Nick sat at the far end of the bar counter while Ash straddled a stool and kept his back to the wall so that he could watch the diners and the door.
A burly, older bartender came over to them. "What can I get the two of you?" he asked in a deep, hoarse voice.
"Give me a Bud Light," Nick said.
The bartender nodded, then turned to Ash. "What about you?"
"Same."
The bartender narrowed his eyes and gave Ash a thorough once-over. Nick clenched his teeth to keep from smiling. He knew what was coming before the bartender spoke. "You got any ID on you, kid?" he asked Ash.
Nick laughed.
Ash kicked Nick's stool as he fished his mock ID out of his back pocket and handed it to the bartender who studied it very carefully.
"No offense," the bartender said at last, "but with those sunglasses on I can't tell if this is you or not. If you want a beer, kid, you'll have to take them off."
His jaw muscle ticcing, Ash removed his sunglasses.
The bartender cleared his throat as soon as he caught sight of the eerie silver color. "Man, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were blind. Here's your ID."
Nick laughed even harder as the bartender took Ash's hand into his and put the state-issued ID card into it. Ash was the only Dark-Hunter who ever got carded.
As the bartender walked off, Nick couldn't resist teasing Ash. "So, does this make you visibly challenged?"
"No," Ash said, putting his ID back into his pocket, "but if you don't lay off me, I'm going to make you breathing impaired."
Nick sobered. Slowly. "Sorry, it's just funny as hell to me. I love that ID Jamie made for you. Born 1980. Yeah, right. What year were you really born, anyway?"
Ash rubbed his forehead. "9548 B.C."
"Whoa," Nick breathed, impressed by the date. He'd known Ash was old, but this was the first time he'd been told the exact year. "You really are older than dirt."
The bartender returned with their beers. "Are you eating anything?" the bartender asked.
Nick ordered red beans and rice, then returned to their conversation as the bartender ambled off again. "How old does that make you?"
Ash took a drink of beer before answering. "Eleven thousand five hundred and fifty-one years old, and yes, I feel every day of it."
"Wow, I had no idea. Hell, I didn't even know we had people back then."
"Yeah, I was part of the original Bedrock crew who worked in the quarry on the back of dinosaurs and ran with the Flintstones. Barney Rubble was short, but he played a good game of stone-knuckle."
Nick snorted, then laughed. He really did like Ash even though the guy was extremely strange. "So, why am I here?"
"I wanted to talk to you in a place where I knew Kyrian couldn't overhear us."
"Okay, why?"
Before Ash could answer, a tall brunette knockout with long, shapely legs and wearing a very short black skirt walked up to the bar beside them. She glanced at Nick disinterestedly, then she placed an elegant, manicured hand against Ash's chest, stood on her tiptoes and whispered in Ash's ear.
He gave her a kind smile. "I appreciate it, love, but I'm involved with someone."
The brunette pouted and handed Ash a business card. "You change your mind, let me know. I promise, I don't bite."
"Yeah, but I do," Ash said under his breath as she walked off.
Nick wasn't sure he'd heard that so he chose to ignore Ash's hushed comment as the bartender brought his food.