Page 112 of Crystal Iris
I close my book and ask, “How did it go?”
“Good, great. Picked a couple. Sawyer did good; I was about to offer more money, but he held me back. How was your day?”
“Nice, I needed a lazy day.”
“Really? Are you bored here?”
“No! Of course not, I love it here. Why? Are you tired of me?”
“Iris, I’m serious. Don’t feel obligated to stay.”
“I’m serious too. You can kick me out if?—”
“I would love nothing more than for you to move in.”
“Right,” I say, looking at him.
“I’m serious.”
“I’m serious too. I love it here.”
He pulls out his phone. “Let’s have fun tonight.”
“What?”
“It’s Friday. Let’s go out.”
“Where?”
“It’s live music night at a bar downtown.”
“Aren’t you tired?”
“Let’s roll,” he says, getting up.
“Okay, give me a few minutes to change.”
“It’s nothing fancy. You can go like this.”
I look at my jeans and shirt. “I don’t know…”
“You look good… trust me. Reaaaally good.”
“Okay,” I say, getting a little embarrassed by the way he’s looking at me. At least he seems just as casual with his baseball cap.
The bar is much busier than I expected. Hoyt has introduced me to a few people, and I realize we’re in a small town where everyone seems to know everyone. I take a sip of my margarita and look at the stage where a man is playing guitar. I watch as acouple dances, and I wish for a moment that Hoyt could take me out there too.
“I’m sorry, I wish we could…” he says, gesturing to the dancing couples.
“Oh… it’s okay,” I say, realizing he’s upset.
“Jessie!” He calls over a man wearing a cowboy hat. “Why don’t you show my lady what a good dancer you are? You know, I have two left feet,” he tells his friend, and I’m about to protest when the man comes over.
“Hey, darling, how are you doing? I’m sorry you’re stuck here with this one.”
Jessie’s wife comes over to say hi to Hoyt. They seem to know each other well.
“Hello, I’m Serena, Jessie’s wife.” She extends her hand to shake mine.
