Every pair of eyes in the establishment turned toward the blond, muscular young man who had arrived in the yellow Corvette that had screeched to a stop in front moments before. He returned their gazes defiantly before descending the three steps to the sunken floor and crossing the room to sit at the end of the bar on that side. The green pattern in his shirt glowed eerily within the nimbus of a sign on the wall advertising Royal Beer, and his green eyes seemed to glow likewise as he stared at the neon words.
The female bartender placed a napkin in front of the brawny youth and said, “What can I get for you?”
“Beer—any kind but that.” He indicated the sign on the wall. “And make it a pitcher.”
“Sure thing, handsome, but I’m gonna need to see some ID.”
He reached in his pocket and slapped a hundred-dollar bill on the bar. “Will that do?”
She palmed the bill and tucked it in her bra. “Helluva good likeness.”
He was still glaring at the sign when she returned with his pitcher and glass.
“So, how long you been in town, honey?”
His eyes moved slowly from the sign to her face. “How much will it cost for you to go chat up somebody else?”
Her smile vanished. “My treat, jerkwad.”
He filled the glass with beer and chugged it, then stared into the empty glass. “One down, ninety-nine to go.”
From behind him, a woman’s voice: “I’m afraid that would leave you much too inebriated for the evening’s activities.”
He turned to rebuke the interloper and froze at the sight of the luminous creature before him. Light seemed to emanate from the pores of her ivory skin, and her hair appeared more of an iridescent silver than mere blonde, but it was her eyes that were the most striking thing about her—the perfect blue of a cloudless sky at the height of summer. The scathing words he had planned to utter dissipated in the glow of her countenance, and he found himself fighting baffling tears.
She took his hand in both of hers. “I’ve been waiting for you, Wade. Come with me and I’ll take you to meet him.”
He rose to follow her but said, “Who are you, and how do you know me?”
“My name is Nicole and I was sent to be your guide. All young people have one when they first arrive.”
“Arrive where? I don’t even know where I am.”
“I know you don’t, my son.” She stroked his forearm in a maternal gesture to match the endearment. “But try to be patient. Things will become clearer before long.”
~Joyce Sterling Scarbrough
True Blue Forever
Different Roads
Symmetry
Read the first chapters: http://www.authorsden.com/joycelscarbrough1
Joyce's Blog: http://joycescarbrough.blogspot.com/
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