He nodded, straightened his shoulders, and marched down the side of the building toward the parking lot. I wondered if he’d turn and look back again, but he kept on going through the lot and out of sight.
I only realized I’d been staring blankly after him for a while when Mimsy meowed down by my feet.
“Oh, hi, baby. You’re back quick. Coming in?” I pulled the door wider, but she gave me a long cat-sentence ofprrrps and meows and then wandered off again toward the grass.
“Okay. I’ll leave the door open.”
After carefully setting the rock in place, I climbed to my room. The space felt emptier without Theo. Which was fine. I liked being alone.
I pulled the afternoon’s take out of my pocket onto the table and sat down to count our earnings. Among the various bills and coins were two twenties, tightly folded together. Someone who really liked Mimsy. Or someone who’d dipped his fingers into that hat as he handed it back to me. Someone who had forty extra bucks and wanted to give them to me. That should’ve made me happy, but instead, I gritted my teeth and set the forty bucks aside. “Guess I can pay for lunch tomorrow. I make my own way. I don’t need charity.”
The rest of the cash came out to a nice forty-one and change. “Food? Shoes? Food and shoes?” I’d seen sneakers new at Walmart for twelve bucks. My feet would be very happy with that decision, if I was going to tramp all over Gaynor Beach. Once Mimsy was back inside, I’d go pick up shoes and bread and maybe bananas. Or apples. I didn’t eat enough fresh food.
I refilled my cup with soda, ’cause it really didn’t keep great even with the cap screwed back on, then folded my bed mat up against the wall over my pack like a recliner and sat down. My book that I hadn’t quite finished lay open on the floor and I flipped it over, checking how many pages I had left. Fantasy was my jam, and this one had dragons, even if it was a reread. What could be better?
“Coke and a book and a safe place to kick back. This is the life. What more could I ask for?” I set the spine of the thick paperback down over my dick, which was hinting I should ask for something slim and pretty with blond hair, and dove back into the story.
CHAPTER6
THEO
Shane wasfifteen minutes late to the food stand, and I’d started wondering if he’d stood me up, but finally I saw him making his way through the folks on the boardwalk. Sunday morning had dawned warm and bright, and the temperature was now pushing sixty, so we weren’t the only people enjoying the pier. I spotted Mimsy when I noticed a woman stare down at Shane’s feet and do a double take. There was the little cat, trotting along at Shane’s heels.
He stopped in front of me. “Sorry. Underestimated.”
“No problem. It’s a nice day for looking at the ocean.” I turned toward the brief menu posted on the wall of the Ruby Sipper. “What would you like? They do a great all-beef hot dog—” At his dramatic gagging sound, I remembered his story about the carnival. “Scratch that. The burger looks good.” A man stepping away from the counter was already unwrapping his to sink his teeth into it with a grunt of satisfaction.
Shane waited till the woman ahead ordered, then moved up to the front. “A chicken sandwich for me and a strawberry shake. And a small cup of milk for my cat.” He patted his neck, and Mimsy jumped up, draping herself over his denim-jacket-clad shoulders.
“Would she like cream?” the server asked. “The coffee creamers are real dairy. You don’t have to pay for that. I could throw a couple in.”
Shane gave her a smile I wished I’d earned. “That sounds great. What do you want, Theo?”
I ordered, and while I was groping for my wallet, Shane said, “On me.” He laid two folded twenties on the counter and side-eyed me.
I recognized them, of course. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
He shrugged, passed one over, pocketed the other, and told the server to keep the change. As we moved down to the other end of the counter, he said, “You were being generous. I get that. But I don’t want money from you. Don’t need it, won’t take it. Are we clear?”
Shane had no idea how much money I had, but I took in his steely look and nodded. “Crystal.”
“Good.” We waited a couple of minutes until he was handed our food in a paper sack. “Where should we eat?”
There were tables set out alongside the food stands, but I wanted somewhere more private. I was curious about Shane, and I’d bet that in hearing range of strangers, he’d put on the bright shiny patter I heard when he was doing his cat act and not say anything real. “Down by the sand? There’s some boulders we can sit on over there.” I pointed.
“Sounds like a plan.” He led off, and I followed, watching him stride along in worn jeans and a thin denim jacket. It wasn’t a hardship to watch Shane.
We had to dodge a group of girls on rollerblades and I ended up beside him. The sun did good things for his hair and bone structure, and I wanted my hands on him. I stuck them in my pockets instead.
We descended a flight of stairs to reach the sand, then made our way along above the seaweed-lined high-tide level to where boulders jutted out of the sandstone cliff. A few other folks had done the same, but we passed them, continued along the sand around an outcropping and found a quieter spot. A few kids ran beside the surf with parents in attendance, but no one came within a hundred feet of us.
“Here.” I pointed out a trio of rocks at a convenient height.
Shane perched a hip on one and set down the food on another. Mimsy jumped off his shoulders to paw at the bag.
“Quit your digging, greedy girl.” Shane opened the top and dug inside, coming out with his shake, my coffee, and the two sandwiches. He unwrapped his and tore off part of the wrapper, then pinched a bit of chicken out of the middle and set it on the paper. “There. And you have cream.” He opened a tiny creamer pot and she nudged his hand, lapping eagerly as soon as he’d peeled the foil off.
When she’d emptied the creamer and crouched over the bite of chicken, Shane looked at me. “Never seen a cat eat before?”
