I took in a deep breath and started to get up when I heard paint splattering all around me. I checked myself over and found that I hadn’t been hit and probably would have felt it if I had. Cole shouted to me that he would cover me. I steeled my nerves and decided I was going out fighting. I took in a few quick deep breaths as I jumped out from my hideout, letting out a banshee cry. I swung my gun around and started running as I sprayed paint balls at anything that moved. My warrior cry echoed around us and my throat was raw, but I continued on. I saw a gun aimed at me and I leapt to the side and rolled like I had seen in the movies. Then I got up to one knee and popped off a few shots.
My breathing was coming fast and heavy, but I refused to give in. I got up and sprinted as fast as I could towards the hideout. I was so close I could almost taste it. With a final breath, I leapt over the short wall and yelled, “You’ll never get me!” I landed on my feet and then rolled towards the safety of hut. Pain stabbed my side and I was breathing hard. I felt like I was going to throw up after all the energy I expelled. Spots were appearing in front of my eyes and my whole body felt like jello.
I glanced down to see that I didn’t have any paint on me. My head flopped back against the ground as I stared up into the trees, trying to calm my racing heart. Had they let me get across so that I wouldn’t feel bad? Or maybe they were taking it easy on me because I was a girl. I heard footsteps approach, but I was done. I had no energy left to get up, let alone hold my weapon. I wasn’t even sure where it was at this point. Whoever was coming wasn’t being very quiet.
“I surrender. Don’t shoot me. I can’t fight anymore. I’m done.” Was that my voice? It was croaking and barely understandable.
“Baby? You okay?” I looked up into Jack’s laughing eyes. I could tell he was trying to hold back, but soon all the guys were looking down at me and laughing. Okay, that just pissed me off. I didn’t want to come out here and play their stupid game anyway, but I did and I tried my best. They didn’t need to laugh at me.
“Shut the fuck up. I told you I had never played before! You don’t need to laugh at me.” I tried to sit up as I said it, but my body was too tired, so I flopped back down. I shot a glare at every one of them for trying to make me feel like shit.
Cole was the first to speak up. “Darlin’, you just kicked their asses.” Huh?
Logan stepped forward and pointed to his chest. “When you came running and screaming from the hideout, we were all so shocked, we just stood there. Then you started shooting and you hit all of us.” He started laughing and then mimicked my face and screamed like I had as I jumped from the hideout.
Sebastian held out his hand to me. “If I had known you were gonna go all Laura Croft on us, I would have insisted you be on my team. You got some big lady balls.”
I was shocked. I won? They thought I was good? “So, I took all of you out? Like, the game is over?”
“Sweetheart, you took all three of them out in under fifteen seconds. Cole didn’t even have to lay down fire for you.” Jack had a big grin on his face and I finally relaxed, feeling like I might have earned a little respect from the guys today.
We headed back to the truck and I made Jack carry me since I couldn’t work my body if I tried. Thankfully, the guys didn’t give me a hard time about it and they each gave me a hug as we got ready to leave. As soon as I sat in the truck, I felt exhaustion setting in. I had to work tonight, so I would have to nap on the way home so I could make it through my shift. No problem there. I couldn’t keep my eyes open if I tried. I fell asleep within minutes of leaving and slept the whole hour ride home.
Jack walked me up to my apartment and kissed me goodbye at the door. I only had an hour to get ready for work. I stripped my clothes off and scrubbed the dirt from my body. A bath sounded great, but I didn’t have the time to soak my sore body. I got dressed in my work clothes and scoured my cabinets for something to eat. Nothing looked good, but then I remembered I had lasagna from the other night. I quickly ate and then headed off to work.As the night dragged on at work, I could feel every muscle in my body ache. Shelley could see I was hurting, obviously thinking that I was still in pain from the other day.
“Are you okay, Harper? Do I need to get someone to take over for you?”
I shook her head. It was my own fault that I was this sore. I needed the money after taking off a few days from my ankle sprain, so I was going to have to push through.
“Remember I told you that a guy helped me out the other day? Well, we kind of hit it off and he took me out with his friends today. We played paintball. It was pretty uneventful until the end. I made this mad dash across the woods and shot them all. It was pretty intense and now I’m paying for it.” Shelley had a shocked look on her face.
“You won paintball against a bunch of guys? Oh, that’s great! Ha! I wish I could have seen that.” Shelley was laughing hysterically and people looked over to us, curious as to what was so funny.
“Anyway. I just have to make it through my shift and go take a nice long soak in the tub.” I saw someone’s hand shoot up in the air and smiled at Shelley as I walked over to help. I was about halfway through my shift when two older couples walked in. They were seated in my section and I went over to help them. One man stared adoringly at his wife as she told a funny story. He laughed at what she said and joined in on her conversation. The other man talked over his wife and seemed to have no social graces. I made my introductions and took drink orders. When I returned, I started telling them about the specials for the evening. The man that appeared rude started snapping his fingers at me. I was a little surprised by the behavior and stood there in astonishment for a minute before recovering and putting a smile on my face.
“Excuse me, miss, but what can you tell me about the filet?” I was an experienced waitress and knew how to hold my own with these questions.
“Well, the filet is the most tender slab of beef. It is served in a 6oz portion with a mushroom sauce served on top. We can cook it however you prefer, but the chef recommends it to be served rare.”
“Where does the meat come from?” Oh, I so wanted to say it. A cow. Yes, that would be rude. Don’t say it. Don’t say it.
“All of our meat comes from local farmers.”
“Grass fed or are they shot up with hormones?” He didn’t seem genuinely concerned. More like he was trying to show off for the others at the table. His wife sat politely next to him, while the others looked at him like he was going off the deep end.
“The cows are grass fed.”
“Are they certified organic?”
“Yes.” How long would this go on?
“When were they killed? I don’t want to eat meat that’s been sitting around for a month.” Really? Christ, couldn’t he just order already? I was about to lose it. I was a professional, but this guy was getting on my nerves. I noticed some of the other patrons starting to stare and I knew I needed to wrap this up quickly.
“All the beef is fresh.”
“How did the cow die?”
I lost it. I may lose my job, but I couldn’t help it. This guy was a jerk and after my long day, I just wanted to go home and relax. I was tired of dealing with customers all the time. This wasn’t what I wanted from life. Sometimes, you just had to let it fly.
“Well, the farmer took a cast iron pan, marched into the field, and whacked the cow over the head with the pan. The cow was pretty big so he may have had to hit him a few times. Then, the farmer threw him in the back of the pickup truck and brought him to the back door of the restaurant where our chef slit the cow’s throat and cut him to bits. This all happened yesterday. So the cow died quickly and didn’t feel a thing since he was unconscious. The meat is very fresh, and when we examined the contents of his stomach, we only found partially digested grass.”
The man seemed satisfied with the answer and went back to perusing the menu while the rest of the table silently laughed. Patrons at other tables seemed equally astonished and were
whispering about all that had occurred. After they placed their orders, I went to the back to turn in my ticket, fully aware that my smart mouth could very well get me fired, but instead I saw Shelley laughing.
Relief flooded through me that I hadn’t just totally screwed myself over. Shelley told me that it was the funniest thing she had ever seen, but thought maybe it was best as a one time show. I went about checking on my other tables and was speaking with some guests about wine when I noticed everyone staring at the table of four. I glanced over and saw the rude man holding his wine glass high in the air as he continued to talk to the others at his table. The other couple was looking at him like he was nuts.
“I will be right back with your wine,” I told the people at the table. I made my way over to the table of four. “Sir, is there something wrong with your glass?”
“Yes. It’s empty. I need a refill.” I rolled my eyes and took the glass from him. “Of course. I’ll be right back. Can I get anyone else anything?” They all shook their heads and I went back to the kitchen to fill the orders. I carried on with my night, but dreaded it every time I had to return to that table. I returned with their appetizers shortly after and continued on with my night. When I brought them their entrees, I immediately wanted to throw up. The rude man had his soup spoon against his ear and was trying to scratch his inner ear with it.
Please don’t put that back in your mouth. Please don’t put that back in your mouth.
He started talking to me, but I was completely memorized by the spoon in his ear. I knew he was talking to me and I should pay attention. I finally forced myself to listen to him and did my best to keep the disgust off my face.
“We’ll be wanting dessert also, so come back in exactly fifteen minutes for us to place our orders. I don’t want to be waiting around all night.”
Then he did it. He placed the spoon back in his soup and started eating. I felt a look of disgust cross my face and no matter how I tried, I couldn’t make it go away. I had seen some crazy stuff as a waitress, but this topped them all. I handed out the food and then took my tray back to the kitchen.
Fifteen minutes later, I went back to the table to take their dessert orders. “Are you ready to order dessert?”
“Why would you assume we want dessert? We haven’t even finished our meals yet. Come back in five minutes and we’ll let you know.”
He dismissed me with a wave and I headed off to check other tables, rolling my eyes. As I was taking orders at another table, I heard a snapping sound. At first I ignored it, but then a woman at the table spoke up.
“Excuse me dear, but I think that gentleman over there is trying to get your attention.” I turned to see a hand in the air snapping rhythmically.
“Let me finish taking your order and then I’ll go check on him.” I smiled at the lady and she seemed to appreciate that I hadn’t run off. When I was done taking their orders, I walked over to the table.
“How can I help you, sir?”
“We’re ready for our check.”
“Of course. Let me go get that for you.”
Thank God that’s over. I dropped off my previous order with the kitchen and totaled up the bill for the other table. I returned it and left before they could say anything further. When the bill was settled, I took the receipt back to the register. There was a note with a hundred dollar bill inside.
Thank you so much for dealing with that asshole. You deserve more than this for your night of dealing with him. I especially liked the story of how the cow died. Have a great night.
I smiled at the fact that I earned a hundred dollars off one table, even though I had to deal with that douchebag. My night ended at eleven o’clock. I helped clean up the dining area and then I headed home. I plugged in my phone to charge and ran a bath. As the tub was filling, I checked to see if she had any messages. There was one from Jack.
Miss you already. I’ll be at work late tomorrow. Text me sometime tomorrow and I’ll respond when I can.
I smiled at the text. It felt so good to come home after a shitty night and hear from someone. I took my bath and then got into bed. I had a long day ahead of me tomorrow. I needed to finish my book and get it off to the editor this week. It didn’t take more than a few minutes to fall asleep.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Jack
I swore as I got off the phone. It had been a shitty day. I was up to my neck in auto repairs, parts were coming in behind schedule, and I had two guys call in sick today. On top of all that, I hadn’t seen Harper in three days. She had barely responded to my texts, something about finishing her book. I knew she had to get her book done and she was working nights waitressing, but damn I really needed to see her. I got up from my desk and got back to work. These cars wouldn’t fix themselves.
It was after ten at night before I took another break. I sent the guys home two hours ago. They all had families to go see. I sat at the desk eating my sandwich and looking over orders that I still had to do. The paperwork for Harper’s car was sitting on the desk with a note attached.
Tried to pay. I told her I couldn’t find the paperwork and to check back with you later in the week.
-Sal
That little sneak. When did she find time to come over here and check on her bill? And why didn’t I know about it until now? I set it aside and went through the rest of the paperwork. Payroll had to be done for tomorrow, so I waited on the rest of the orders and got to work writing checks. We didn’t have a fancy payroll system on the computer. I had bought it, but I hadn’t had time to learn how to set it up and use it. I really needed to hire and office manager, but there weren’t enough hours in the day to do that. By the time I finished up with payroll and balancing the books, it was well past midnight. This was why I didn’t date. No sane woman would want to put up with my work schedule. I hauled my tired ass into my truck and headed home.
“Fuck it,” I said as I turned the truck around. I headed over to Harper’s and grabbed my bag that was in the back seat. I always carried an extra set of clothes with me just in case. I had a dirty job and I lived too far out of town to run home quickly. I got out of the truck and rang the doorbell, sure I was going to wake her up, but I didn’t care right now. When she didn’t answer, I sent her a text.
Downstairs. Let me up.
Two minutes later, Harper appeared at the door in her pajamas and a robe. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she looked like she had been sleeping. I felt bad, but I needed to at least hold her tonight.
“Hey, sorry to wake you, but I had to see you.”
She immediately looked concerned. “Is everything alright?”
“Yeah, I’ve been so busy and I know we won’t get to see each other the rest of the week so I decided to come here.” She held the door open for me and we walked up the stairs together.
“Just so you know, I’m exhausted and I’m going right back to sleep.” She yawned and walked into the apartment.
“I’m just gonna grab a shower and I’ll be in.”
I started towards the bathroom and took a quick shower. When I came out, Harper was already asleep in bed. I walked around the apartment and checked the doors and windows, then went back to the bedroom and set my alarm. I pulled her back to my front and went to sleep.
Harper didn’t wake when my alarm went off in the morning. I was very happy about that, since I had woken her up last night. She had to be exhausted and I didn’t want to feel any more guilt than I already did. I snuck out of bed and left before she woke. I had a shit ton of work to do and I had to get on it before business started suffering.
I didn’t hear from Harper the rest of the week and didn’t really think to contact her. I was so busy playing catch up after my guys were out sick, that I didn’t have time to stop and think about it too much. I decided that I couldn’t be selfish anymore and ring her bell in the middle of the night. She needed sleep and I wasn’t going to take that from her. I kept telling myself that I would call her during
the day on my breaks, but I was always bombarded with phone calls and new orders coming in. I ended up working all weekend to make up for my previous weekend off. I didn’t even think to text her until Sunday afternoon when I got off work.
How’s the cat? Is your friend home yet?
I waited for a response, but never got one. That seemed odd, but then again, I didn’t know her that well. She must be busy. I had hoped to see her sometime this weekend, but it just didn’t work out. Since it was still early in the night, I decided to call the guys and head into town for a beer. We all met up at The Pub. Yes, that was the name. Very straight forward and hard to misunderstand what kind of place it was.
I walked into the bar and started looking around for the guys. They were all at a table with their heads together and when Sean looked up and saw me, his face saddened. I made his way over and sat down.
“What’s up with you guys? Looks like you just got some terrible news.” They all looked at each other and then, finally, Sebastian spoke up.
“Look man, we don’t want to be the ones to tell you this, but your girl is here and she ain’t alone.” His head jerked to the other side of the bar where Harper sat at a table laughing with some douchebag. I watched as she put her hand on his arm and then leaned in to give him a hug and kiss on the cheek. What the fuck? Rage consumed my body at the realization that last weekend only meant something to me. I thought after she spent the night that we both wanted the same thing, but apparently, she was already out looking for someone new.
I stood up and stalked over to Harper, my anger building with every step. Her laughs were supposed to be for me. Her bright smile was supposed to be for me. All of her was supposed to be for me. This was why women weren’t worth the trouble. You think you have something and they turn around and shit all over you. In public. Didn’t even have the decency to let me know she had changed her mind. I told myself I was going to be calm and collected, but when I got to her table, shit flew out of my mouth.
Jack (For The Love Of A Good Woman Book 1) Page 6