Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
For their second date , Jessica thought she and Tyler would be going out to a restaurant together, just the two of them.
But when they arrived, he stopped at a table full of men and women around their age, already set up and halfway through a couple of pitchers of margaritas.
Was it their first two pitchers? It was hard to say.
They were wild and raucous, and Jessica could see nervous glances being exchanged between the servers.
“Everyone, this is Jess,” Tyler announced.
They all shouted in unison, welcoming her and raising their margarita glasses high in the air as they howled their approval.
“Nice to meet you,” she said, although she wasn’t sure anyone heard her over the noise. “We should find our table,” she added quietly to Tyler.
But he grinned. “This is our table. These are my friends.”
“Oh.”
Several of the women slid over, compacting into the booth, to give Jessica room to sit. Tyler sat opposite her and poured two more glasses of margaritas, promptly sliding one across the table to her. She caught it.
“Thanks.”
He raised his glass, and gulped down the contents, set it on the table, and poured another.
Jessica sipped hers more gingerly. She may need to be sober to get herself out of this situation.
She was an introvert, but that wasn’t exactly her issue.
She didn’t know these people or what they might get up to.
The night was still young, and she wasn’t one to drink much.
Although, her friends had often told her to lighten up, so maybe she should let loose a little bit.
After all, they were only having fun. She was naturally anxious in new social settings—it might take a little time for her to get comfortable.
When the waiter came over, Tyler made sure Jessica was able to order over the noise.
He was very attentive, listening to her stories and laughing at her jokes.
He gave her his full attention, and then did the same for his friends.
He was good with people—that much was clear.
He was much more extroverted than she was, and a little wilder than she was used to.
Her ex-boyfriend had been quiet and brooding.
She’d believed he was smart, philosophical, and thoughtful.
It turned out that he was jealous, angry, and repressed.
Apparently, she wasn’t a great judge of character, something she’d never recognised in herself before.
But now she didn’t trust her own judgment.
If someone could be so very different from who she’d understood them to be, how could she rely on her own instincts about them?
She ordered a buffalo chicken burger with fries, and he ordered the double beef burger with onion rings.
After a while, she felt a little more comfortable around his friends.
There was Brian, with his brown curls, deep brown eyes and mischievous smile.
Keira, with her perfect blonde bob and mini skirt that looked dangerously like a handkerchief slung around her thin waist. And Damon with his almond-shaped green eyes, lightly freckled nose, and a hilarious joke to tell at every pause in the conversation.
There were others too, but she hadn’t learned their names yet.
These three were the closest seated to her, and seemed to know Tyler well.
“This one has been gone for so long, we thought he’d forgotten about us,” Keira said suddenly, leaning in confidentially with a smile at Jessica.
“That’s right — eight years, wasn’t it?” Jessica was the odd one out. The only one who wasn’t part of the high school group who’d known each other for so long, they almost seemed to have their own shorthand language.
“Eight long years. It was too long, Ty.” She beamed at him, and he shrugged.
“It flew by for me.”
“I’ve been stuck here in Covington this whole time.” She rolled her eyes. “Nothing happens here.”
“I like it so far,” Jessica said.
“I knew I heard an accent,” Brian said. “Where are you from?”
“Oklahoma. And you’re the one with the accent.” She laughed. “But I love it.”
“You know, when Tyler was a kid, he used to say he was going to marry one of the Fraggles.”
Tyler’s eyes narrowed, and he shook his head. “Bri… not cool.”
Jessica laughed. “A Fraggle?”
“You know, from Fraggle Rock,” Keira added.
“I know who the Fraggles are. I’m just shocked someone would find them… attractive.” They were all laughing at this point. All except Tyler.
Tyler grunted. “Hilarious. You’re all hilarious.”
“You’d have cute little Fraggle children. Maybe they’d have pink fur and they’d live underground…”
“Okay, okay… thanks, Bri. Great imagery.”
“I had a little crush on the oldest brother from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” Jessica said. “What was his name?”
“Caspian… no, Peter. That’s right, it was Peter. And I’m with you on that one,” Keira said.
They all ordered another round of drinks, but Jessica wasn’t sure she’d manage to walk in a straight line if she kept drinking, so she got water instead.
“Work tomorrow,” was her excuse.
“Not for me,” Tyler said, raising his glass. “Let’s toast to time off work!”
“If only,” Brian said as they all clinked their glasses together. “But I’m glad you’re having a break. You deserve it. No one works harder.”
“What are you going to do now?” Keira asked.
Tyler shrugged. “No idea. Maybe I should take up moonshining. I could make liquor for us all to drink.”
“It would cut down on the spending,” Damon said. “This bill is gonna be heinous.”
“Moonshining?” Brian asked. “My pop used to do that.”
“So, you know how?”
“I’ve got a vague idea. It’s not real hard. Although, you can also poison everyone.”
“Yeah, there’s that…” Keira added with a nod as she sipped her drink.
“What is moonshining?” Jessica asked.
They all turned to look at her in unison.
“Liquor making, selling… it’s a whole thing,” Tyler replied. “I’ve always wanted to do it. I’ve got ideas for flavours that I think people will like. And I could pull in some money…”
He was serious. She didn’t want to criticise his ideas, but that didn’t seem like a long-term career prospect. And anyway, wasn’t it illegal?
“Ready to go?” Tyler asked her finally.
She nodded and covered a yawn. “I should get to bed. I have school tomorrow.”
“I’ve called an Uber. I’ll ride with you and you’ll be home before you know it.”
“Great.”
They said their goodbyes and walked out of the restaurant together.
Her hands hung at her sides, and she wondered if he’d take one.
They fairly tingled with anticipation. But he didn’t.
Maybe he was having second thoughts. Their kiss had been magical—she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it.
But tonight was strange — she’d have preferred some time alone to get to know one another.
Although, there was something to be learned from time with his friends — she’d seen a different side of him.
They stood at the curb waiting for the car to arrive.
“I had a nice time tonight,” he said, turning to face her.
He took both her hands and held them in his. She couldn’t help smiling.
“I did too. Thanks for inviting me. Your friends are…fun.”
“You’re fun,” he replied.
“Really? I’m glad you think so. I’m not sure anyone else would agree with you.”
He laughed. “How are you still single, though? That’s what confuses me. You’re beautiful, sweet, smart… I’m surprised you’re not seeing anyone.”
“I only moved here recently. You know that. I haven’t really met anyone else, apart from the other teachers, who are all middle-aged women.”
“What about back home?”
She sighed. “I was seeing someone in college. I thought I loved him, but he turned out to be a very different person than who he seemed to be.”
“When did that end?”
“About three months ago. I thought we’d last forever, but around a year ago, he started acting strangely.
Possessive, jealous, angry. Before that, he was kind and sweet.
A bit melancholy and introverted—at least, that’s what I thought it was.
But he changed when we started talking about getting engaged.
It was as though he saw me as his property after that.
He wanted to know where I was all the time, who I was with, what I was doing.
He didn’t like me to talk to other men. When I suggested doing my MBA, he told me that wasn’t appropriate.
That I would only be a mother, so I didn’t need more college. ”
“What? He said that?”
“Yep. I told him I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a mother, and I liked studying.
That’s when he lost it. He ranted and raved, shouted at me, threw things.
So, I told him I wanted him to leave my dorm.
Then, he started following me around campus, at a distance.
He thought I didn’t see him, but it was hard to miss him.
I knew him so well, I’d know him from a mile off. ”
“What did you do?”
“At first, I thought he’d get over it. And I didn’t want to make things worse, so I tried to de-escalate the situation by being kind to him.
Maybe if I pretended nothing had happened, it would all go back to the way it was before…
back when he was sweet and thoughtful. But towards the end, it all changed. He changed.”
“And your tactics didn’t work, I guess.” His eyes were dark with concern. His nostrils flared.
“Nope. He started sending me letters. They were anonymous, but I knew it was him. Horrible letters. I don’t want to tell you what they said.
But there were threats, and I was so scared.
He was still following me around campus, but then I graduated, so I went home to my parents’ house.
I figured things would calm down. I was in another town, away from him.
Maybe he’d move on, forget about me. But he didn’t. ”
“Did you tell your folks?”
“No, I didn’t want to worry them. They’d never liked him. Dad called him John Hinckley Jr. At first I didn’t understand why, but I Googled the guy, and then I got it. He was a stalker, just like Hilton.”
“I guess he had the look.”
“I guess so,” Jessica replied. “And for a little while, everything got better. When Hilton came to visit me, I told him it was over. I didn’t want to be in a relationship with him any longer.
I was moving on with my life, and he should too.
” The words tumbled out. She’d never really told anyone the whole story before.
It felt vulnerable but was a relief at the same time.
“I bet he took that well,” Tyler said with a grunt.
She laughed solemnly. “Not really. He started stalking me around my parents’ town.
He didn’t live there, so he had to drive all the way from campus.
That’s when I realised that if I got a job in town, not only would he still harass me, but it would put my parents in danger.
I worried what he might do to them. I couldn’t bear the idea of him hurting them. So, I moved.”
“That’s why you’re here?” Tyler arched an eyebrow. “To get away from your ex?”
“That’s why.”
“Wow. I wasn’t expecting that, but thanks for telling me. Now I’m more worried about you living alone in that old house.”
“I’m fine. I’ve got my cat,” she joked, but her voice was thin and her laughter hollow. She felt safe there for now, but how long until he figured out where she was? There was no way of knowing if he’d come after her again. She only hoped he wouldn’t.
“You should get a gun.”
Her eyes widened. “I’m not really a gun person. I wouldn’t know what to do with it.”
“You should learn. This is gun country. You’re around gun people now.”
She shook her head. “I just wouldn’t be comfortable with that, but I could buy some pepper spray, I suppose.”
“That’s a start. I’ll get some for you,” he said, his jaw clenching.
Their Uber pulled up, and they climbed in together. He held her hand tightly. “I wish there was something more I could do.”
“You’re doing it,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder.
In that brief moment, she felt safe. It wouldn’t last, but it was something. She hadn’t felt safe in a long time.