I dug into the pie as though I hadn’t eaten in days. I was truly exhausted. Then my phone started ringing. My heart skipped when I saw the caller ID showed the name Jimmy. I picked it up and answered.
“Hey there, girlie,” said the familiar voice of Mr. Novak. “You got something of mine, and I’m going to get it back.”
A look of horror was plastered on my face; I thought the waitress noticed.
“Tell you what: You bring me back my money and I’ll let you go. Besides, that money belongs to the cops whose car you stole. I’m sure they’ll want it back more than me.”
I clicked off the phone. I didn’t want to hear anymore. Thankfully the phone didn’t start ringing again. I needed to run.
Then I heard rumbling, distant at first but getting closer. Then the sounds made the café shake, and I saw a group I hadn’t seen in years drive by the front of the diner and come to a halt.
I heard heavy footsteps clomp along the ground. Then the door to the diner tore open to reveal Rex, the mountain of a man I had once dated.
“What the hell took you so long?” he said.
3.
“Hi, Rex,” I said with an embarrassed smile.
He walked in and nodded at the waitress, barely acknowledging my existence. He took a seat at the diner bar, next to where I was sitting, and waited for the waitress to pour him a drink.
He had some new tattoos I didn’t recognize. His arms were completely covered almost to the knuckle, and his chest was covered more or less. He wore a simple black leather vest with his crew slogan on the back: Ride or Die. Words I knew he lived by.
He looked bigger than I remembered; perhaps he had more muscle on his hulking body. He was still a sight to behold, standing over six and a half feet without boots on. I looked tiny in comparison.
I wasn’t the smallest person in the world, and in fact I was pretty tall for a girl at almost six feet. I’d never had a problem defending myself, or keeping guys away. And few men were able to make me feel so small. I was also a bit gangly for some, but I still had some nice curves that drove men wild. Still, there was only one man I liked driving wild, and he was sitting right next to me.
“What the hell have you got yourself into this time?” Rex asked.
“It’s bad, Rex,” I said.
He reached over and started chomping on my pie.
“How bad?” he said with his mouth full.
“I saw two cops murder one of my friends,” I said quietly.
He paused and looked over at me, bewildered.
“What the hell, Celia?” he said.
“I know, I know, but you’re the only person I trust right now,” I replied.
He returned to the pie and I to my coffee.
“All right. I’ll do it,” he said.
“Do what?” I asked.
“I’ll protect you,” he replied.
I let out a sigh as though a huge burden had left my shoulders.
“After you marry me,” he said.
I spat out the coffee I had just sipped.
“What?” I asked.
He returned the plate to the bar.
“I’m tired of waitin’ for you to come back. That whole college thing is a mess anyway, and it’s not goin’ to get you nowhere.
“You marry me and do what I say, and I’ll make sure nothing bad happens to you.”
He took another swig of the coffee in front of him.
I was surprised he was bringing all this up, because I wouldn’t have hesitated to marry him before I went to college. It was his fault I decided to move on in the first place. Now he wanted me because I was in trouble.
“What the hell, Rex?” I said.
“What, Celia? I just told you what to do if you want me to protect you,” he replied.
“Are you serious?” I laughed. “Four years ago you dumped me because I was too clingy. You moved on and slept with half the state. You ruined everything we were, and still I kept coming back to you. Then you finally cut me loose. It took me months before I was able to get a hold of myself and move on.
“Now you want me to marry you?”
“Yes,” he said.
I screamed in frustration. I still cared about the guy, sure, but not enough to marry him upon first sight in four years. I don’t want to be owned by him.
“I can’t,” I said.
“Then we’re done here,” he replied, standing up and throwing a couple of crumpled bills on the counter. I watched him walk away, again.
There was always something about men that made you want to stab them and kiss them at the same time. Right now I just wanted to stab him.
Would it really be that bad? I thought to myself. He really was the only man who knew how to satisfy me. I missed the open road, and the feelings I had when we rode together. I really did miss wrapping my arms around him at campfires and staring up at the open night sky. I wasn’t doing incredibly well at college anyway, and it isn’t as though I could go back with things as they were.
“Fine,” I said, right before he reached the door.
“Like you really had a choice,” he replied, turning around.