Closing Time

28.

"You heard right." I replied, already rubbing my head with those few words. "What the fuck are you doing here, Lou?"

"I missed you."

I did too. But I'm not admitting it. "Yeah, sure you did. Can we move on to the part where you vanish again?"

"You're rather rude this morning." He glanced at the waitress, catching her eye and beckoning her over. "Let's catch up over breakfast. I'll pay."

"You owe me for the drink that day anyway." I paused, the rest of his words crossing through my mind. "Wait, catch up?"

"Yeah." He met my eyes again. "It's about the war. You're interested in hearing about it, right?"

I had to look away for a few moments, but I didn't have the willpower to ignore him. "Yes..." I gritted out.

A smug look crossed his face. "I knew it. But first, we'll order some food."

"You don't eat."

"I do enjoy eating." Lou cocked his head as the waitress walked over. "As a past time, but not necessarily as a necessity." He paused to snicker at his own wordplay. "Anyway, what would you like to eat?"

"Since this is on you..." I met the waitress's eyes with a pleasant smile. "The usual English breakfast, with a chocolate and berry smoothie, waffles and chicken, Spanish omelettes and extra buttered toast."

Lou raised an eyebrow as I leaned back in my seat. "You should have let me order for myself."

"I am." I maintained my pleasant smile. "That's all for me."

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you ordering extra because I'm paying, or are you actually this hungry?"

"Figure it out."

Lou looked me over once before turning to order. "The chicken and waffles sounds nice. I'll have that with buttered toast and a strawberry smoothie."

I waited for the waitress to leave before raising an eyebrow. "Strawberry?"

Lou shrugged. "I've been alive for several millennia, you have no right to judge my tastes."

"That's valid." I shrugged back. "So, why are you here?"

"I figured you might be missing me so I decided to show you my handsome mug to tide you over for a while more."

"It's nice to know you're alive but honestly..." I reached for the bottled water. "A text would have been fine."

"A text?" Lou turned away, sighing dramatically. "You expect me, a millennia old demon, one of the first if not the first, to use a primitive tool such as the 'smartphone'?"

"I've seen it in your jacket."

"Yeah. I have one. Barely use it." Lou smirked at my raised eyebrow. "What do you want me to say, Ryleigh? My day-to-day life is interesting enough."

"Such a boomer." Lou frowned at my dry comment. "Anyway, enough of this. What are you really here for?"

"Will... 'a nice chat and breakfast' count?"

"Maybe. But are you sure you can converse without me pouring you alcohol every five minutes?"

Lou's eyes glimmered with interest. "That's rather interesting coming from an alcoholic."

Irritation crossed through me. The table shook as I shifted to kick Lou's shin. "I was never an alcoholic."

Lou barely seemed to have felt that kick. "Keep telling yourself that."