Page 3 of Erase Me
A pair of women walking by smiled at him, and he smiled back.A player.
“You’ll change your mind about paying as soon as you see how much I eat.”
“Fair enough.”
“Reed.”
I stared at his outstretched hand.Did people shake hands these days?Didn’t it go away with Covid?“Reed…?”
“That’s all.My friends call me Reed.”
“Avalie,” I put my smaller hand in his.His fingers were calloused, his grip strong.
“Avalie…?”
“That’s all you need to know...today.”
He smiled.Across Del Mar from where we stood, a charming building with Spanish-inspired architecture housed an outdoor café serving food.The white stucco walls were adorned with colorful ceramic tiles, and a wrought iron sign above the entrance displayed the café’s name in elegant cursive.
“What do you think?”I asked.
He put a hand on my elbow, and we crossed the street.As we approached the café, we noticed a line of people waiting to get inside.
“We can go somewhere else,” Reed suggested.
“If you can wait that long, so can I.”
He put our name down on the waiting list, and we drifted toward a low stone wall that offered a surface to lean against.His long legs stretched out against mine, creating an intimate connection.He leaned in a bit closer as others tried to share the same stretch of wall.A menu was passed along to those waiting.I stared at the colorful page.
“Vegan?Vegetarian, gluten-free?What do you eat, or don’t eat?”
“One of everything on this menu.They all look good.”I passed on the menu to the person next to me.“You’re not the only person who can pack it away.”
His chuckle was a warm whisper in my ear.“So, where’s home?”
“San Francisco,” I told him.“You?”
“New York City.What brings you here?”
“Girlfriends’ reunion.”
“Is that a thing?”
“Don’t you have a reunion withyourgirlfriends?”
“Ha!That’s a good idea.How does it work?”
“We get away once a year.A bunch of us, all good friends from college, rent a house at some destination and whoever gets there, gets there.”
He shook his head.“That won’t work for me.”
“Which part doesn’t work?Once a year?Bunch of your girlfriends?”
“Neither.”
Three young women, all about the same height with the same shoulder-length bleached blond hair, all wearing shorts and bikini tops, talking loudly amongst themselves, walked past the restaurant.Reed’s eyes followed them for a few seconds before turning back to me.
“What about the rest of your friends?Everyone still sleeping?”
