Page 4 of Belle
“I’ll take a booth, please.” I gesture towards one of the booths in the back corner.
“Sure thing. Follow me.” I slip into the booth and order a cup of coffee and some pancakes.
“Excuse me, where can I get some hardware supplies around here?” She eyes me. I’m sure that’s a local thing, trying to figure out what a new person is doing in a town like this.
“What for?”
“I’m renting a house from Jessi Mayfowl. It needs a lot of work. I was thinking about fixing it up while I’m staying there.” I shrug, like it’s no big deal.
“You’re renting that ol’ dump? I’m sorry, baby. Griffin’s Hardware is just down the street, I’m not sure how much you’ll find there though. He’s always one week away from closing.” She puts my pancakes down in front of me and walks away.
I watch her talking to the cook in the back, and I know I’m going to be the talk of the town in the next couple hours.
When I finish up, I leave her a nice tip in the hope that when she gossips about me later, she says good things.
The bell on Griffin’s Hardware dings when I push the door open. The place is deserted. There’s probably two inches of dust on everything on the shelf.
“Can I help you?” A bald old man with glasses approaches me.
I repeat the story that I told the waitress at the diner.
“Let me help you out.” He looks excited to have a customer.
He loads me up with enough supplies to help get me started, and I promise to come back when I need more. The poor guy was going on and on about how he never gets any customers.
He also gave me a coupon for a free beer at the strip club down the street.
When I get back home, or at least my home for the time being, I manage to fix the window and broken steps on the front porch.
I grab a beer out of the fridge and pull out my phone to search for anything on Maribelle. She’s a ghost on social media, which is weird to me. Her sister, Mindy, was easy to find.
I’ve got to be missing something. I just don’t know what. I’m starting to wonder if I should go down to the strip club and ask around. It seems like the busiest place in this shit hole.
It doesn’t take me long to decide that that’s exactly what I should do. I grab my keys and head out to my car.
When I pull up, I can hear the music playing out in the parking lot.Ponyby Ginuwine… I almost laugh because it’s so cliché.
There’s a bouncer at the door, but he doesn’t even bat an eye in my direction. Apparently, they aren’t worried about minors around here. If I were guessing, I’d say minors give them some of their business.
“What can I get ya to drink, baby?” a redhead––that’s trying way too hard––asks me when I approach the bar.
She leans over just enough to shove her fake tits in my face.
“I’ll just take a Bud Light, thanks.”
She frowns, probably because I didn’t give her the attention she was so desperately seeking, and turns around to grab my beer.
I head to a table near the front. I’m hoping I can sit and observe, maybe eavesdrop on a couple of conversations.
“Oh shit, my favorite girl is up next.” The guy next to me is practically drooling all over himself. I didn’t realize people got this way over strippers.
I lean back in my chair and glance up to the stage.
Fuck me.
Whoever his favorite girl is, she’s fucking beautiful. I didn’t realize girls in this town could look like this.
She’s nothing but legs and blonde hair. Her lips are big. I immediately want to sink my teeth into them. Think Kylie Jenner lips, that’s what they remind me of.