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“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” she says with a chuckle.
“Try me.”
“Okay,” she turns around and leans back against the counter. “I read The Darkness in Greenville when I was a kid.”
“The book about the vampires?”
“Yeah.”
“The book about vampires in Greenville, Kansas?”
It’s the one thing this damn town is known for, but I haven’t heard anyone mention that book in years. Hell, I don’t even think anyone’s thought about that book in years. It follows the story of one woman’s journey to Kansas and how she hunts the vampires lurking in the Greenville Cemetery.
Someone wrote it years ago while on a road trip through Kansas, and somehow, it became really popular for like, one summer. I’m surprised there are still copies in existence.
“That’s the one,” she says. “Funny, right? I don’t know, Dale. It just stuck with me: having an adventure in Kansas. Of all fucking places, right? Some shit went down back home. Stuff happened. I decided to leave. I don’t have a house to go back to or a family to go back to or anything. So I guess I just thought, why not Kansas? Why not see what Greenville really has?”
“So that’s it?” I ask. “You just packed up your stuff and drove here?”
“Yep.”
“Do you have an apartment?” I ask her, suddenly concerned, and Oriana’s face softens.
“I’m renting a room from Mrs. Bot.”
“She’s a weird old lady,” I warn her.
“She’s cheap,” Oriana says. “And there’s a private entrance, so I know I’m not bothering her when I come or go at all hours of the night.”
“I’m glad you found somewhere safe.
“I’m glad I found you,” she says with a shrug.
“That almost sounds like a compliment,” I warn her. “Don’t get too crazy, now.”
Oriana laughs. The sound fills the whole bar, and for a second, I just want to wrap my damn arms around her. How did this magical woman end up here in Chasing Whiskey? How did she end up in my bar of all bars?
“Don’t worry,” she jokes. “I’ll do my best not to fall in love with you.”
“Oh, I’ve heard that line before,” I wink, but then I reach around behind her. For a second, I want to kiss her. It’s right at the edge of my consciousness to just grab her and kiss her and show her how pretty she is because I don’t think Oriana knows. I don’t think she realizes that she’s a goddess. She’s gorgeous and pretty and sweet.
More than that, she’s kind.
She’s genuinely, honestly kind.
But I don’t kiss her.
Not now.
Maybe not ever.
I don’t know if that’s in the cards for the two of us.
I reach behind her and I flip on the lights. She doesn’t move, and for a second, we’re so close that our chests are pressed together. With each breath, I feel her breasts pushing against me.
“Closing time,” I whisper.
“Closing time,” she agrees.
