Life in Shadows by Elliott Kay

Author:Elliott Kay [Kay, Elliott]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
Published: 2015-12-02T05:00:00+00:00

* * *

She didn’t normally do much barhopping. More to the point, when she did hit the bars, it was usually as the designated driver. Brad had a tendency to enjoy a bit too much, and for that matter so did the last couple of guys Shannon dated. When Kevin picked her “all-night greasy spoon” suggestion over the bars she knew, Shannon considered it a good sign.

She might have preferred to get him loosened up, but the fact that he would drop whatever plans he had for the night to come meet her hinted that she might not need the edge. Or maybe she should draw a different conclusion; she didn’t know. This level of spontaneity was a bit new for her.

Shannon sat in a booth away from the window. The diner clung to its low-brow atmosphere through genuine effort, given that it pulled in enough business and enough cash to become something more if its owners really wanted. Crayon and pencil drawings done by years of customers on plain white paper placemats covered the walls. Some were cute; a few were very well done; most were just silly or witty. Shannon worked on her own picture as she waited with her mug of coffee.

“You look nice out of your uniform,” said a voice. Kevin stood by her table, clad in black slacks and a nice but casual blue shirt under a leather jacket. He smirked as he added, “That’s not an opening for you to ask if you look bad in your uniform, by the way.”

Shannon laughed. Figuring she shouldn’t overdo it, she’d gone with a simple black skirt and a lacy white top that allowed for a little cleavage. “You look good out of yours, too, Officer Murray,” she grinned back. “Hi. Have a seat.”

“Kept you waiting long?” he asked as he obliged.

“Nah. Not too hard to keep myself amused for a little bit in here.”

“Yeah... yeah, I can kinda see that,” Kevin said. His eyes strayed toward her crayon drawing. A black stick-figure woman with wings, a tail, small horns and a big smile waved a whip over several kneeling stick-figure men, all before a background of tall orange and red flames with bats flying overhead.

Shannon glanced down at the drawing and blushed fiercely. “Oh, this is just... just boredom,” she said, and reached to crumple it up.

His hand stopped hers. “No, don’t do that. It’s good,” he said. His hand felt nice. Strong. Warm.

“I don’t normally draw a lot.”

“Maybe you should. You’ve got talent.”

“Hey, folks, anyone need coffee or anything to get you started?” asked the server, all of a hundred and thirty pounds covered in tattoos and piercings. He offered up a menu for Kevin.

“I could order, actually,” he said with a questioning glance to Shannon. When she nodded, he said, “Apple pie a la mode? Just that and water. Thanks.”

“Mm. Cherry for me, please. And a Coke,” Shannon added. She smiled at Kevin as the waiter left. “Dessert was a good idea. I like to skip straight to the good stuff.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.