by J. Daniels
God…
I was feeling his sweet all the way down to my toes.
“I’ve never been good at picking up on clues,” I explained quickly, figuring he should know the reason behind my foolishness.
He smiled.
“And how would you like me to spell this out for you?”
“I think we need to lock down a title.”
“Lock down a title?” he questioned.
“Yes. Like, what is this exactly? I know what you are to me. And if I’m being honest with myself I think I’ve known for a while, but I’m not sure what I am to you, which makes it incredibly difficult to answer questions about who you are because I can’t be telling close friends of mine that you’re my boyfriend if I’m not your girlfriend. The two go hand-in-hand. So I think before I introduce myself, run through the daily specials, and get you your coffee, we need to go ahead and lock something down.”
Brian smiled bigger. Then he quickly reached out and grabbed my arm, which was bracing me on the table, and pulled gently, twisting me until I fell into his lap with a squeak and my feet kicking out.
He ran his nose along my cheek as his arms wrapped tight around me.
Trouble had the best arms. Biggest and safest I’d ever felt.
“You wanna lock something down, Wild?” he asked playfully, the tone of his voice and the feel of his breath breaking goose bumps on my skin.
I dropped my head closer and nodded. Nerves pricked in my throat.
It was strange. I suddenly felt incredibly anxious and considered sliding off Brian’s lap and curling into a ball underneath the table. I wanted to hide.
Even in the safety of his arms I felt vulnerable.
What if he didn’t want to give me a title?
Or worse, what if he thought all this time I didn’t need one? That I was easy and didn’t see this as anything title-worthy?
This was why people should have formal discussions before they fuck like wild animals on the beach and then slip into a sex-induced coma where bacon is cooked perfectly. Eliminate all confusion while you’re still of sound mind and there’s no distraction of hard bodies.
Brian moved his lips to my ear.
My hands tensed in my lap. I closed my eyes.
Please tell me I’m your girlfriend. It’s all I want.
“Never been this way for me,” he said in a low, gentle voice. “Had a lot of girls growing up. Some serious. Some I just had because they wanted to be something and I liked them enough they stuck around for a little while, but I never called one of them my girl, serious or not. Girlfriend? Yeah. But never my girl, and I’ve been calling you that since the beginning, Syd. Since before I probably should’ve. That puts you somewhere no one else has ever been. On top of that, done some things with you I’ve already explained were a first for me, so that should tell you how serious this is. You wanna lock something down? Say we’re seeing each other or dating or whatever? You don’t need to ask me, babe, ’cause I’m locked down. Whatever you wanna call us, I’m good with. Just know I’ll be saying you’re my girl ’cause that’s what you are. That’s yours.”
He pulled back, allowing me to turn my head and look at him through tear-soaked eyes.
I was no longer wanting to be his girlfriend. This was so much better.
“That spell it out for you?” he asked.
I didn’t get to do the Baby thing because I was already in his lap and the table wouldn’t allow for any launching, but I did throw my arms around Brian in an equally dramatic way, a sob catching in my throat and my chest quaking with broken breaths as I buried my face in his neck and hugged him with every ounce of strength I had.
“I love being your girl. I think it’s my favorite thing in the entire world,” I said, feeling his arms tighten around me. “And you’re my boy.”
“Your man,” he corrected.
I shook my head against his.
“Man doesn’t go with girl. If you’re my man, then I’m your woman.”
“I’m not changing what I’ve been calling you for weeks, Wild. You’re my girl.”
“Then you’re my boy.”
He leaned back, pushed the chunk of hair out of my face that had fallen out of my pretty jeweled clip and was now damp with tears, tucked it behind my ear, and held me there, fingers curling around the back of my head and neck.
Brian stared at me, looking ready to argue.
I stared back, feeling a million different things, but the predominant feeling was love and it was blooming so quick inside me, I was certain the word was going to start sprouting from underneath my skin.
I cleared my throat, prompting him to speak.
“Just told you some things that meant a lot to me so I don’t feel like fighting you on this and ruining the mood,” he started. “That being said, you call me your boy and I don’t answer to that, you know why. It’s not ’cause you don’t got a hold on me, Wild, so don’t go thinking that.”
I blinked away more tears.
“Okay,” I said.
“You wanna call me your man? I will always answer to that.”
I closed my eyes, loving the idea of Brian being my man, smiled, and probably did it looking all doped up on something but I didn’t care, then I looked at him with that same smile and said, “I’ll answer to anything you wanna call me. Just don’t call me late for dinner.”
Brian stared at me, face serious through several blinks, then breaking into his own slow smile and laughing quietly through a shake of his head.
“Jesus. How long you been wanting to use that, babe?” he asked, arms squeezing me. “Honest.”
“Forever,” I confessed, laughing a little. “But I swear, no one ever set me up for it. It’s torture having a joke cued up and never being able to use it.”
“It’s a really bad joke.”
My eyes narrowed.
“It is not,” I argued. “It’s hilarious. You totally laughed.”
“I was laughing at you for using it, nut.”
“Don’t call me nut. I’m your girl.” I tilted my head. “Or Wild or babe.”
“Nut,” he added.
Eyes narrowing again, I leaned in close to whisper, “You might not know this, but over the past month I’ve thought a lot about sucking you off, Brian.”
His brows lifted in interest.
Knowing I had his attention, I continued on just as quietly.
“And I’d love to make that a reality, maybe even later on tonight, but you should know, I can go from wanting to suck you off to not wanting to suck you off in a second if you keep calling me nut. There are women out there who aren’t into that, the sucking-off part, and I don’t think you want me to become one of those women.”
I was feeling powerful in my speech. My chest was even puffed out a little.
Too bad I forgot how badly I wanted to suck Brian off, that being something else I’d dreamed about frequently, and the urge to see it through being something Brian was apparently well aware of, giving the triumphant little gleam flickering in his eyes as he stared back.
It was possible he was a mind reader and was watching me work out this predicament in my head.
It was also quite possible I’d spilled the beans on this dream of mine one night when we’d been getting each other off over the phone and I was so far gone, I’d shared my deepest darkest desires with him.
Brian smiled, licked his full, soft lips, then uttered, “Only way you’re keeping that sweet mouth off my dick is if I keep you off it, babe. We both know you’re hard up for it.”
My shoulders slumped in defeat.
Damn. He knew.
“But I’ll drop the nut,” he continued. “Doesn’t have the same ring to it as the other shit I call you.”
My chest puffed out a little again.
“Thank you,” I said. “I appreciate your sensitivity on this matter.”
He smiled bigger.
“Anytime.”
A door shutting at my back had me craning my neck to se
e behind me.
Tori was coming from the direction of Nate’s office with Nate on her tail, her eyes finding me and filling with approval once she took in whose lap I was sitting on.
She headed in our direction, smiling at Shay, who was avoiding the kitchen window and hanging out at the bar instead, filling salt and pepper shakers by the looks of it.
Nate was headed for the coffeemaker behind the bar, it appeared. He wasn’t looking my way yet.
Probably not best for your boss to see you canoodling with patrons the way Brian and I were canoodling. His hand was currently squeezing my ass and his other was settled between my legs, holding firm to the inside of my thigh.
I really didn’t want to move.
I also really liked having a job, and I needed this one considering the awful luck I was having finding an x-ray position locally.
Before I could be spotted and possibly fired, I slid off Brian’s lap and stood, spun around to face the booth, smoothed out the tiny apron I was wearing, then pulled out my ticket book and clicked open my pen.
“Good afternoon, sir. My name is Sydney and I’ll be your waitress today. Our specials are lobster linguini and the smokehouse burger. They are both super yummy. I eat them all the time.”
I smiled pleasantly and professionally at Brian, who was leaning back casually in the booth with one hand resting on the table.
He grinned beautifully.
I fought off the urge to molest him with my lips and fingers.
“Afternoon, kids,” Tori greeted, stepping up beside me.
She smiled at Brian and wrapped her arm around my waist.
“Potential, you had my best girl floating on cloud nine this morning. I kinda love you for that.”
I love you, too, I thought, so loudly I swore the words broke out through my ears and floated around me in little hope-filled bubbles where he could read them.
Brian looked to me and kept his eyes on my face. It appeared the words hadn’t slipped free.
I breathed a little easier and continued loving him quietly.
Tori gave me a squeeze. I turned to look at her.
“Schedule is up. Nate has you off on Tuesday, then on Sunday. He said depending on Kali, he might not need you on Saturday but to be prepared. She might not have a sitter that day.”
“Okay,” I replied, smiling.
That meant I could possibly have two days off in a row but I wouldn’t count on that. Normally if Kali wasn’t sure about a sitter, it meant she wouldn’t have one.
“You working with me any of those days?” I asked, sounding hopeful.
Tori nodded.
“All but Thursday. I’m on Tuesday.”
“Cool,” I replied.
Tori smiled, opened her mouth, and began echoing back a “cool,” but lost it when her eyes lifted and focused in on something behind me, then narrowed to tiny slits of fury at the same time as her mouth snapped shut and her lips curled in distaste.
Her “cool” came out sounding more like “crud.”
I turned my head and saw Jamie standing behind me.
Crud indeed.
His hair was damp and salt-water messy, and he was wearing tinted aviators.
Indoors.
Idiot.
I was still mad at him for screwing up his chances with Tori, especially after finding out exactly what happened this morning.
She walked in on him engaged in a threesome.
I almost threw up in my mouth hearing that. And even though I wanted to root for the best friend of my boy, I was having a hard time seeing any good side of Jamie to root for now that I knew he passed up an opportunity with my best friend to have a foursome.
Anyone who passed up spending any time with Tori was an idiot in my book. She was the best.
Jamie removed his sunglasses and tucked them in the front of his light gray tee, which I supposed was acceptable timing to remove sunglasses after entering a building, but I wasn’t admitting that, considering what I now knew, and went ahead thinking he was stupid for wearing them inside.
“Sunshine,” he greeted me, barely looking at me before he found Tori at my back. His hand lifted in question. “What the hell, Legs? You turn invisible or something last night? I looked all over for you.”
I turned to look at Tori.
She still had her eyes narrowed, but now had her hands on her hips and was leaning her weight on her right foot, looking sassy.
“Well, I’m not sure why you thought I’d be up some girl’s snatch, since that seemed to be the only place you were lookin’,” she tipped forward and hissed quietly, respectful of patrons but still delivering her cut with venom.
“Say again?” Jamie asked at my back.
“You heard me,” Tori replied with boredom.
“Yeah, I heard you, babe, but what I’m asking is for you to repeat it.” He stepped closer, forcing me to step back so I wouldn’t be squished between the two of them. “You come lookin’ for me?” he pressed.
I swore I heard hope in his voice.
Tori tilted her head back and held his eyes. Her shoulders lowered and the fingers at her hips eased their tension.
She was losing her fire. I could see it, but she wouldn’t let that on.
“I’d never come looking for you,” she whispered, then rolled up on her toes to add, “Not. Ever.”
“Right,” Jamie muttered. “You came lookin’ for me. That’s what this is about.”
“Nope. Sorry.”
“You did.”
“Didn’t.”
“Then how come you know I was buried in pussy?”
“Lucky guess,” Tori snapped. “It was between that or your own ass. I had a fifty-fifty shot.”
Jamie smiled and crossed his arms over his chest.
“That’s cute, Legs. Real cute, and I gotta be honest. I’m digging you being jealous.”
Tori scoffed.
“I am not jealous.”
“You are.”
“Am not.”
“Are.”
“God, are you that conceited? Seriously? Not everyone wants you, Jamie.”
He bent down, getting closer and forcing Tori to rock back onto her heels.
“You do,” he said, his voice dipping lower. “You’re hard up, babe. As bad as me. Admit it. How long’d you stand there watching last night, wishing you were one of them?”
Tori’s eyes rounded to the size of dinner plates.
I peered around Jamie to look at Brian, indicating with my head and knowing eyes for him to step in and break up this back and forth before it got any worse.
Brian shrugged casually.
“Told you before, Wild. Unless it’s getting pushed on me, I stay out of it,” he reminded me.
I glared at him to show my disapproval.
I could tell by the smile tugging at his mouth that Brian thought my glare was cute and not at all threatening.
That made me glare harder.
“Anyone working today?” Nate asked at my back with a tone that screamed unemployment for all of us.
I lost the glare, quickly spun around, and waved my ticket book in front of me.
“I am!” I said enthusiastically, grinning at his hardened face.
Nate was a good-looking guy even when he looked angry. It was the dark hair, dark eyes, dress shirt rolled at his forearms, and Clark Kent glasses.
Nerds were right behind hot boys who used to surf, in my book.
“I was just getting ready to take down orders,” I further explained when Nate looked unconvinced.
He kept his face hard as he cut his eyes to Tori, his coffee steaming in his hands.
She was already moving away and toward a table on the other side of the room, greeting a four-top with that small town girl charm she radiated and everyone fell in love with. The two couples ate it up, and if they’d been waiting long, they forgot all about that wait the second Tori started talking.
I looked back at Nate and saw his approval. His face was marginally le
ss angry, and he turned that face on Jamie and relaxed it further to ask, “You being helped?”
Jamie nodded, choosing not to get Tori into trouble, which I could’ve seen as sweet but I chose not to because I was still holding on to the knowledge Tori shared last night, then he moved in front of me and took the seat across from Brian.
Nate stepped away and took his coffee to his office. The door shut loudly behind him.
“Dude is hurting,” Brian observed, pulling my eyes to his. He jerked his chin. “You can see it. That wasn’t just about you girls standing around and not getting to work.”
I thought it was sweet he noticed Nate’s pain, thinking most guys wouldn’t pick up on something like that and would only see a boss getting on his employees, and I chose to show my feelings about Brian being in tune to that by leaning over the table and kissing him quickly.
It was soft and sweet and tasted like spearmint gum.
I loved spearmint gum.
Then I pulled back, readied my ticket book, and looked between Brian and Jamie, asking, “Do ya’ll need time or are you ready to order?”
Brian chuckled.
Jamie slid the menu that was already set out on the table closer to me, keeping it closed.
“Not sure I should bother,” he said. “You seem to get some crazy idea of your own every time I come in here and bring me whatever you’re feelin’.”
“Well, you could always eat somewhere else if you’re unhappy with the service,” I suggested, forcing my lips into a smile that was one hundred percent fake.
The smile Jamie hit me with in return was one hundred percent genuine—heart-melting dimples and all.
“Nah. I like the view here,” he told me, winking. “Just bring me a Coke with grenadine if you feel like it.”
I looked at Brian.
His smile warmed my belly and melted other parts of me, not just my heart.
“Southern stuffed shrimp, Wild. And that coffee.”
“Got it.”
I scribbled down his order and my choice of the day for Jamie—a bucket of clams—swiped the menu off the table, and deposited it back at the hostess booth, then ripped the ticket off and carried it to the kitchen window.
“Is there a way to do the Loser Special on the bucket of clams, Stitch?” I asked, sliding the ticket across the cold steel. “Or is it a waste of time to drop clams on the floor?”