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Alivia’s eyebrows went up.
“That sounds awkward.”
I laughed. “That’s Castleton. The dating options are pretty limited, so you’re bound to end up with someone your friend or someone you know has already been with.”
“And what about your dating experience here?” I hadn’t told Alivia that night about why I’d sought her out at the bar.
“None to speak of,” I said. I swallowed past a lump in my throat before I continued. “When we first met, I’d been trying to get over an ex. So I’ve kind of sworn off dating.”
“Oh,” she said. “That makes sense.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, even though I had no idea what I was apologizing for.
“You don’t owe me anything, Charli,” she said.
It was true. We didn’t owe each other anything.
My car moved another few feet.
“I could have gotten there faster by walking,” she said with a little laugh.
“Yeah, everyone in Castleton shows up for stuff like this. It’s not like we have much else to do at night.”
Other than the bar, there weren’t really any good activities for adults after hours.
“It’s nice to see more people around. I imagine in the winter it gets quiet,” Alivia said.
“Yeah, pretty much. I mean, people here don’t let a little snow stay in the way of living their lives, but after about five or six at night, it’s a ghost town.” I told her more about Castleton and started sharing stories about some of the more colorful characters.
“So, you probably saw a massive surly guy at the bar when we were there?”I asked.
She nodded as I finally made it out of the parking lot and onto the Main Street. Progress.
“Everyone calls him Batman. Yes, he likes Batman and wears a lot of Batman shirts, but no one really knows his actual legal name. Anyone who does has apparently been sworn to secrecy. It’s weird.” I told her about Esme’s dad, Butch, and Beth, the librarian, and then gave her a rundown of the Gretchen and Wyatt drama.
“I mean, if someone bought me a brand-new car, I might think about giving them another chance,” Alivia said. “It would have to be a very nice car, though.”
We both laughed a little about that.
“I’m pretty sure I could be bought for a car. This thing is barely holding on,” I said, patting the steering wheel of my thirteen-year-old car. It wasn’t sexy, but it was still working for the most part, and was killer in the snow.
“I mean, I could be bought with a box of donuts, to be honest,” I said. “I’m easy like that.”
“We all have our favorites,” she said.
“What’s your favorite food?” I asked.
She thought about that for a moment.
“Lasagna.”
Noted, again.
For a brief moment, I pictured myself making her a lasagna and bringing it to her at the inn as a present.
She asked me more about Castleton as we crawled closer to the inn. It was the most she’d talked when I’d been with her. As long as she wasn’t talking about herself, she was pretty loquacious. I noted that as well.
All too soon we made it to The Honeysuckle Inn, and I was dropping her off.
