A Haught Date

by Leela Lou Dahlin

  “It is almost my break time, but I think I’ll just sit quietly by myself and get a little something to nibble on. I’ll be right back with your drinks, fellas,” she called as she made her way back to the bar. Camden saw her approach and left his female fans to come to her.

  “Four drafts of Blue Moose please,” she said and tried not to scream to be heard over all the noise.

  “Anything for you, Gemmi,” he replied, turning to fulfill her order.

  She felt like she was floating on air, she was so happy. She had to keep reminding herself that this wasn’t real. Camden was just a nice guy out for karma credit, and she was the lucky recipient. Extraordinary orgasms were just a bonus. Granted she was going to have to stay awake to be able to spend some time with him. Working these late hours was killing her sleep pattern.

  Beau came up behind her as she was gathering her drinks from the bar. “What are you going to get for yourself?”

  “Why would she need a drink?” Camden was watching Gemmi as he spoke to his brother.

  “Oh, cause the guys from Durr-Taye Construction are asking for her to take her break at their table.”

  She’d never seen that particular twitch in Camden’s jaw, but it must have been evident for everyone to see, because Beau jumped right in on it.

  “You don’t have a problem with that, do you?” Beau said moving to Gemmi’s side. She noticed he was grinning from ear to ear, and she knew that couldn’t be good.

  “If that’s what she wants to do. That’s fine with me.”

  “Go ahead over, Gemmi, I’ll bring your drink.” Beau waved her away and she felt like there was more going on here that she didn’t know about. She wasn’t going to let Beau get Camden upset about it.

  “I wasn’t going to take my break with them anyway. Cut it out.” She elbowed him as she picked up the tray of drinks for her table.

  “You know what? Why don’t you just come on back here with me? I need some help. Hold on.” Camden went down the bar to talk to Alec.

  All the seats at the bar were filled, but that wasn’t new. Gemmi was always in awe of how Alec and Camden kept this section running. Alec worked on the left and Camden the right, but Alec was gone after a brief conversation with Camden.

  “Where did Alec go?” she asked when he returned to her side.

  “He needed to help out somewhere else.”

  “Really? Alec is always on that side of the bar,” she said and watched as Camden had a blank look on his face. “What do you want me to do?”

  “You can do drafts, wine, and any mixed drink you feel up to making. Like rum and cola or scotch and soda. How’s that sound?”

  “Great. I can do that. Do you want me to go down to Alec’s side?” she said picking up a rag and heading down to Alec’s side of the bar.

  “No, we can hang out in the middle and fill out orders together.”

  “Cam, could I get a refill?” Rosalyn said from his side of the bar. Of course, the first drink would be Rosalyn’s.

  He turned to Gemmi, “You want to see what she wants?”

  “Not particularly, but I will.”

  “Don’t worry about it, she’s drinking mixed drinks tonight. I’ve got it,” he said giving her that sultry, category sexy, level ten smile. It’s a wonder she didn’t melt on the spot or embarrass herself with an orgasm for the whole bar to see.

  She followed him down to his normal side of the bar. “I’ll take a sangria,” Rosalyn said sweetly, and when Camden turned away she sneered at Gemmi. “What are you doing behind the bar?”

  “I’m just helping out,” she said as nicely as she could. Her cousin was the customer, and the customer was always right. She didn’t want to make a scene. This was her returning the favor to Camden for his assistance to her problem and for True for finding Camden for her.

  “Right.” The venom in Rosalyn’s voice made Gemmi nauseated, but the sweet tone returned as she turned to speak with Camden. “Cam?”

  “Yes.” He finished getting her drink ready with a cherry and orange garnish.

  “Do you remember when I told you I knew how to bartend?”

  “I recall something like that, yes,” Camden said as he made drinks and took money from customers. It was a wonder he could keep all that straight and carry on a conversation.

  “And do you remember what you told me?” Rosalyn questioned.

  Gemmi was surprised Rosalyn was able to keep the whine out of her voice because she was in full blown pout mode.

  “Why don’t you refresh my memory?” With his orders complete for the moment he returned to the spot beside Gemmi directly in front of Rosalyn.

  “You told me that only Haughts got to be on that side of the bar.”

  “I do remember that.” He kept his eyes on Rosalyn, but he stood so close to Gemmi she could feel the heat of his body seeping in to comfort her during this confrontation.

  “To the best of my knowledge her last name isn’t Haught,” Rosalyn whined and Gemmi was shocked. Whining and pouting, who was this woman?

  “Not yet,” he responded, and Gemmi turned and gave him a little slap on the arm.

  Now he was going a bit far. They were supposed to be breaking up sometime after the reunion, so her family could see her going through a normal relationship with a normal break up. She’d stop being poor Gemmi who couldn’t keep a man, and move to Gemmi can work her own relationships. She wasn’t supposed to be getting close to engagement. He was going the wrong way. She walked down to Alec’s side of the bar.

  This is what her mother always said about lying…it just snowballs until it gets large enough to roll over you. At this moment Gemmi was feeling a bit squashed.

  She was called for a few beer orders, and she was happy she had something to do that wasn’t on the Camden side of the bar. She could feel him behind her like a sixth sense. It was like her body knew he was close and was preparing itself for sexy times.

  “Too much?” He stood behind her and rubbed her arms.

  “A little. I was going to have a boyfriend, everyone was going to be happy for me and then suddenly we were going to break up.” She turned toward him. “I was going to break up with him. You can’t say things like that to Rosalyn. When this is over and you’re nothing more than a memory I’ll have to hear about it forever.”

  It was hard to think when he got so close to her. He gave her a light kiss and she almost forgot where she was until the chorus of “Awwww” broke it all up.

  “You don’t have to do all this for me. What will your brothers think when it’s all said and done?”

  “They are a hugely understanding bunch. We’ll still be friends, and here you go worrying about what other people think again. If my brothers don’t understand, so be it.”

  She brought him down for one kiss just for her, and she kept her eyes open until the very last second. She wanted to remember this moment for the rest of her life. So what if she could feel the heat from the stare that must be aimed at her back? Men like Camden didn’t happen to her every day.

  She could feel him everywhere. He had one hand in her hair and the other on her chin. The passion of that kiss warmed her heart and she clutched him closer. She felt him easing the kiss and then remembered where they were. When they broke apart she heard Rosalyn’s, “Refill please.”

  He kissed the tip of her nose. “Let’s finish this later.” He walked away, and Gemmi looked at all the smiles coming from all the patrons who sat at the bar feeling warm and happy. When her gaze fell on her cousin the ominous smirk on her face scared her a little, but she wasn’t going to let Rosalyn ruin the warm glow she had today.

  Chapter 9

  This was ridiculous. If he walked by her room one more time, he was going to kick his own ass. What was it about her that made him continuously act out of character?

  They had been roommates for over a week, but he didn’t get to spend as much time with her as he thought he would. She was not used to working into the early morning. The time of day a secret
ary and personal assistant worked, and the time someone who closes a bar worked were worlds apart. He’d known that it was going to take a few days for her body to get used to the schedule, but it was taking longer than he anticipated.

  Their shower encounter still boggled his mind, but not as much as the bolt that struck him as he watched her sleep, when he returned to her after he tucked her in. He’d spent the time after their shower completing his nighttime grooming habits alternating between hoping she was asleep and wishing she was awake and waiting. Since then they’d kissed when she woke up and before she went to bed, but she’d looked too tired and worn out for him to get her to do anything else.

  They’d passed in the hall as they got ready for work and he’d arranged it so she would work with him behind the bar. The customers loved her, well, most of them did. He’d learned a lot about her from her stories to her different moods, and he was enjoying it all.

  It was fascinating watching the demographics of the bar area change after she started working behind the bar. It was usually women who sat at the bar talking to him and admiring Alec, but with Gemmi’s “good girl attempting to be bad” personality and inner beauty, more and more men were gravitating to the bar. It started with the Durr-Taye Construction guys once they came over it was only a matter of time before more men migrated to the bar. He told himself he was fine with that and he was sticking to it.

  Camden sat attempting to read his monthly sports magazine. After he read the last article for the third time, and still didn’t know what it said he decided to be a bit more proactive about being with Gemmi. He was going to make breakfast. If the smell of bacon and coffee woke her up so be it, but he wasn’t going to keep sniffing around her room to see if she was up. He felt like a little kid waiting to see when his friend could come out to play.

  Maybe he’d text Beau and see what he was up to while he made breakfast.

  What’s up, bro. He texted before he put the phone down and gathered all the ingredients he was going to need to create the aroma to wake up his Sleeping Beauty. The ringing phone knocked him out of the talking to he was giving himself about Sleeping Beauty not being his. Damn, when had he gotten so possessive? He finished placing the bacon on a cookie sheet and placed it in the oven before picking up the phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Long time no see, Cammy boy,” Beau always sounded light hearted and jovial probably because he was a big kid.

  “Shut up, I see you every night.”

  “We do work together, but I’d say you see Gemmi every night. You know. Making sure no one sneaks up on your territory.”

  “It’s not like that. I just don’t want anyone to bother her. We could get sued or something for harassment.” He put the phone on speaker, so he could talk while he prepared his edible masterpiece.

  “Whatever you need to tell yourself is fine with me. I’ll co-sign it.”

  “I texted to see what you were up to and check on you and this is what I get?” He heard Beau on the other line chuckling and decided to take that smile off his face. “How’s your arm?”

  “I don’t even want to talk about it. True bothers me enough about taking care of it. I’m healing well. Thanks,” Beau said and then followed it with a laugh. “You’re getting good Cam. I almost missed you changing the subject. Almost.”

  “It’s your old age getting to you.” They always joked about the six-year difference between them.

  “Yeah, well you should listen to your elders when I tell you that you look at Gemmi in a way I’ve never seen you look at another woman.” Beau sounded serious and that wasn’t like him. This was the brother who never thought anything was more than a good time. “No comment right now, no problem. Just thought I’d share my infinite wisdom.” And just like that playful Beau was back.

  “Whatever, Beau.” Yep, that’s all he could come up with at this point.

  “Well I wanted to tell you that Alec and I have a couple of waitresses we’re bringing on next week. We wanted to get them started before you and Gemmi take off for her reunion.”

  “Sounds good. Who hired them?”

  “Why does that matter?” Beau said with a chuckle. “Someone’s feeling like an argument. Can you tell me why that is? Trouble in Paradise?”

  “Just answer the question.”

  “Alec and True did most of it. I met them though. They both seem outgoing and have lots of waitressing experience.” He cleared his throat, and he knew more was coming. “So, you and Gemmi hitting it off pretty good, huh?”

  “Smooth, Beau. That’s the real reason you’re calling isn’t it?”

  “I wasn’t going to call, but since you texted me, I figured the ball and chain must be busy doing something else.”

  “She’s asleep, and I’m making breakfast. I’m not going to touch the ball and chain comment.”

  “Sounds very domestic, and by telling me you’re not commenting, you’re saying something.”

  “Everyone has to eat.” The laughing on the other line made Camden laugh. He’d always admired how laid back Beau was and he kind of missed hanging out with him.

  “You’re in deep, bro.”

  “This is just a temporary thing,” Camden said and then wanted to take it back.

  “Right… Well Alec and I just wanted to let you know that Gemmi is going to be needed to help train Nadia, one of the new waitresses, in a few days so you’ll have to let her go.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “I mean she has to be on the floor to help with training the new waitresses.”

  “And?” He didn’t know why this line of conversation was ticking him off, but it was.

  “And you won’t be able to have her locked in your ivory tower, otherwise known as behind the bar, where no one can get to her.”

  “It’s not like that.” Damn it, his brother and his perceptiveness. Beau liked to act like a clueless lover-boy, but he was the most observant person he’d ever known and had a memory that could rival a recorder.

  The only response was a muffled chuckle, and he knew his brother was enjoying riling him up.

  “Whatever, Beau. I have no problem with that.”

  “No problem, huh? Alright then, my work is done. Later, bro,” and with that Beau was gone.

  With the omelet supplies in front of him, and his mind firmly back to the realities of this situation, he decided he would just go with it. She was just a super sweet woman who was great to have around, but he would probably go crazy if this was his regular life. He liked being alone, with no one to bind him down, no one to share anything with…no one to report to. If that was true, why was he so happy to have Gemmi in the house? Enjoyed knowing she was going to come around the corner at any moment. He didn’t deserve to have a family, he knew that. From the moment he learned his birth caused his mother’s death and that caused his father’s death a few months later, he knew he wasn’t meant to have a family of his own. That had never bothered him…until now.

  ***

  “Good morning, what smells so good?” Gemmi had been watching him for the last few minutes, and he looked intense about something. Did he regret inviting her to stay with him? Could he be trying to figure out how to get her the hell out of his house? They were supposed to be learning about each other, but all she’d done is sleep, eat his food and gotten free rides to work. This night shift thing did a hell of a number on her sleep cycle.

  He turned to look at her and the smile she received washed away the “over staying her welcome” feeling she thought he had. She knew she shouldn’t think like that. It was probably because she felt like she wasn't keeping up with her part of the bargain. She was supposed to be here, so he could help her, and she was only now rested enough and ready to participate.

  “Bacon is what you smell,” he said cracking eggs into a large bowl.

  She walked over to the island where all the breakfast supplies were set up. “Do you need my help with anything?”

  He looked up at her with a sexy g
rin that hit so many hot spots she felt her body flush with heat before a chill swept over her. “You make me feel like a kid waiting for Christmas. I didn’t think you were ever going to get up.”

  “What can I say? My body is getting used to the late-night shift or maybe it’s you wearing me out.”

  “That wouldn’t be me. We haven’t had a real night together since I brought you back from the bar and that night was cut a little short. That would be the late nights you’re keeping at The Haught Spot wearing you out.”

  “Have you missed me?” she said liking this playful Camden.

  He looked at her for a few seconds, and then moved toward her in a way she knew a kiss was imminent. His kiss was soft and sweet, not the kiss she was expecting with the look of hot hunger in his eyes. He nipped and licked at her mouth until she was so worked up she forgot she was hungry for food.

  “You really did miss me?” she asked when he slowed the kiss.

  “I made you breakfast.” He returned to cracking the eggs and bent his head, but not before she saw the flush quickly stain his cheeks. She almost thought he was embarrassed, but he wasn’t the type. Maybe the heat of the kitchen was getting to him.

  “Ummm… great, because I’m hungry.”

  “Me too.” The way he was looking at her it was clear it wasn’t his stomach he wanted to fill.

  They ate a wonderfully filling breakfast of ham and cheese omelets, bacon, and coffee. She was happy to see that the seriousness he’d had when she came into the kitchen had left his face. They finished cleaning up the kitchen, and he sat down to finish his coffee.

  “I’m still hungry.” His eyes lit with mischief, and she wanted to play whatever game he was gearing up to play.

  “That can’t be possible.”

  “It is possible. Come here.” He grabbed her hand and directed her to straddle his lap, but instead of sitting on him, he guided her to sit on the table.

  He then directed her to lie on the table, and she so wanted to be as sophisticated as the women he was probably used to, so she did as he directed. The anticipation of wondering what he was going to do first was as delicious as what he was probably going to do. She felt his lips touch the inside of her left thigh. “You wouldn’t,” she gasped and sat up.