“Put this on. This may hide your figure a little and keep the wolves at bay!” he said.
Octavia put on the apron.
“The gig is simple. Greet customers, take their order and bring it to the kitchen. Once it’s ready, take the food to the customer and place it in front of them without dropping it on them.” He said.
“Here is your order pad and a pen. Pop and coffee are unlimited refills. Water is free if they order food. We do not give out free water without an order. Helps keep the freeloaders from taking up a booth all day and all night.” He added.
“The menu is simple, breakfast all day, eggs and bacon, sausage, ham, toast, pancakes, etc. If you don’t like breakfast, we serve burgers.” He explained as he handed her a menu. “Have a quick read of the menu.” He added.
Octavia began reading the menu. It was short, one page and served exactly what he said breakfast and burgers.
The door opened and five, large tattooed men walked in and took a table close to the door.
“You’re up! That’s Hunter and his entourage. They are regulars here, great customers and even better tippers.” He said.
Octavia walked over to the table and greeted them.
“Good evening Gentlemen, My name is Octavia, can I start you with some coffee?” she asked in a bubbly voice.
Hunter looked up as he removed his dark sunglasses. His steely blue eyes met her green eyes and time froze. The world spun around Octavia as she looked deep into his eyes. Her stomach filled with butterflies as she was unable to look away. Hunter knew she would be his. From the second when their eyes met, he knew she had to be his.
“You’re new,” Hunter said calmly, in a deep voice.
Octavia was still lost in his eyes. She shook her head and snapped back to reality.
“Sorry, Yes! Today is my first shift. I started 10 minutes ago to be honest.” She said.
“5 coffee’s to start!” he said then put his sunglasses back on.
Octavia walked behind the counter, poured 5 coffees and 5 glasses of water. She returned to the table and put the drinks in front of everyone.
“Have you Gentlemen decided on what you would like to order?” she asked with her notepad and pen ready.
“We’ll have the usual!” said one of Hunters’ friends trying to be funny.
Hunter slid his sunglasses down so they rested on the tip of his nose and looked at his friend. His friend knew immediately that his comment was not funny, nor fair to Octavia.
“Sorry, 5 bacon cheeseburgers with fries!” he said correcting his order.
“Would you like gravy with that?” she asked remembering gravy was available for an additional charge.
“No thank you,” said Hunter as he smiled at her and their eyes met again.
Hunter pushed his glasses back up his nose as Octavia walked to the kitchen window and placed the order she had received.
A couple walked into the café and she greeted them in her bubbly voice and took their order. It was not long before the café was filling up and she found herself busier than she had anticipated.
“Order up!” she heard yelled from the kitchen.
She looked back and saw the 5 plates of burgers and fries. She finished taking an order for the table she was talking to. Then grabbed the food for Hunter and his table and asked if there was anything else she could get for them.
“What time do you get off tonight?” Hunter asked wasting no time in making his move.
Octavia froze in her steps. She was not expecting such a direct question and fear overtook her body.
“I-I don’t know. I mean, I know. But, I-I,” she stuttered not knowing how to reply.
“Relax, I was just going to offer you a ride home. These streets are dangerous after dark and a pretty little thing like you would be far too easy of a target for the hoodlums around here.” He said.
“Thank you, that is very kind. I get off at midnight, and I only live a couple of blocks away. I am sure I will be fine.” She said not wanting to impose.
“I will be here at midnight.” he said as his friends all stared at their burgers.
“Thank you!” she said not knowing any other answer, retreating from the table.
Octavia finished the rest of her shift. As the night went on it got busier and the customers got seedier. A couple of guys howled out cat calls and a never-ending supply of inappropriate remarks about her body.
Midnight came and the last customer left the café. She cleaned off the table and removed her apron and handed it back to Joe.
“You survived! I’m impressed!” he said.
“No biggie. Guys have been making rude remarks about my body since I started developing. It’s an everyday occurrence for me.” She said. “I don’t know what the fuss is about. I am ok looking at best, but I guess the boys just see big boobs.” she said sadly.
“You did well tonight! Really good!” he said not wanting to engage in talking about her body. “But tomorrow maybe a little less revealing.” He said politely.
“Yes, Sir. Thank you!” She said smiling at him. She could tell he was kind and looking out for her best interest.
She walked out of the café to see Hunter leaning against his custom built Black Mustang with his arms crossed. Her heart skipped a beat as she walked slowly towards him.
“How was your shift?” he asked politely.
He opened the passenger door for her, Octavia hesitated, her heart raced, and then she looked at him.
“It was good,” she stuttered, “But I can’t go with you. I don’t have the best track record with trusting strangers.”
“Trust me your safe with me.” Hunter smiled, she looked in his eyes, thinking about his offer. Then she smiled politely.
“Maybe another time. Thank you!” she started towards her apartment.
Hunter hopped into the driver’s seat and started the car. He kept pace with Octavia and rolled down the window.
“I promise I just want to give you a ride to your apartment, this part of town can be dangerous this time of night.” Octavia looked over at Hunter and smiled, “Thank you, but I’m okay.” Hunter smiled at her, nodded, and then slowly pulled away from her. Hunter thought to himself he will make sure she gets home safe. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
Octavia got to her building, Hunter had left her sight shortly after she turned him down again. She made her way upstairs and went in her apartment, laying down on the blowup bed exhausted, replaying the day’s events in her mind. She faded off to sleep.
The next day, she prepared for her shift. Octavia, headed to the Café early again, arriving at 5:45.
Joe spotted her walking in and said, “Your back! Excellent!” almost surprised she would show up again. The night was uneventful, the same seedy customers, the same disrespectful remarks about her body.
The last table left and she wiped down the counter. Quarter past midnight.
She walked out of the café and headed for her apartment, as she went down the sidewalk, she was just out of sight from the café. When a man charged at her from the dark alley way, she jumped and screamed.
Suddenly, the Black Mustang howled up beside them. It caught her attacker off guard, suddenly Hunter dashed out of the car, the man stopped dead in his tracks.
“Look man, I don’t want any trouble!” he shouted at Hunter then took off running.
Hunter thought about chasing him, Octavia could see it in his eyes but, he turned to her instead.
“Are you hurt?” He asked in a concerned voice. “Yes I’m okay! Thank you.” She said nervously, unsure of what to say.
“Let me walk you home.” said Hunter in more of a statement than a question, staring into Octavia’s eyes.
“Sure, I guess.” Octavia smiled at Hunter with a thankful look, she thought to herself, why does he have to be so handsome? She nodded to Hunter and they started down the sidewalk.
It was only a block, it didn’t take long to get there. “Thank you!” she smiled at Hunt
er shyly. Hunter kindly smiled at her.
“Listen, I don’t know how to repay you. I’m truly thankful.” She said. Hunter came back quickly with, “Tomorrow night after your shift, come for a drive with me?”
Octavia gulped and stared at him blankly, Hunter smiled and said, “I promise, just a drive.” She thought, that sounds fun, but after everything with my boyfriend I’m not sure. Hesitantly she smiled and nodded, “Sounds good. I’ll see you tomorrow then?”
“Definitely.” He smiled at her and thought I’m going to count the minutes until then.
Chapter 5- The drive
She walked out of the café and Hunter sighed heavily while thinking, she’s so gorgeous, just the sight of her makes my dick rock hard. That I cannot stop thinking about her all day.
“How was your shift?” he asked politely again.
He opened the passenger side door for her, and smiled.
“It wasn’t bad!” she said with some nervousness in her voice.
She climbed in the passenger seat and Hunter made sure to close the door slowly behind her. He walked around and climbed in the driver seat. The car roared as he stepped on the gas racing the engine.
Hunter put the car in gear and squealed the tires as he pulled away from the Café. Octavia felt the car vibrate from the power under the hood as he drove down the street.
She clenched her hands nervously and looked down at her feet.
“Where you from?” he asked as he turned the corner.
“Virginia.” She answered quietly.
“Other end of the country! What brings you to LA?” He asked.
“Running away actually. My boyfriend turned into a stalker and nothing I did would get him to stop. I couldn’t get a restraining order as he had not physically harmed me. But 300 text messages a day, phone calls, emails. It was none stop. So I ran!” she said sadly, reliving her past for him.
“You don’t need to tell me anything of course. But if you want to talk about it, I will listen.” He said seeing the worry in her eyes.
“That’s very kind.” She said as she looked over and saw his tattoo-covered muscular arms.
She was very attracted to him but scared at the same time.
Octavia sat in the passenger seat looking at her feet. Hunter squealed the tires again as he drove past her apartment. He listened as she explained the last year of his life to him.
“I was 17 at the time. He asked me to prom, and I said yes. Things were good for a few months. But then he wanted to move faster than I was comfortable with. He kept trying to,” she said with a pause.
“Fuck you?” he added in a low growl.
“Yes.” she said sadly.
“I wasn’t ready. On my 18th birthday he said he had a surprise for me. I opened his gift and it was a box of condoms. He said he was going to take my virginity as a special gift. And I told him no. And he got mad. We had a huge fight and I said I didn’t want to see him again.” She continued to explain.
“For the next year, he stalked me. Texts, emails, phone calls. I changed my number twice, which only lasted a few weeks at most before he found my number and started all over again. I moved to a new apartment, he found me. I want nothing to do with him, but no matter how hard I try to tell him to go away, he doesn’t!” she said.
“So you ran to LA?” he questions.
“Yea. I just wanted to get as far from him as I could!” she answered.
“Anyway, that is my pathetic little life in a nutshell for you. What about you?” she asked him.
“I own a nightclub.” He said.
“That makes sense. Nice fancy car, tattoo’s, nice clothes! Figured you owned something or were in the mafia!” she said with a laugh.
Hunter said nothing as she mentioned the mafia. That was a conversation for another day. Definitely not something he would tell her about on their first date.
“I am also a street racer. And not to sound cocky, but I am the best street racer in LA. I rarely lose a race! The main trick is staying out of the cop’s grasp.” he added.
“When I got off the bus a couple of nights ago I saw a few cars racing down the street.” She told him remembering what her first sight of LA was.
“That was me, and I saw you.” He looked over at Octavia and smiled gently. She squirmed nervously in her seat, his warm smile sent shivers down her spine.
“There is a race in about an hour that I am going to win. Do you want to come along and have a seat in the action?” he asked.
“You mean drive with you?” she asked?
“Yes! You game?” he asked his eyes widening with hope.
Octavia thought about it for a second and excitement filled her body. She looked at his big strong arms and then at his face. His smile and confidence won her over.
“Sure! I’d love to!” she said smiling for the first time since he picked her up.
Butterflies returned to her stomach as she had no idea what was coming next.
Chapter 6 – The race
Hunter pulled into the parking lot of a condemned apartment building. There was about a dozen cars parked and three other street racers parked. The parking lot had hundreds of people gathered around the cars. Each driver clearly had their own following of people.
Hunter pulled up beside the guys who were with him the other night at the Café. Octavia and Hunter exited the car. Hunter did introductions.
“Octavia, meet my crew. My brother Ethan, Liam, Dean, and Blake.” He said pointing to each person as he said their name.
“Nice to see you all again!” she said with a smile.
Blake walked to Hunters car and popped open the hood and began looking at the engine. Hunter introduced Octavia to some of his other friends who would be cheering him on for the race.
“Wow, there are a lot of people here. Is it always this crazy?” she asked.
“This is a midweek race. This is quiet. Wait until Saturday, this parking lot will be standing room only.” He replied with a crooked smile. Octavia’s knees got weak just looking into his eyes.
“It’s time!” Ethan said as he approached them.
Ethan, Hunter, and Octavia walked over to a short tiny man standing in front of two very large men. The three other drivers all approached with a couple of extra people with them.
“Navigator?” said the small man as he looked at Hunter.
“Yes.” answered Hunter coldly.
“Fair enough. Gentlemen, let’s see your bankroll!” he shouted.
The men as well as Hunter all pulled out a stack of cash and handed it to the little man. He quickly flipped each stack of bills before turning the money over to one of the large men standing beside him.
“Ten large is the entry. You know the route. You know the rules! Stick to the route. Any shortcuts and you will automatically be disqualified. If you alter route due to, let’s say unforeseen circumstances, your alternate route cannot be a shortcut, or you will be disqualified. If you get busted by the cops, you are disqualified. Gentlemen, start your cars and lineup. Flag drops in 5 minutes.” He said to them all.
The drivers all returned to their cars. Hunter and Octavia got in to his Mustang. Hunter reached into the back seat and gave her a helmet.
“Here! The race can get pretty wild! You may want to wear this.” He said.
She took it from his hands and placed it on her head and fastened the strap. Hunter put the car into first as he rolled up to the starting line.
He waited patiently for the other drivers to appear on the starting line.
Once everyone was in place, a tall thin blonde with big breasts walked to the center of the starting line about 20 feet in front of the cars. She pointed to the first car, then the second, then pointed at Hunter who nodded as she pointed to him, and finally the fourth car.
A moment later she held a green flag high above her head. She held it there for a few seconds before sharply pulling it down signifying the start of the race. All four cars squealed their tires as they raced out of the pa
rking lot.
Hunter found himself behind the fourth car in the line quickly as they turned on to the road. His speed reached 60 miles an hour down the single-lane road. There was no opportunity to pass, as he had to stay close to the lead car.
Octavia could already feel speed as they were now approaching 80 miles an hour.
The lead cars’ brake lights came on and forced Hunter to slow down. They took a sharp right turn and onto a two-lane stretch of road. Hunter shifted from fifth gear to fourth and floored it. He swerved sharply to the left and within a second was beside the lead car.
Two seconds later he was in the lead and creating distance between himself and the now second-place car. A few turns later and they were on the main route and Octavia watched the bus depot fly by her window at well over 100 miles per hour.
She looked behind her, but this time to see the distance of the second-place car. He was no more than 2 car lengths behind Hunter. A distance she thought was very unsafe at these high speeds.
She looked over at Hunter. His left hand on the steering wheel and the right locked on the stick shift. His eyes were glued to the road ahead. She could see the veins in his neck popping and a bead of sweat trickling from his temple.
“Octavia! See that red button glowing on the dash.” she jumped a little with the tension in the air,”Yes?” she asked. “When I tell you, I want you to push it. Not a second before. Do you understand?” he said as he shifted gears and the car was now racing through the street at almost 120 miles per hour.
“Yes!” she exclaimed as she starred at the button, she loved anything fast and this was a rush like she’d never experienced.
Hunter slammed on the breaks, pulled the parking brake hard and cranked the wheel hard left. The car drifted sideways as he took the exit to the highway. Octavia looked behind her. She could now see two cars behind her that were keeping pace with Hunter. She watched as the two cars were racing side by side behind them. One was clearly trying to overtake the other.
“Eyes up here. Be ready!” he said with a wry grin on his face.
Octavia turned around and with one more hard right turn, he was on the freeway. He looked straight ahead and only saw one car ahead in the right-hand lane. Hunter moved to the left lane and stomped on the gas pedal.
Driver: 10 Seconds or Less (a bad boy romance) (North Side Kings Book 1) Page 2