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Sterling was under six feet. Messy dark brown, almost black hair that worked for his dark grey eyes. His smile was straight whereas Finn’s was slightly crooked. Sterling was softer than Finn’s muscular build, but his biceps filled every bit of room of his short-sleeved, button-down, denim-blue work shirt, probably from tossing feed bags all day.
I inwardly smacked myself for comparing him to Finn. Who I hadn’t seen since the shower incident besides the occasional swaying of his window curtains or the sound of his boat motor echoing over the house.
Even after realizing I was comparing Sterling and Finn I found myself continuing to do it.
Sterling was by far friendlier than Finn. He never scowled at me or made me feel unwelcome. He didn’t seem moody or broody or set on making me feel uncomfortable.
Sterling was exactly the kind of guy I should want to have around. I was twenty-one years old and had never been on an actual date. However, my excitement at the prospect of a real date faded when the obvious hit me. There was no spark between me and Sterling.
No hum of energy.
No connection of any kind.
Everything I didn’t want to feel when Finn was around but DID.
“Thanks, Sterling. You’re…really sweet.”
Sterling’s smile dimmed ever so slightly. “But…”
I leaned a hip on the counter. “But I haven’t been here that long. I’m not really looking for anything right now,” I explained. “Still getting my bearings.”
Sterling laughed and took a sip of his beer.
“And what is so funny?” I asked, finding myself chuckling with him.
“I was thinking about maybe walking you home, not walking you down the aisle, Sawyer.” He leaned over the bar and whispered, “You know, ‘cause that’s what FRIENDS do. They hang out. They go for walks. Ain’t much else to do around here.” His smile grew again and I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment.
“Yeah, I kind of did jump the gun on that one, didn’t I?” I laughed at myself. Feeling ridiculous thinking that his invite was something more than what it really was. “Sorry,” I offered with a wince.
“No harm no foul.”
“All right then, friend,” I said. “I get off in thirty minutes. If the offer still stands, I’d like to take you up on that walk.”
“Then I’ll see you in thirty,” Sterling said with a wink. He stood and pushed back his stool. He walked over to the ting trays at the end of the bar and pulled out a piece of paper and a blue string. He scribbled something down and hung it from the ceiling right above his seat at the bar and sat back down.
Out of curiosity, I stood on my tiptoes and he watched me read what he’d written on his ting.
June 6th, 2017
Made a new friend.
I like her freckles.
-Sterling
“Here you go,” Critter said, coming up beside me and shoving a huge wad of cash in my hands at the end of my shift.
“What’s this for?”
“This, is what they call money,” he said sarcastically, laughing at his own joke. “It also happens to be the tips you neglected to pick up so far this week.” When he smiled it was like his mustache was smiling too.
“Oh,” I said. “I’ll have to remember that one.” I tapped my finger on my head. “Pick up the money, Sawyer.”
“There you go. You’ll get the hang of it, kid,” Critter headed over to the far end of the bar when someone called his name.
“Hey,” Sterling called, coming back up to the bar. “I’m going to have to take a raincheck on that walk. One of my employees just ran over a fence on a delivery. Another time though, okay?” He winked.
“Sure,” I said, feeling both relieved and slightly disappointed. Although, overall, I was really enjoying getting to know the people of Outskirts.
Well, MOST of them.
Chapter Sixteen
Sawyer
I was getting ready to walk home when Josh strolled through the door minus her usual police uniform. She pushed up her dark sunglasses to the top of her head like a headband. Thick gold hoops dangled from her ears and a dozen or so tiny gold bracelets clattered on her wrists. A white halter top and cut off black shorts showed off her tiny waist, epic curves and creamy dark skin.
“Come on, little lady. Clothes and fashion waits for no one,” Josh said, grabbing me by the hand and pulling me out into the sunlight.
I followed her through the main street area which was less than a half of a mile long and consisted of buildings intermixed with vacant land. Every other building was boarded up. “That’s Miss Andrea,” Josh said, pointing to a shop that read Outskirts Cakes & Pies. “She makes the best chocolate mousse pie in three counties. Actually,” she patted her flat stomach, “stay far, far away from her or they’ll be knocking down a wall of your little RV to remove you.”
“No chocolate mousse pie,” I repeated, pressing my lips together to hide my smile.
“There’s Gary’s garage.” Josh pointed to a small building with two bays, one of which was open. “That’s who towed your truck. He’s a good guy. Won’t try and fix something that ain’t broke just to make a quick buck.”
“There’s the library,” she said, waving to a building that looked like an old schoolhouse. Unfortunately, it was boarded up. “It closed when everything else started to close.”
“That’s a shame,” I said, grieving over all the books I never got a chance to read.
We passed several people on the way. All who knew Josh by name. She introduced me to everyone and when we passed a building that had several signs she explained that it was because the building was the bank, post office, and police station, all-in-one.
“Oh, shit,” Josh swore, stopping and rolling her eyes when the door to the multi-purposed building opened and a man emerged, crossing the street quickly with his eyes locked on Josh.
He was just as tall as Finn. His dark hair was pulled into a bun at the nape of his neck. “Come on,” Josh said, walking faster as the man jogged to catch up, thin gold chain swished around his neck.
“I’ve been looking for you, Josh,” he said slyly, as he ran in front of us and stopped, blocking the walkway. He rubbed his hand over the dark facial hair around his mouth and looked Josh up and down.
“I know you’ve been looking for me, Miller. That’s why I’ve been avoiding you,” Josh retorted, pushing past him.
Miller’s bright white sneakers caught my attention. I was curious how he kept them so clean in Mudville, USA. I looked down to my own white sneakers that were several shades of yellow and brown and I’d only been there a couple of days.
“Who’s your friend?” Miller asked, smiling at me. He followed us as we hustled across the street. I jumped over a puddle that Josh barely had to lift her long leg to step over.
Josh turned, stopping so abruptly Miller almost slammed into her chest. She held her hand over her heart and smiled up at him sweetly. Fake but sweetly. Blinking rapidly.
“Oh, I’m so sorry I didn’t introduce you. Miller this is Sawyer. Sawyer is new in town. Sawyer this is Miller.” She lowered her voice to a deep gravelly tone and spoke but barely moved her lips. “The bane of my existence.” She started walking again.
“Hi,” Miller said, holding out his hand. “I promise that Josh really loves me. She just has a really unique way of showing it. ISN’T THAT RIGHT, JOSH?” he shouted so she could hear.
Josh flashed him a middle finger over her head without missing a beat. “And she messed up my introduction. I’ve actually been the bane of her existence going on over ten years now.”
I shook his hand and Miller beamed a big white smile. His front two teeth were turned slightly inward, but it worked for him. If they were straight his smile would’ve been almost too perfect for someone so rugged. He was handsome, but not in an in-your-face way.
“It’s nice to meet you, Miller.”
