His Salvation [Eddie Munson]

Chapter Sixteen

James clears his throat. "James."

Eddie slides of out the booth and gives James a confused look. "What?"

"It's James. My name is James." He leans back in the booth and holds Eddie's stare.

Eddie points his finger in the air as if he just realized this. "Ah, that's right. James. Nice to meet you, Buddy." He smiles.

Eddie extends his hand out to me. I look at him and then over at James. I feel bad for leaving because James offered to drive me home and then paid for my dinner. I know I don't owe him anything, but I do feel bad. This is incredibly awkward.

"Come on, sweetheart. Let's get out of here." Eddie flicks his wrist waiting on me. I grab his hand and he gently pulls me out of the booth. I stand up and put my bag over my shoulder.

I glance down at James and smile. "Thank you for the ride and dinner. I really appreciate it."

"No problem. See you later." He smiles at me, but it doesn't meet his eyes.

Eddie puts his arm around my shoulder as we walk out of the restaurant. Gareth and Jeff laugh as we walk outside.

"What was that?" Jeff asks Eddie.

Eddie laughs and pulls me closer. "I finally met Madi's work buddy."

I shoot him a look. He's never acted like this before. What's his problem? Does he actually think James and I have something going on?

"He's not my work buddy. We have barely worked together before tonight." I mutter.

"I wish my work buddies took me to dinner," Gareth says with a French fry in his mouth.

"It was just food." I groan.

They all laugh and I'm instantly annoyed. I cross my arms and Eddie looks down at me as we reach the van. "That wasn't just food for him." His breath smells like alcohol.

"What does that mean?" I pull back to face him. I hear Gareth and Jeff mutter something to each other and walk around to the other side of the van leaving us alone.

"Nothing Madi. Just get in the car." He pulls a joint out of his pocket and grabs his lighter. I snatch it from his hands. He's looking at me with a confused expression.

"Give me your keys." I hold out my hand. 

"Come on." He groans. I hear the van doors close from Gareth and Jeff getting inside.

"I don't think you should be driving." I stare at him and keep my hand stretched out.

He just looks at me for a moment and lets out a heavy sigh. He pulls his keys from his pocket and placed them in my hand. He takes the joint from my other hand and walks past me to the passenger side.

I let out a breath that I didn't realize I was holding. I run my hand through my hair and as I'm turning to grab the van door I notice James looking at me through the window of the restaurant. He's still sitting in the booth. I can tell he's just watched Eddie and me. I look away and get into the driver's seat of the van.

Gareth and Jeff are arguing about which Black Sabbath song is better as I turn onto Main Street.

"Where do I need to drop you guys off?" I ask them. They don't hear me over the stereo and their argument. I glance over at Eddie in the passenger seat. He's watching me as he takes a hit of his lit joint.

"They are going to sleep on my couch, don't worry about taking them home." Eddie rolls down his window and exhales. Well, this should be fun. No one can drive me home, so now I'll have to stay at Eddie's trailer.