Page 7 of Missile Tow
And his brilliant green eyes could make a straight redneck fall in love with him on sight. Not to mention, he came across as one of the sweetest guys I’d ever met, instantly able to makeyou feel at ease. My desire to hate him evaporated. John seemed kind.
“Well, geesh,” I began, gushing with enthusiasm. “Any other travel tips?”
“One more important one,” he added. “Don’t get sucked into the giant road signs advertising St. Regis and their gimmicky gas station bragging about the world’s biggest trout aquarium or some shit,” he advised. “Go past St. Regis and stop in Missile. Fuel is fifty cents cheaper per gallon, and they make damn good chicken and jo-jos.”
“Missile?” I asked. “That’s the name of a town?”
Evan was none too happy with the chivalrousness his new guy was extending to me. I knew a pissed-off Evan when I saw one. I suspected when he’d walked up to show off his prime arm candy, this was not how he’d envisioned things going.
John ignored the signs of aggravation coming from Evan and continued. “Long story, but the town really is named Missile. Legend has it, some old coot built what looked like a missile out on his ranch during the sixties nuclear crisis with the Russians,” he began. “Turns out it was three rusty steel barrels welded together and painted red, white, and blue.”
“That can’t be true,” Evan interrupted.
John didn’t skip a beat, ignoring his remark. “The story might not be, but Missile is a real town. I told you I lived there when we first started chatting online.”
John’s sudden slip of bombshell information did everything to end our sweet little chat. Even though I’d caught Evan red-handed a year ago, he denied meeting John in one of his fuck apps. Evan now turned bright red, having lied to me about how they met. John suddenly remembered I was the guy left by the man on the other end of those clandestine online chats.
“Smooth, John,” Evan hissed, surely realizing he’d lied and told me they were co-workers.
“Nice to have finally met you, John,” I quickly said, sensing the tension and actually feeling bad for John.
Evan glared at me like I was the bad guy in this lie. Something told me I might not have the full story regarding the two of them.
John quickly glanced at Evan before turning back to me. “I did something shitty to someone, too,” John blurted out. “My ex didn’t deserve what I did, and I’m not proud of it. Andnowthat I’ve finally met you, I feel an inch tall. I’d completely understand if you hated me, Vance. I sincerely apologize for my part.”
“Jesus, John!” Evan exclaimed. “Chill the fuck out!”
John’s face became angry, his brow narrowing as he gathered his thoughts. He turned to face Evan, his hand held up to me for what I guessed might be an advance apology for what was about to come.
“You will not speak to me like that, Evan,” he stated. “What we did was terribly unkind to two innocent people, and now that you brought me over to meet Vance, I finally have my opportunity to apologize.”
“You already did,” Evan grunted. “Besides, Van wasn’t a perfect partner,” he added, looking smugly at me.
I should’ve been crushed, maybe even pissed. “True,” I replied. “But I was afaithfulone.”
I instantly regretted my flip comment when John’s eyes welled up. Evan was gob smacked that I’d said such a thing in front of his new guy. I reached out and touched John’s arm. “Hey, I’m sorry for that.”
“My ex was faithful too. What I did crushed him, and I wish I’d handled things better,” John said, laying his hand over mine.
Evan crossed his arms in horror. I knew him well enough to know he hated honest conversations like this one. Revealing truths and emotions was not his thing, so I decided to be the bigger person.
“Water under the bridge, John,” I said. “We all learn and grow.”
After pinching the bridge of his nose to assist in ending the flow of tears, John glared at Evan before returning his eyes to mine. “You’re a kind man, Van.”
“And so are you, John,” I said. “And thanks again for the travel tips.”
“Are you two done?” Evan asked, avoiding eye contact with either of us.
For some reason, I felt compelled to comfort John, so I hugged him. He held me close and whispered in my ear. “I’m truly sorry for my part in breaking you two up.”
I didn’t respond. Instead, I pulled away and smiled, glanced at Evan with a knowing look, and shut the hatch to the SUV.
“You two take care,” I said, digging my keys out of my jacket. I have an adventure to begin.” Evan turned and began walking away. John hesitated and watched as I made my way to the door of the X5. I hesitated with the door handle and turned back to him. “He has some good qualities too,” I whispered, motioning my head toward Evan.
Before I risked getting emotional, I slid into the SUV and closed the door. How I’d managed the surprise encounter and revelations of how I’d been replaced was beyond me. I let out a long-held breath and stared through the windshield with misting eyes.
I sensed John still standing near the rear of my vehicle. Perhaps he had more to say, but I felt like enough had been exposed. He and Evan had planned on leaving their exes long before either of us knew it was coming.
