I instantly shiver when we go outside, the cold taking my breath away. I curse at myself internally for not wearing a scarf. The wind blows and stings my face.
"Fuck," I groan, feeling like I'm in the lowest level of hell.
"You get used to it," Shoresy says, staring at me with an amused look on his face, looking just fine.
"How are you okay in just a sweatshirt," I ask, completely dumbfounded.
"Like I said, you get used to it. We're not far. It's right up here." He points to the 7 Star Dumpling House a block away. I bite my cheek to power through. Shoresy opens the door for me and I hurry in.
"Thank fucking god," I say as I feel the warmth of the restaurant. Shoresy laughs at me, but I don't care; I'm just happy to be inside. I follow him to a booth in the corner and take my gloves and coat off before sliding in.
"Tattoos," he asks, pointing to my exposed shoulder.
"Oh, yeah. I'm covered in them." I roll up my sleeves to show him.
"They mean anything?"
"Some do. Some I got just because I thought they were pretty." I pull my sleeves back down. He nods in approval.
"I wanna know about you," he tells me, changing the subject.
"What do you wanna know?"
"What part of Massachusetts are you from?"
"Revere. It's right on the coast near Salem."
"The witch town?" I nod at him. "Why'd ya leave?"
"Long story," I reply, sighing at the thought of the events that lead me to Sudbury.
"I got time," he says. I look at him for a moment, trying to get a read again, seeing if he meant well. His face was relaxed and he seemed truly interested.
"I left because of a man," I sigh. "I was engaged and found out he was with me for not the right reasons."
"What reasons," he asks. I'm about to say something when the waitress comes over to us to get out drink order. Shoresy orders a beer and I ask for a whiskey cola. When she leaves, I start talking again.
"I heard him talking to his friends one night when he was drunk, saying that he couldn't wait to marry me and then divorce so he could get half of my inheritance. I packed up all of his shit the next day and changed the locks. Pissed him right off."
"He sounds like a cunt," Shoresy says.
"He is. He was furious when I broke things off. He..." I trail off, thinking about how to word what happened. He looks at me curiously. "He attacked me," I say bluntly.
"The fuck," Shoresy says, eyes widening, a flash of anger on his face.
"Obviously I'm okay, but I had to leave after that." The waitress brings our drinks to us and I take a long sip of mine.
"So you came to Sudbury," he says before taking a drink of his beer. I nod. "Why here?"
"It's a dumb reason," I say, blushing, "but I read about the blueberry festival when I was drunk one night and applied for the apartment. I woke up the next afternoon and saw that I'd been approved, so I decided to just go for it. I wanted to leave anyway, so it worked out."
"The fucking blueberry festival? Are you fucking 100, bud," he smirks.
"Fuck you," I laugh. "I like blueberries," I shrug. I take another drink of my whiskey. The waitress comes back over and asks what we want. "Shit, I haven't even looked at a menu. What do you like here," I ask Shoresy. He answers with his favorite order. "I'll try that." I say decisively. He gets the same.
