I could ignore the guy and continue to wallow in my anxiety or I could make my way over and answer him. Actually, maybe he could help somehow.
"My dog took off into the trees." I made my way towards the porch and realized the man was in a wheelchair. This must be his father. "Jacob went after him." I glanced back over my shoulder hoping to see something to calm my nerves.
"They should be okay. Jake will grab 'em." He seemed so confident about it. I will admit it somewhat helped calm my nerves. "That boy knows these forests by heart." He added with a tiny smile.
"Funny. He said the same thing." I mumbled. What would cause someone to spend so much time on unmarked trails? Another bark had my attention back to the trees but what really had my heart rate becoming painful in my chest was the loud howl echoing off of everything. There was no way my dog made that noise and my imagination immediately pictured everything awful.
"Oh god." I mumbled while grabbing my hair. I could feel tears coming to my eyes. "My boy." I could feel the man staring at me but that was the least of my concerns.
"He'll be okay. The wolves around here are friendly." I could barely hear the guy.
"He's not a wolf. He's a dog." A wild animal vs. a domestic house pet. He wouldn't stand a chance. That howl was so loud too it must mean that one was close.
"What's his name?" The man asked but I wasn't really paying attention.
"Huh?" I turned back towards him.
"Your pups name." He still seemed so calm.
"Oh. Uh, Miles." I crossed my arms when a small breeze blew by. A rustling from the trees had my head snapping in that direction until seconds later my dog came bursting through and running straight towards me.
"Oh thank goodness." I bent down as he nearly tackled me, clearly in the mood to play. His tail was wagging and his tongue started to fall out of his mouth. He let out a bark while jumping around me.
I was going to have to start keeping him on a leash. I couldn't handle this anxiety anymore. I was trying to get a hold on him to hug the hell out of him when I noticed Jacob walking up to us. He looked perfectly put together like he hadn't just taken a trip through the middle of the woods. He was also smiling but he looked like he wanted to laugh at something.
"He was fine. He just wanted to play." He stood next to me. More like towered over me since I was still on the ground with the dog. He looked back up at his dad. "Sorry for the noise." His dad just nodded and I was taken back to what he just said.
"Play with what?" I could feel my anxiety going up again.
"Uh, probably just a rabbit or something." He shrugged.
"He's a beautiful dog." The man from the porch spoke. Before I had time to comprehend the compliment Jacob was speaking again.
"Dad, this is Baylee. Baylee this is my dad." The man leaned against the rail of the porch and stuck his hand out. I stood up, not wanting to let go of Miles but not wanting to be rude, and shook his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Black." I tried to smile but I doubt that's what it looked like.
"Oh please. Call me Billy. Are you alright? You're shaking like a leaf." He had such a calm and collected air about him. I was reminded of Jake saying he was part of the council and figured I should try to get my act together.
"I'm okay, just a bit shaken up. Thank you for the concern though." I tried to be as polite as possible.
"Of course. Why don't you and Miles come inside and grab something warm to drink. That should calm your nerves a bit." He remembered my dogs name and even invited this giant hair ball into his home. I was flattered but I also didn't want to impose. I knew Miles left a trail of hair wherever he went and didn't want to bring that into their home.
"Thank you for the offer but I couldn't possibly impose like that." Who the fuck was I right now? I can't even remember the last time I've spoken so politely to anyone. Not even at work. It was like I was doing everything in my power to make sure this man thought highly of me, and I didn't even know him.
"I insist. Jake, go grab something warm for this poor girl. She's going to freeze out here." He instructed his son before looking back towards me. "Come on in. It's not everyday my son brings a pretty girl over here." I knew he was teasing but I could feel my face heating up a bit.
"Har har, old man." Jake grumbled from behind us. Miles took no time in making his decision and bouncing up the porch steps.
"Hey!" I scolded him. He was acting like he owned the place and I didn't even know if this guy liked dogs.
"He's absolutely fine. Maybe this home could use a companion dog." He smiled and I noticed it was the same exact expression Jake has when he's laughing at something that I clearly am not apart of.
I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt two warm hands on my shoulders. "Sorry," Jacob came up behind me and I could feel the heat rolling off of him. "You should warm up a bit." He squeezed my shoulders lightly and led me towards the steps. My body obeyed before my brain could catch up and I found myself being led into his home behind his father and my dog.
This is not at all how I pictured tonight going…
All Along The Watchtower (Live) (Cover) by Dave Mathews Band.