Face the Music

Chapter 14

At two in the morning, I woke up wrapped around Ella's sleeping figure.

Her face was buried in my chest, and her arms were curled up in between our bodies. I was holding her tightly against me and had my cheek resting on her hair. Her right leg was draped over both of mine.

I felt her stir as I raised my head and glanced out the window. The sky outside was still dark, but I could see the beginning of dawn way out on the horizon. I looked down at Ella and loosened my grip on her body. Her eyelids fluttered open and she gasped, startled to see my face.

"It's okay, Ella," I said, quietly. "You're safe."

She quickly relaxed, remembering that I was a friend. I started to get up.

"What time is it?" She asked, stifling a yawn.

"Almost two."

"In the morning?"

I smirked. "Yes, Ella, in the morning."

"Where the hell are you going at two in the morning?" She asked, her eyelids still heavy with sleep.

"I have something to take care of," I said, "but I'll be back before you wake up. Sleep now." I didn't have to tell her twice. She was snoring before I'd even made it out the door.

I stepped onto the beach and breathed in the fresh air. I tried to focus my thoughts, but they were scattered and most of them revolved around Ella.

Get a grip, Aimes. I shook my head, a pointless attempt at rearranging my thoughts, and made my way up the beach.

As far as I remembered, there was only one bar in Sand City. There were about a hundred more in San Diego itself, but I didn't care about any of those. The kid I was looking for wouldn't drive to the city just to have a drink. I was willing to bet that he was a local bar kind of guy.

Once I saw the neon signs advertising for 'The Beachin' Bar,' I crossed the street and settled into the shadows of an alley just across from the bar entrance. Couples and groups of drunken spring breakers stumbled out onto the sidewalk. I glanced down at my watch. It said 2:14. Last call had been fourteen minutes ago, long enough for everyone to order one last drink and down it before calling it a night. I grinned. I was right on time.

I leaned against the wall of the alley and watched patiently as folks cleared out from the bar. By 2:32 I was worried that I'd missed him, or that he'd never been here at all. But I hadn't missed him. He wobbled his way out the door of The Beachin' Bar as the irritated bartender, the cute redhead, Tina, who'd warned me about dating Ella, pushed him out of the building.

"C'mon, baby," Joel was saying to her, reaching for her hand. "Let's go back to my place."

She scoffed. "Joel you're a drunken sleaze bucket. You wanna tell me why I'd bother with an ass-hat like you?"

I stifled a chuckle. Joel just stared at her, mouth open, as if he couldn't quite understand what she was saying. His arms were hanging by his sides, knuckles close to the ground - ape style.

"So....is that a yes?" He asked. She rolled her eyes.

"Get lost, Joel. Go sleep it off." Tina turned and walked back through the door to the bar to clean the place up before heading home.

Joel crossed the street, coming straight towards the alley where I was hidden. There was no one else in sight. Perfect.

He got to the sidewalk on my side of the street and turned left. Probably headed home, hoping to get there before he passed out or threw up. I stepped out of the shadows and fell into step just behind him.