Page 66 of Bite Me
The coastal village looked old and picturesque. It must have been a fishing community that was later gentrified; most of the boats in the marina were yachts. Opulent residences dotted the hills above, indicating that the prices in the stores and pubs down by the beach would be steep. Wooden stairs led to the boardwalk from the parking lot where we stood. I glanced to the left and spotted a winding path on the range of a rocky cape. At the end, a white lighthouse perched on a low cliff. The view looked like an ad for a private luxury getaway.
“How do you know this place?” I asked.
“My friend Levi owns property here. I’ve visited a few times. Come on, let’s walk to the lighthouse.”
Halfway down the trail, Russel caught my hand as I hopped over a crack in the stony ground. He only let go when the path got too narrow for us to walk side by side.
The breeze was gentle and warm as we sat by the lighthouse and watched the ocean. Being quiet felt natural with Russel. I liked that he didn’t need to fill every second of our time with words. Sometimes I feared the things we said; maybe the next sentence could break our fragile bubble, and we’d have to face the consequences of our recklessness. But as long as we didn’t say anything about it, the foolish things I imagined felt almost real. His care and attention, the warmth coming from his shoulder and arm, the way he leaned closer and inhaled from my hair… In the silence, those things could mean even more than the years I’d worked to get back on my feet, more than my coveted independence, reputation, and work ethic.
He sounded soft and careful when he broke the quiet, as if he knew what I was thinking.
“I have an idea. How about I check if the hotel down in the village has a room for us? We could stay until tomorrow. Have dinner, take a walk on the beach at night, sleep in.” His eyebrows rose above the edge of his glasses in a playful waggle. “You’ll get your morning coffee.”
The list of things I wanted to do with Russel but shouldn’t was growing by the minute. I hesitated.
“An overnight bag would have been handy.”
“We don’t need clothes. In fact, I demand you sleep naked. And we can stop by a pharmacy for toothbrushes and other stuff.”
Toothbrushes, toothpaste, and lube—we didn’t need anything else. What made me most apprehensive was how much I wanted to say yes. Fuck, this was a bad idea.
“I need to be back early tomorrow.”
“I hope you’re not working on Sundays, Eddie.”
“Sometimes I have to, as you know. But Sheri is driving me to visit my mom.” Way to ruin the mood—remind him of my felon of a mother. It unnerved me that I couldn’t see his eyes behind his sunglasses.
“At what time do you have to be there?” he asked.
“Twelve thirty sharp.”
“Where is it?”
“The Graystone Facility. It’s a forty-minute drive north of the city. Close to Ashland.”
A seagull cried, and I looked up to see it circle above us.
“That’s almost on our way back if we take the inland freeway,” Russel said. “I’ll drive you there tomorrow.”
My reaction was knee-jerk. “No.”
For some mysterious reason, he looked hurt, even with the stupid sunglasses on. I backpedaled.
“Russel, thank you. It’s very kind of you to offer, but you won’t drive me to see my mother in prison.”
“Why not?”
I let out an exasperated laugh. “Does it sound like a fun date to you?”
“You need a ride, and I have a car. It’s just a small detour.”
“You’d have to wait in the car at a prison parking lot for at least half an hour.”
He didn’t wince. In fact, he wore the same infuriatingly kind and understanding smile. “Your roommate Sheri does it.”
“When she doesn’t have to work. She’s a nurse.”
“And when she works?”
