I dabbed at the little beads of sweat that had formed over my brow, and my attention bounced between Avery and Benji.
“Spit it out already.” Benji motioned for me to hurry up. Patience had never been his strong suit.
I closed my eyes. “He’s someone I know from Arkansas. We went to high school together.” I peered at them through one eye, afraid of the million questions they were sure to fire my way like rapid torpedoes.
“Oh, this sounds delish.” Benji looped his arm through mine. “Why the mad dash, then? I mean, you know him. Why not wave and say hi?”
A group of loud guys barged through the door of the bar, their voices echoing through the parking lot. I peered over at them and my heart skidded to a stop. Layne had lagged behind his friends and was staring at me. He didn’t look much different than he had a few years ago. He’d always kept his dark hair short, but long enough for him to comb his fingers through it. His shoulders had broadened since I’d seen him last, but he appeared to have topped out at a little more than six foot. Although I hated him with every fiber of my being, even I couldn’t deny that he had a fabulous ass and muscular legs. But he knew it, which made me despise him even more.
Avery elbowed me in the side, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Are you going to talk to him?”
She was testing me. I hadn’t been able to reroute her suspicions that something was off.
I shook my head. “No.” Maybe if I ignored him, the demon spawn would disappear and go back to the hell he’d come from.
The bright-red neon lights of the open bar sign blinked, casting an eerie shadow over Layne’s face. It was then that I noticed how exhausted and sad he looked. Hollow.
“Layne, dude, come on!” one of the guys called to him.
Layne shoved a hand into the front pocket of his jeans, stared at me another few seconds, then joined the group. A massive sigh of relief whooshed out of my lungs.
Benji looped an arm through mine and dragged me toward the car. “Girl, you got some ’splainin’ to do.”
“That’s it? It’s only midnight, and we’re leaving?” Avery hurried behind us, her heels scuffing against the asphalt. I had no idea how she walked in those shoes, but she loved them. She had multiple pairs that worked with her jeans, and even more for her dresses. Avery’s closet looked like a section out of Nordstrom’s.
“Well we can’t talk in there because it’s too loud.” Benji nodded toward the bar. “And I know this shit is going to be too good to miss a single word of, so it’s off to grab a midnight bite and some coffee. Besides, I wasn’t going to score tonight anyway.”
He opened the car door for me, and I gratefully slipped into the back seat, tucking myself away from the world once again.
Avery hopped in the front, and in seconds, Benji started the car then pulled out of the parking lot.
Avery twisted in her seat and stared a hole straight into my soul. She’d always had the uncanny ability to do that, and it made me incredibly uncomfortable. There were some things not even my best friends knew about me, and I wasn’t planning on sharing. “He’s hot and you know him, so cough up the deets. If you don’t want to talk to him, I will.”
“No!” I covered my mouth with my hands in order to not say anything else.
Benji peered in the rearview mirror at me, and I went limp.
“He’s not a good guy.” Maybe that was enough information to calm their curiosity. It was bad enough he was there. I didn’t want to dredge up bad memories too.
Avery’s face was filled with intrigue. “Why?”
Fuck. Layne wasn’t a part of my past I wanted to revisit or cough up details about. Yes, he was gorgeous, but underneath his hot exterior, I was sure he had horns and a forked tail.
“Give her a few minutes to think, and she can talk when we have some coffee in front of us. Besides, I don’t want to miss anything.” Benji flipped on his turn signal while we waited for a few cars to pass us in the opposite lane before turning into the Satellite Diner and Lounge.
As soon as he parked, I jumped out of the car and hurried toward the restaurant entrance. I stepped inside the warmth of the rustic diner and held the door open for Avery and Benji.
The soft glow of the lights illuminated the few faces that were scattered at tables across the room. A whiff of hamburgers lingered in the air, and for a moment, I was hungry. But then Layne’s face appeared in my mind and my longing for food dissipated.
“Almost snow weather,” Benji said as he draped his arm over my shoulder. We strolled through the restaurant and selected a cozy, private booth for four in the back corner. Avery and Benji sat across from me, and I sank into the hard, unforgiving leather seat as deeply as I could.
Holly, one of our regular waitresses, approached us, grinning broadly. “How are my favorite people tonight?”
“Hey, honey.” Benji gave her a million-dollar smile and a wink. Although Holly knew Benji wasn’t into women, they flirted like they were going to go hook up in the bathroom. “Just the usual for us, please.”
“Got it. Pot of coffee, cream, and pancakes for all.” She didn’t even scribble the order down on her little pad.
We were there at least once a week. It was cheap and something I could afford. My job at the college library covered living expenses and left me with a bit of side money, but not much. I’d made the cutoff for the work study applications by the skin of my teeth, so I wasn’t going to flip off fate and look for something better right now. When Avery, Benji, and I had looked for a house to rent, I’d offered to take the smallest room in order to reduce my costs a bit. What I hadn’t anticipated was the fight between them for the master, but Benji had finally won by offering to pay part of my rent as well. I wasn’t sure why he’d played it that way, but it had gotten him what he wanted.
“All right, toots, fill us in on Mr. Smoody.” Benji squirmed in his seat with anticipation while he waited for me to begin.
I looked at him and Avery, pondering how much I should tell them. Then it dawned on me what Benji had said. I frowned. “Smoody?”
“Smoking hot and moody. I saw him sitting at the end of the bar, staring at you like you were an edible. Girl, it was smoldering.” He fanned himself, closing his eyes briefly.
Although Benji had an amazing ability to read people, he was wrong about Layne. Really wrong.
“Oh, I like that.” Avery leaned her head on Benji’s shoulder, but her attention never left me. “Enough stalling, Tensley. Spit it out like it’s a bad, skunky beer that just hit your tongue.”
I sat up ramrod straight in my seat. Maybe it was safe to tell them at least some of the story. “His name is Layne Garrison, and we attended high school together.”
“You already said that,” Avery said, drumming her fingers on the table impatiently.
“Mm-hmm. I got that part already. Keep going.” Benji propped his elbows up and leaned forward, ready for more.
“In Arkansas … I-I just have no clue why in the world he’s here, like, in Spokane.” My forehead creased as I searched for a good reason, but my mind only came up with a big, fat blank.
“Okay, wait.” Avery pressed her fingers to her temples. “I’ve had more to drink than I realized. Tonight, while we were at Barney’s, you turned around, and Mr. Smoody was at the end of the bar, staring a hole in your head because he knew you from Arkansas?”