Part 9 (2/2)

I turn back to him. ”May I be frank?” He nods, lifting his beer to his mouth. I mutter, ”It's f.u.c.king awesome.”

He chokes on his beer and I laugh. He bangs on his chest with a closed fist and wheezes out, ”Potty mouth.” Then shoots me a thumbs up. ”Nice.”

Still laughing, I cringe at myself. Who the heck did I think I was having drinks with? ”I'm sorry. I'm not exactly making the best first impression. Especially since I'm supposed to be making a good impression. I just...I guess you just make me feel like I can talk freely with you, you know?” I look down at the table. My cheeks heat as I mumble, ”I already feel very comfortable with you.”

A warm hand covers mine. I peek up at him. He confides, ”The feeling's mutual. And as far as I'm concerned, as long as we're off the clock, you can cuss like a d.a.m.n sailor and pour rum down your throat. It's all good.”

Eyes full of awe, I confess, ”I think I just fell in love with you a little.”

He suavely leans back in the booth and shoots me with a finger gun. ”It happens.”

I couldn't get the d.a.m.n smile off of my face if I wanted to. Not that I want to.

I think working with James Whittaker will be a treat.

Max The sound of vibrating wakes me. I squint over at the clock. 1:14 am. What the f.u.c.k? I open the message sent from Nik.

Nik: Not that you care or anything.

Attached is a photo. The hairs stand up on the back of my neck. Well, she don't waste any time, does she? Helena, looking something like an angel, leans over a booth, laughing. Her hand rests on the man's forearm. He's smiling down at her, looking at her like she's the most beautiful girl in the world.

Wait. Is that...?

My gut knots in what I refuse to believe is jealousy. That's Whit, Ceecee's PT, and she's looking up at him like he's a G.o.d. My chest aches. I quickly type a response.

Me: Glad she's having fun.

I switch off my phone and try to get back to sleep. But sleep doesn't come. Instead, I wonder what it'll take to get the green-eyed hothead to smile at me like that.

Helena It's close to two am, and now that James has left, I'm moving back over to the booth with everyone else. As soon as I get into hearing distance, my sister calls out, ”So how big is his c.o.c.k?”

I shoot her daggers. ”Shut your wh.o.r.e mouth. He was a gentleman.”

She smirks. ”So you tried and he plead innocence?”

Nik cuts in with a curious, ”You tryin' to bake cookies with Whit?”

I wave a hand in his direction to shut him up, and get back to bickering with my sister. ”No, dumba.s.s. He's my boss. I wouldn't do anything with my boss. That's just stupid. He's my boss.” Her eyes narrow at me in a bulls.h.i.+t gesture. I point a finger at her. ”Thinking about it is not the same as doing it!”

She chuckles. ”You're f.u.c.ked. You got a crush on your boss. And the way he was looking at you all night...” She fans herself. ”Holy s.h.i.+t. This is not going to end well. I can see it already.”

I bunch my nose. ”Looking at me like what? He was uber-friendly.”

Ash chokes on a laugh. ”Uh, no. No. That wasn't friendly.” He wraps an arm around Nat. ”That's how I look at your sister. And trust me,” his brow tilts upward, ”I don't want to be her friend.”

This can't be. I have a great read on people. How could I have missed this? I only picked up friends.h.i.+p vibes. There were definitely no wanna-play-hide-the-bratwurst vibes thrown in there. My face must convey my confusion, because suddenly I'm being hara.s.sed in the form of twenty questions.

Trick starts. ”Did he flirt with you?” I begin to shake my head, then memories of the beginning of our conversation come flooding back. I nod. He jerks his chin at me in response.

Nik asks, ”Did he make excuses to touch you?” Wide-eyed, my head jerks up and down. Nik sighs. ”Yep. That ain't friendly.”

Mimi sighs too, saying, ”I think your boss has a thing for you, Sugar.”

I shake my head. ”No, he said he doesn't date employees.”

Everything screeches to a halt. Lola tilts her head to the side. ”He had to make that clear? Like he was thinking about it?”

”No, no. We might've play-flirted when we first met. And it may have gotten a little serious.”

My sister wraps a hand around me and hisses in a breath. ”Oh b.i.t.c.h, please. You know he's gone home and played Slickin' Willie to the memory of your thong through that flimsy white drape you call a dress.”

I stiffen, then squeak, ”You can see my thong?”

Everyone at the table nods. Oh, will you just f.u.c.k my life already and be done with it! My mouth rounds in shock. I can't believe this s.h.i.+t. Why does everyone always wait until afterwards to tell you these kinds of things? It doesn't matter though. I decide to clarify why James and I would never be a possibility. With a gentle shake of my head, I explain, ”Well, nothing's going to happen, so you all can just take a chill pill. I don't date.”

At the very same time, Nik asks, ”Why?” while Asher utters, ”Good.” Both sets of eyes snap to each other. They have a silent conversation. Ash's eyes narrow dangerously. He shakes his head discreetly. Nik's brow rises. He nods his head even more discreetly, eyes firm on Ash. Not discreet enough. Ash stares down his best friend. Nik's lip twitches.

After a moment, Ash sinks into the booth, a look of annoyance plastered on his face. He mutters, ”You've got to be kidding me with this s.h.i.+t.” Nik just grins, and it almost looks victorious, his dimple making an appearance. Everyone at the booth seems to be smiling. All except Ash.

I can't handle it! It's like I'm not the only one not in on the joke. I like jokes! I want in! ”What?” I ask, a small smile playing at my lips.

Nik just smiles harder. ”Nothing, sweetheart. We're just glad you're here.”

A warm smile spreads across my face. I reach over to pat his hand. ”I'm glad to be here. You guys make it too easy to fit in. It's like I'm part of your little family.”

Nik mutters, ”I have a feeling if you weren't now, somehow, you always would've been.”

I don't even pretend to mask my confusion, but Tina just giggles. ”Don't even try to decipher the Mister Miyagi remarks he makes. You'll waste hours of your life.”

Nat nudges my shoulder. ”C'mon, kid. Let's get you home.”

A yawn escapes me just as I state, ”But I'm not even tired.”

She shuffles out of the booth and pulls me along with her, wrapping an arm around my waist as I stand. Pouting her lips, she coos, ”Oh, come on, sweepy baby. I know yo' a sweepy widdle baby. You can't wait to get to sweep, can you?”

I hate her for making me actually feel like a sweepy widdle baby. And I do like sweep. I yawn a second time, leaning my head on her shoulder ”Okay. Let's go.”

Trick calls out, ”You're coming back to the club, right?”

I lift my head and jerk my chin towards him. ”Bet your a.s.s I will.”

After saying our goodbyes, Nat leads me to her car. I get in and lean my forehead on the window. The last thing I think about before I fall asleep is a laughing dimple.

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