Sin City Baby

“Good man,” Hunter said as he patted my back.

Katie smiled at me as she crawled up onto Hunter’s seat. The weight that seemed to be lifted off her shoulders was grand. Her smile seemed more genuine, and her eyes sparkled more than they had last night. It was like she was breathing for the first time in years, and I was thankful for it. I sipped on my beer as she looked at me, her dazzling eyes drawing me in.

They’d always done that, and I never could help but stare. It was why I enjoyed taking her fishing and hunting.

Wasn’t no one there to call me out on how much I was looking at her now.

“What you guys have built here is beautiful,” she said.

“Glad you like it. It’s growin’ on me,” I said.

Katie’s giggle was music to my ears. Soothing, sweet music I hadn’t heard in years. And the way her nose wrinkled when she laughed was making it damn hard not kiss her.

“So, if you’re stickin’ ‘round for a few days, maybe I’ll see you ‘round town?” I asked.

“Maybe. I think a few days of resting before I try to negotiate things with my landlord will do me some good.”

“Well, I hope I’ll see you. When I’m here, I’m cooped up in my office so I won’t see you much ‘round the resort.”

“Such a shame. It’s a beautiful place.”

“I see it every day. Loses its charm after a while.”

“Well don’t tell your customers that. You need them to turn a profit,” she said.

“Don’t worry. We ain’t got no issues in that department.”

An easy silence fell between us, like it always did on our fishing trips. My mind ventured back to one of the last ones we took together. Hunter had been gone with Andrew camping or some shit, so it was one of the rare moments where I had Katie to myself. Even in simple basketball shorts and a t-shirt, she was delectable. I could remember the way her eyes always fell to my lips whenever they got the chance. She had wanted me to kiss her so badly that morning, and to this day I don’t know why the hell I didn’t.

“Been fishing lately?” Katie asked, almost as if she’d been reading my mind.

“A bit. I go with Andrew sometimes. But he ain’t as pretty to look at,” I said.

“Haha! Caught anything like that one fish?” she asked.

“I still can’t believe how big that thing was,” I said with a snicker. “Thing took up half the damn bucket. To answer your question, I’ve yet to catch one near that size.”

“Well, maybe we could go fishing while I’m in town and see if we can’t catch one even bigger.”

“I’ll take you fishin’ whenever you want.”

“Is that creek still running strong?” she asked.

“It is. Not much has changed around the ol’ homestead. Crickets are still chirpin’, deer are still gettin’ in the way, and the fish are still jumpin’.”

“I miss the beauty of that place. Don’t get me wrong, the city was wonderful. Full of life and loud with sounds of hustle and bustle. But there’s nothing like the peacefulness of the countryside.”

“Got that right,” I said.

I grabbed Hunter’s beer and tipped it up, feeling Katie’s eyes on me. I tossed back a couple of swigs before I handed it to her, watching as her eyes fell to the long-necked bottle.

She plucked it from the bar and wrapped her lips around the top. Her first few sips were tentative, but when she closed her eyes, I knew that bottle was a goner. I watched her neck bob as she swallowed it down, moaning lightly as the skin on her body puckered.

Goosebumps.

She had missed drinking beer so much that her skin crawled at the taste of it.

Something told me the old Katie was making her way back.