by Ramona Gray
“You’re right,” I said. “I’m going to find him a girlfriend.”
“Find who a girlfriend?”
I glanced up and smiled at the handsome dark-haired man who had stopped at our table. “Hey, Knox.”
“Hey, Mia.” He bent and kissed my cheek before grinning at Isabelle and giving her a slow kiss on the mouth. “Hey, sexy.”
“Hey, yourself. You on a break from work?”
Knox nodded. “It’s my last job of the season, but I probably should have put it off until spring. It’s starting to be a little too cold. If it freezes overnight, I’m hooped.”
Isabelle gave him a sympathetic look. “Sorry, babe. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that it’s -”
She was interrupted by the small redhead who was falling face-first into our table. Before she could smash her face into the hard surface, Knox’s arm shot out and hooked around her waist. She stopped inches from our table and hot coffees, her face as red as her hair.
Knox hauled her back into a standing position and grinned at her. “Hey, Luna.”
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” Luna said. “I tripped over,” she glanced behind her at the smooth floor, “something.”
“It’s fine,” Knox said.
“Thank you so much, Knox,” Luna said. “You’re as fast as Ash when it comes to saving me from faceplants.”
Knox laughed and wiggled his eyebrows at her. “I’ve got lightning quick reflexes.”
“You okay, Luna?” Isabelle asked. “Did you hurt yourself?”
“Nope, I’m good. Thanks to your man.” Luna grinned at her. “Are you and Knox coming to Ren’s tonight?”
“We are,” Isabelle said. “I won’t be singing, but I’m looking forward to hearing you sing. Oh, and Mia and Elijah will be there too.”
“We will?” I said.
Isabelle nodded. “Yes. Operation ‘find Elijah a girlfriend’ starts tonight.”
“Elijah Thomson?” Knox said. “The giant, sullen firefighter?”
“He’s not sullen.” I gave Knox an indignant look. “He’s a sweetheart.”
“Sure, he is,” Knox said.
“Okay, well, I gotta get back to work. We’ll see all of you tonight!” Luna waved at us and returned to the counter.
“Am I the only one who holds my breath whenever that chick walks?” Knox asked.
Isabelle laughed. “Nope.” She turned toward me. “Don’t tell Luna this, but Ash totally Luna-proofed his place for her. He made me come over and walk through the house, pointing out any sharp objects or things Luna could impale herself on that he might have missed.”
“That’s adorable,” I said.
“Are you seriously trying to find Elijah a girlfriend?” Knox asked.
“Yes. He’s my friend and I told him I’d help him find someone,” I said. “Why?”
Knox just shrugged. “He just seemed like the loner type to me. I better go too. I need a coffee and I want to get back to work before it just gets colder. See you at home, Isabelle.”
“Bye, honey.” Isabelle patted him on the ass as he walked away before smiling at me. “So, we’ll see you and Elijah at karaoke around eight tonight. All right?”
“I’ll double check with Elijah, but yeah, sure, it should be fine.”
“Perfect.” Isabelle said before passing her phone to me. “Now, take a look at this dress I found online and tell me if you think it’s a yay or a nay for me.”
* * *
“You want to go to karaoke at Ren’s Bar tonight?” Elijah gave me a confused look as he loaded the dishwasher.
I finished wiping down the counters and hung the dishcloth over the tap. “Yes.”
“I don’t sing.” There was a note of alarm in Elijah’s voice.
“I don’t either,” I said.
“Then why are we going?” Elijah’s thick arms slid around my waist and he pressed a kiss against my neck. Like always, my pussy began to throb the moment he touched me. “We should just stay home, and I’ll eat your pussy and then you can ride my dick.”
I shivered with pleasure when his big hand cupped my breast and he toyed with my nipple through my shirt and bra. He gave me another persuasive kiss on the neck. “We only have a limited time before I’m back to work, and then I’ll have to go three days without being inside your sweet pussy. Don’t make me waste a single minute on karaoke.”
I was tempted to give in. Tempted to take Elijah to my bed and keep him there for the next forty-eight hours, just like I’d been doing with every single free moment we both had in the last two weeks. What was the harm of spending a few more days with him before I found him a girlfriend? No harm, really.
Plenty of harm. Stop doing this Mia. If you’re not going to date this perfectly sweet and amazing man, then stop leading him on. You’re being a total selfish bitch.
I winced inwardly but my inner voice was right. I couldn’t keep doing this to Elijah.
I took a deep breath and put my hand on top of Elijah’s when he started to slip it into my pants. “Actually, the reason we’re going out is not the karaoke.”
“Then what is it?” Elijah nipped my neck.
“I think it’s time I did what I said I would and help you find a girlfriend.”
I could feel his body stiffen behind me, and dismay and regret flooded through me when he stepped away immediately. Feeling like I was making a giant mistake, I turned around and did my best to smile at him. “What do you think?”
“I,” Elijah paused, “I’m not sure I’m good enough in bed yet.”
“You are,” I said. “Elijah, you’re fantastic in bed. I mean that. You’re the best lover I’ve ever had.”
He didn’t reply and I cleared my throat. “I just – I mean, I promised you I’d find you a girlfriend and I’m going to keep that promise.”
“Right.” He folded his arms across his chest and stared at the ground. “Okay, fine.”
“Are you sure?” I wanted to touch him but restrained myself. He looked stiff and upset, and I’d been friends with him long enough to know that he needed physical space when he was upset. Probably because his asshole parents beat the shit out of him as a kid.
My anger over what his parents did to him was rearing its head, but now wasn’t the time. If Elijah no longer wanted my help to find a girlfriend, I wasn’t going to force him to accept it.
“If you don’t want my help, that’s okay. I get it and I -”
“No,” he said. “No, that was that the deal, right? You teach me how to fuck and then find me a girlfriend. So, let’s find me a girlfriend.”
“Elijah, are you okay?” I swallowed hard when he lifted his head and glared at me.
“Perfectly fine. I should go home and have a quick shower.”
“You can shower here,” I said.
He shook his head. “No. I need to change my clothes anyway.” He glanced at his track pants and t-shirt before heading for the front door of my apartment.
“I told Isabelle we’d be there around eight. I’ll pick you up at quarter to eight, okay?” I followed him to the door.
He grabbed his jacket and yanked open the door. “I’ll meet you there.”
“I don’t mind driving you.”
Without looking at me, he said, “If I meet someone, I’ll need my car.”
“You don’t have to, like, sleep with them tonight, Elijah. I just meant that we should get you out there and meet some ladies. The odds of you finding someone tonight -”
“I’ll see you at Ren’s at eight.” He walked out of my apartment and slammed the door shut.
* * *
I was waiting outside for Elijah when he pulled into the parking lot of Ren’s bar. My nerves jagged and my body shivering with cold, I gave him a nervous smile when he joined me. “Hi there.”
“What are you doing outside?” He said gruffly. “It’s freezing out.”
“I wanted to double check that you actually wanted to do this, and also to, um, apologize for earlier. I said
or did something that upset you and I feel awful about it.”
“You didn’t,” he said with a deep sigh. “I’m the one who should be apologizing to you. I was being an asshole, but it had nothing to do with you.”
“Are you sure?” I searched his face. “I hate upsetting you, Elijah.”
“You didn’t,” he repeated. He gave me a smile that almost looked normal. “C’mon, let’s go in there and find my ugly mug a girlfriend.”
“You’re not ugly,” I said sharply, but he had already turned away to open the door.
He held the door open for me and then followed me toward the table that Isabelle and Knox, and Ash and Luna were sitting at. Karaoke hadn’t quite started yet, but the place was already packed with people. We’d find Elijah a nice girl for sure.
Jealousy rippled in my stomach and I swallowed it down as we joined the others. “Elijah, this is Isabelle and Knox, and Asher and Luna.”
“Nice to meet you.” Elijah shook Knox’s hand and then Asher’s before pulling an empty chair out for me.
“Thanks,” I said and sat down. Elijah sat next to me and there was a moment of awkward silence.
“So,” Luna said brightly, “you’re a firefighter. That’s a super dangerous job. What made you decide to become one?”
“I like helping people,” Elijah said.
“That’s really sweet.” Luna smiled at him and I could see Elijah blushing lightly.
Ash glanced first at Luna and then at Elijah, a frown marring his heavy brow. “How long have you and Mia been dating?”
“We’re not,” I said quickly. “In fact, Elijah is looking to meet someone tonight.”
“Luna’s with me.” Asher placed a proprietary hand on Luna’s slender thigh.
“He knows that, ya big lug,” Isabelle said with a roll of her eyes. “Everyone in town knows you and Luna are dating.”
Luna squeezed Ash’s hand before smiling at Elijah. “Okay, so what type of woman are you interested in?”
“Oh, uh,” Elijah’s face was growing redder by the second, “I don’t really know.”
“He’s looking for someone sweet and funny,” I said. “Someone who appreciates how amazing he is.”
“Seems like half the goddamn town is here tonight.” Knox took a long pull of beer. “You’re bound to find someone to hook up with.”
“Knox!” Isabelle frowned at him. “He’s not looking for just a hook up.” She hesitated. “I mean, it’s fine if that’s what you’re looking for, but is it, Elijah?”
“Uh, no, not really.”
“We’ll find someone,” Luna said confidently.
“What about Sonja? She’s single.” Knox pointed to the pretty brunette who was sitting with a group of other women about four tables away from us.
“No,” I snapped. “Absolutely not.”
“Why not?” Knox said.
“Because she’s not right for him,” I replied. “She’s a jerk.”
Knox glanced at Isabelle who nodded. “She kind of is. She’s been awful to Lily Carson ever since Lily had that run of bad luck.”
“Lily was awful to her in high school,” Knox said.
“People change,” I replied before Isabelle could. “Besides, it’s not just that. She’s always been kind of awful, trust me.”
I pulled self-consciously at my shirt. Even with the weight I’d lost, my shirt still clung to my muffin-top. I tried not to notice the way every other woman in the room seemed thinner and prettier than me. Elijah was attracted to me and he found me sexy, that was obvious.
So, what? Who cares if he finds you sexy? You’re here to find him a woman, remember?
Yeah, I remembered. Still, the last two weeks with Elijah had made me feel confident and sexy and wanted. It was a real blow to go back to my usual self-consciousness and doubt about the way I looked. I hated that I needed a guy’s interest in me to make me feel good about myself. It was why I’d stayed so long with Phillip, even when it started to become obvious that I would never live up to his expectations.
Elijah was staring at me and I forced myself to smile at him. “Don’t worry, Elijah. We’ll find you the perfect woman, I promise.”
Chapter Eleven
Elijah
I nodded my thanks to the bartender, Ren, and picked up the two beers before turning around. The little redhead, Luna, was standing behind me with a slender blonde woman who looked as nervous as I suddenly felt.
“Hey, Elijah,” Luna said.
“Hi, Luna,” I paused for a second, “Uh, you’re doing a great job with the karaoke singing.”
“Oh, thanks!” Luna smiled at me before turning to the woman standing next to her. “This is my friend Natalia. Natalia works as a server at the Farmhouse Diner. She comes into the coffee shop all the time. She loves coffee. Right, Natalia?”
“Yes.” Natalia gave me another clearly nervous smile.
“This is Elijah. He’s a firefighter,” Luna said.
“It’s nice to meet you, Elijah,” Natalia said.
“Uh, nice to meet you as well.” My hands were gripping the bottles so tightly I was about one squeeze away from shattering them.
“Anyway, I ran into Natalia here at the bar tonight, and I thought I should introduce the two of you. Natalia was just saying the other day in the coffee shop that she wanted to do some weight training and since you’re, like, the strongest guy I know, I figured you could give her some tips. Maybe even show her some stuff at the gym sometime. What do you think?” Luna asked.
“Oh, uh, sure, yeah, maybe,” I said.
“Great!” Luna smiled happily at the both of us before prying the beers from my hand. “Here, I’ll take these to Mia and Isabelle. Why don’t you stay and chat with Natalia for a bit?”
She took off like a shot, weaving her way through the crowd of people. I glanced over at our table. Mia was staring anxiously at me, but she gave me the thumbs up, her mouth curving up in the approximation of a smile.
I hated this. I wanted to go to Mia, throw her over my shoulder and carry her out of this place. I wanted to take her back to my house, back to my bed where I could bury myself in her warm, wet pussy and fuck her senseless while her cries for more echoed through the room.
She doesn’t want that. What the two of you had is over now.
“So, this is totally awful and awkward, isn’t it?”
I dragged my gaze away from Mia and studied the small blonde standing in front of me. She was pretty with light blue eyes and pale skin and a tight, athletic body.
She didn’t do a thing for me.
I preferred Mia’s soft curves, Mia’s dark eyes filled with need as she begged me to fuck her harder and faster.
“Um, would you prefer if I just go?” Natalia gave me an uncomfortable smile.
I needed to forget about Mia and concentrate on finding someone who would actually love me back. The least I could do was have a conversation with Natalia. Maybe I’d start to feel a flicker of lust for her once I got to know her a little better.
I shook my head no and said, “I’m sorry. I’m being rude. Um, can I buy you a drink?”
“No, thank you. I’ve already had my one drink for the night.”
“Oh, okay,” I said.
“I have to pick up my daughter at the babysitter’s later,” Natalia said.
“Right. How, uh, how old is your daughter?”
“She’s three. I don’t usually go out on a Wednesday night, but Mel – I work with her at the diner – wanted to go out tonight.” She glanced behind her at the small dance floor. A few people were dancing to the music that was blaring from the karaoke machine. “She met some guy about half an hour ago and ditched me.”
“Oh, uh, that’s too bad.”
She just shrugged. “Eh, good for her, right? Anyway, I’d decided it was time to call it a night when I ran into Luna. She insisted that you and I should meet. So, here I am.”
“Well, it’s, um, nice to meet you.”
“You too.” S
he glanced at my body before smiling up at me. “So, you’re a firefighter, huh?”
“Yeah. Are you actually interested in learning about weight lifting or…?”
“Or was that just Luna’s incredibly awkward way of introducing us?” Natalia laughed.
Her laughter was genuine and infectious, and I grinned at her. “Yeah.”
“I am actually interested in learning more about weight training. But I figured I’d watch a few YouTube videos or -”
“No, you shouldn’t do that,” I said. “Videos can’t really show you proper lifting techniques. It’s always best to have a qualified trainer show you how to lift.”
“Makes sense. Unfortunately, I’m on a budget. Shockingly, working as a waitress at a diner does not pay nearly as much as you would think it does.”
“I am shocked,” I said.
She laughed. “Right? So, since I’m just a poor, broke waitress, I’m going to take advantage of you and get some free advice on weight lifting.” She eyed my body again. “Assuming you didn’t get all of those amazing muscles from your heroic job of protecting and saving the people of our good town?”
I blushed, and Natalia’s smile widened. “Are you blushing? That’s kind of adorable.”
I ignored her comment, not quite sure what to do with it… women didn’t find me attractive. “I do lift, yeah. I could get you a free guest pass at my gym for a week, if you’re interested? I could show you some lifting techniques during that week.”
“Really? That would be amazing, Elijah. Thank you. I’ll definitely take you up on that,” Natalia said.
“Sure, it’s no problem.” My throat was suddenly dry, and I swallowed hard. “So, uh, have you lived here your entire life?”
“Yep. How about you?”
“No, I moved here for the job.”
Natalia glanced around the crowded bar. “It’s funny how in such a small town, there can still be people you’ve never met. You know? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in the diner.”
“I don’t eat out much, I, um, watch what I eat a lot. I used to be fat and ate pretty unhealthy stuff.”