Hitchers

Hitchers Read Free Page A

Book: Hitchers Read Free
Author: Will McIntosh
Tags: Science-Fiction, Fantasy, Horror
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to kiss her goodnight?” Annie persisted.
    â€œNo!”
    â€œThen what are you going to do? Are you going to shake her hand?” Her tone was teasing now.
    An old guy pushed open the door, nodded curtly and squeezed past me.
    â€œI’ll talk to you later.”
    â€œCall me as soon as you leave the restaurant.”
    I closed my phone, grateful for Annie. It was amazing how close Lorena’s death had drawn us. Before, she’d mostly been Lorena’s friend.
    I needed to pee, but the old guy was standing pushed up to the urinal, clearly finding it difficult to get a flow going with me three feet away. It would be cruel, and awkward, to wait.
    Lyndsay had brushed her hair and put on fresh lipstick. She opened her mouth, likely to say something clever she’d been rehearsing while I was in the bathroom, but I jumped in.
    â€œSo tell me about the publishing business.”
    Lyndsay leaned back in her chair, draped her arms over the armrests. “What I was going to say is more interesting.” Her smile was brimming with promises that both scared me and made my head spin. It had been more than two years since I’d been with a woman.
    Since I’d been with my wife.
    I felt a dizzy sinking in my stomach, like I’d just dropped twenty floors in an elevator. This all felt wrong—wrong place, wrong time, wrong woman. I wanted to be home, in front of the TV watching
Lost reruns and drinking decaffeinated Earl Grey tea.
    I wasn’t sure how to respond to Lyndsay’s leading comment. The only appropriate response would be “What were you going to say?” Part of me was curious about what she was going to say, but most of me wanted to go home. Most of me felt like I was cheating on Lorena.
    There was a cup of coffee in front of me, so I took a sip in lieu of a reply, and burned my mouth. It was a big sip, so I got caught in that moment where you have something hot in your mouth and you don’t know whether to spit it out, which would mean passing it back over the tender parts at the front of your mouth, or roll it around in the back of your mouth and tolerate the pain until it cools. I tolerated the pain until it cooled. It seemed to take a long time.
    â€œI guess I’ve left you speechless,” Lyndsay said, raising an eyebrow.
    I set my coffee down. “I’m really sorry. I think I made a mistake. I thought I was ready to date, but I’m not.” My tongue felt thick and cottony, maybe from the burn.
    Lyndsay regarded me, then fished the strap of her purse from the back of her chair. “If you’re not interested in me, just say so.” She pulled two twenties from her purse and dropped them on the table. “The least you could do is be honest if you’re going to waste my Friday night.”
    â€œIt’s not an excuse, it’s the truth,” I insisted, although it was only partially true. I wasn’t ready to date, but I also was not interested in her.
    â€œMm hm.” She pulled on her coat.
    I picked up her twenties, offered them back to her. “I can get this.”
    She looked at my hand like I was offering her a dead rat. “I’m not sure you’re ready.”
    I dropped the bills back on the table. “Look, my wife died, okay?” Even as I said it, I regretted it. I was using Lorena’s death to win an
argument. “I left that out of my profile as well. I’m sorry if I wasted your valuable time, but this is hard for me.”
    Lyndsay froze, her hand buried in her purse. “I’m sorry. Your profile said you were divorced.”
    â€œI know.” I didn’t want her to be sorry; I resented her even knowing.
    Lyndsay nodded understanding. “Why don’t you go ahead? I’ll wait for the bill.”
    Relieved, I thanked her, pushed two twenties of my own into her hand and rushed for the exit.
    The wind dug into me as I opened the door—a wind more appropriate for

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