That Blue Gibson

CH 39

"Come here often?" Dave teased as Liz tossed a menu onto the patio table they had claimed.

"Less so now that I own it, actually," she laughed, flopping into the chair next to him and turning her face towards the bright sunlight, "It's not Gloria's, but it'll have to do."

"What made you buy this place anyway?" Dave watched her over the top of his menu.

"The old owners are good friends of my parents and wanted to retire. They were going to close it down and I kinda grew up here so...," she trailed off and looked up at the old stone and shingle sided building. "The only thing I do differently is offer health insurance."

"And all the free beer she can make," Dan appeared at their table with two glasses of an Amber, leaning against Liz's chair after setting them down.

"That was kind of a given," Dave laughed as Liz took a long drink of beer.

"What? It's after eleven thirty," she shrugged and took another sip, "Beer was a breakfast drink when our country was in its infancy."

"Yeah, back when water could kill you," Dan shot back.

He headed back inside after taking their lunch order leaving Liz and Dave to sit in the sun watching the cars that passed by the bar. A few people strolling by waved to Liz, some called her Liz and the others Nicole.

"Doesn't that confuse the hell out of you?" Dave asked as an elderly couple in a beat up K5 Blazer yelled out to her.

"Not really, I've kind of always gone by both. Pops and Grandma called me Liz and Elizabeth, everyone else called me Nicole." She sat back in her chair and smiled. "But it's nice to have one identity in the industry and another one up here. They tell me I'm losing millions by not relocating to LA, though."

Dave nodded a bit. He had been up here for two days and hadn't seen one photographer or been asked to sign something. He didn't mind interacting with fans, but the autograph hounds were unbearable. Dan arrived at the table with their food, followed by a large dog that promptly climbed onto Liz's lap.

"Goddamnit, Radar," she laughed, steadying her chair and picking a fry off her plate for him.

"He's all yours," Dan called over his shoulder, disappearing into the bar.

Dave and Radar eyed each other carefully for a moment before the mutt snuggled his head into Liz's neck.

"And now I have competition," Dave muttered, narrowing his eyes at the dog.

"He's kinda my baby, Dave," Liz laughed, resting her cheek on Radar's furry head. "We found him on the side of the highway in the dead of winter. He was so tiny that the vet said he wouldn't make it through the night, but here he is!" she kissed the side of his snout when he tried to lick her face, "I think he's Shepherd and Pyrenees, but Dan says he's a Tibetan Mastiff."

"How long have you known Dan?" Dave asked as Liz gently shooed Radar off her lap and brushed the dog hair off her hoodie.

"Since we were twelve," she said simply, watching Dave carefully. "We haven't...," she added. Every man she'd ever been with had been threatened by Dan.

Dave held his hands up in defense, "I didn't ask!" he said with a smile, glancing down at Radar who had decided he was worthy enough to curl up at his feet.

Liz shrugged and shook her head, relieved that he didn't press the issue. They finished their food and resumed people watching, talking about places they had been and wanted to go someday. Dave was shocked that Liz had never been to Hawaii and she promised to drag him along to Glacier someday. She linked her little finger with his when he rested his hand on her chair, nudging him with her elbow when she caught his slow smile. They sat quietly for awhile as the town filled with day trippers from the city when Radar suddenly jumped up, startling both Liz and Dave.

"Liz," Dan hissed from the door, jerking his head towards the street when she looked back at him.

Dave watched Liz's face change from confusion to shock and then to complete annoyance.

"Oh for fuck's sake," she whispered, shoving her aviators onto her face, pulling her hood low over her hair and slouching down in her chair.

A familiar clicking sound caused Dave looked over at a man making his way down the wide sidewalk. He was tall with sandy blonde hair and leaning on a pair of crutches, one leg bent behind him in a grey aircast. He was wearing a black hoodie, Ray bans and tan shorts, tattoos peeking out from his sleeves, cast and covering his right leg. He awkwardly turned to enter the bar but stopped next to their table just as Dave reached around to rest his arm on the back of Liz's chair and began lightly tracing circles on her shoulder.

"Nicole?" the man sounded like he wanted to be surprised, but his voice sounded forced.

Liz hesitated a moment, pretending she hadn't heard him before letting out a long breath, "Kyle," she said, finally looking over at him.

Dave congratulated himself on keeping his mirrored sunglasses on so he could size Kyle up without being noticed and thought he was thinner, almost gaunt compared to the picture he had seen the night before. His eyes stopped on a large pinup style vignette on the side of Kyle's right calf showcasing a topless, auburn haired woman leaning against a WWII style bomber. Dave narrowed his eyes at the tattoo, noticing it was rather new before glancing over at Liz.

"You look... better," she offered, her voice almost sincere.

"Yeah, I'm finally back on my feet. Or... foot," Kyle chuckled, "You look amazing, doll," he sounded almost in awe of her like she had just appeared out of thin air.

Dave snorted a little at that, she looked like the fucking Unibomber at the moment.

Liz ignored Kyle's compliment and turned to Dave, "Dave, this is Kyle. Kyle, Dave."

Kyle's eyes slid from Dave's hand on Liz's shoulder to Dave's face and they silently nodded as words weren't necessary.

"We were just..." Liz paused as Travis came into view, running at full speed down the sidewalk towards them, "We were just headed out, so..."

Travis finally caught up with them, startling Kyle out of his focus on Liz. His face was red and he was out of breath from his sprint, but he looked at Dave in surprise before nodding to him.

"Hey, man," Dave nodded back and felt Liz's shoulder leave his hand.

"Okay, well..." she stiffly stood up and turned to Dave, who followed her lead.

He casually threw his arm back around her shoulders and forced a grin at Kyle. "Have a good day, guys," he said cheerfully before leading Liz to the other side of the Jeep, out of view of Kyle and Travis.

Liz struggled with the door handle, gritting her teeth and swearing under her breath before Dave gently opened the door and helped her onto the seat. He rested his hand on her side for a moment, surprised when he realized she was trembling.

"Keys, Liz," he whispered trying to remain calm.

She jumped at his words and dug them out of her hoodie pocket, pressing them into his free hand. He quietly closed her door and rounded the front of the jeep, a little surprised that Kyle and Travis hadn't moved from their spot on the sidewalk. He nodded again with a bright smile before hopping into the Jeep next to Liz and pulling away from the curb.