“Here’s your apron,” Cody says, holding it out for me. “Notepads for taking orders are here, if you need them. I’ll just show you how to put them through to the kitchen and then you should be good to go.”
I nod and follow him over to the register. The system is exactly the same as one I’ve used before, so I instantly know what he’s going to show me, not that I tell him that. He seems to be enjoying himself playing boss so I let him get his fill.
“This place usually gets a little crazy when the Rosewood kids finish for the day, so you’ll need to get out of school pretty quick to beat them all.”
“I’m sure I can cope.” I glance around to make sure no one needs anything before asking the question that’s been on the tip of my tongue since meeting Cody. “So are you from around here?”
“Nah, I’m a student at Maddison U,” he says, confirming my suspicions that he’s in college. “What about you? Rosewood born and bred?”
“Nope. Moved here last week. Mom shacked up with some guy who lives here and dragged me halfway across the country.”
“Rough.”
“Meh, it’s pretty standard for me.”
“How are you finding it?”
I look around the diner once again right as a group of cheerleaders arrive, the one who was supposed to be my chaperone earlier front and center. Her eyes find mine and they narrow in disdain before she elbows a couple of the others.
“Oh great. I’ve fitted right in.” A bitter laugh falls from my lips.
“Oh yeah, so I see. I wouldn’t worry about that lot. You’re not missing out on much by not being part of their group.”
“I’m sorry, you think I want to be a part of that?” I snap.
Regret covers his face almost instantly. “No, no. That’s not what I—forget I said anything. Looks like they want to order.”
I groan, following his gaze and finding the entire squad with their eyes on me.
“Feed me to the wolves, why don’t you. I’m sure they’d much prefer you.”
“Are you kidding? All they want is their football jocks.”
“I think you and I might just get along fine after all.”
Pulling the little notepad I shoved into my skirt back pocket earlier, I twist the pencil in my fingers and make my way over, much to their delight.
“Well, well, well… new girl seems to have got herself a little job,” the ringleader sneers.
“What can I get for you?” I ask, ignoring her barb and plastering a smile on my face.
“Oh look, she does smile,” another comments.
Everything in me wants to tell them where to go and refuse to serve them, but seeing as they’re my first customers of the first day of my job, I can hardly do that, so instead, I force myself to keep my cool as they each rattle off their orders, looking pleased as fuck that I’m quite clearly beneath them being their waitress.
“Coming right up,” I sing, walking away and ignoring their petty comments about what I’m wearing and the state of my hair.
“You okay?” Cody asks when I join him back at the register.
“Of course. I’ve handled much worse than those spoiled brats.”
“I had a feeling you’d say as much. Things can only get better from here on out, right?”
I’d like to say I agree with him, but not twenty minutes later when I’m putting the cheer squad’s plates down in front of them does it get a whole lot worse.
I’m expecting it, because where the cheer squad goes, the football team generally follows, so when the door bursts open and excited male chatter fills the relatively small diner, I know exactly who’s arrived.
I don’t want to look, but it’s like my eyes have a mind of their own. Turning away from the table slightly, I watch as they all come barreling through the door—well, except for the one I’m dreading.
Breathing a sigh of relief that he’s not shown his face, I spin back to drop the last plate down. That’s the exact moment when my blood runs cold. The atmosphere in the entire diner changes and my spine stiffens.
Standing straight, I look around the table and plaster a smile on my face. “If you need anything else, please let me know.” Glancing at one of the guys, I say, “I’ll be back in a few moments to take your orders.” Then I spin on my heels and get the hell out of there.
I race past Cody and out to the kitchen. Once I know I’m out of sight, I fall back against the wall and suck in a few deep breaths.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, perfect.”
“Ooookay.” His eyes study me for a few seconds before I swallow down my apprehension and push from the wall.
“Right. I’ve got a job to do.” I refuse to allow myself to shy away from that asshole. He has no right to have any power over me or to make me regret taking a job that I so desperately need.
“If you need anything, you know where I am.” I nod at him and walk back to the table.
All eyes turn on me as I approach, the girls judging, the guys trying to place me and work me out. Good fucking luck with that. I imagine only the best shrink in the country would be able to sort my head out right now. The only person’s attention I don’t hold is his. I’m shocked. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for him to humiliate me.
“What can I get for you all?”
I start with the guys I don’t recognize before my eyes land on Zayn’s, followed by the two guys who were sitting with Ethan on Saturday night. None of them acknowledge me, they just place their orders like they would with any other waitress.
Knowing that I can’t ignore him and walk off without taking his order like I’m desperate to do, I wait for a beat, but the asshole still keeps his eyes focused on the menu in front of him.
“Ethan?” I prompt, pissed off that he’s wasting my time.
There are a couple of gasps from the girls, as they look between the two of us. The ringleader stares at me.
“You know this girl, Ethan?” Her voice is the one that drags his eyes from the table. He looks to her before glancing over at me. The way he looks at me has my nails digging into the notepad. It’s like the simple act of even looking at me is more than I deserve.
“Her?” he spits. His eyes run the length of my body, his lip curling in disgust. “Please, I don’t spend time with skanks.”
My brow arches as I glance at the kind of girls he does spend time with.
“Good to know. Now, can I get you any food?” I try to take the high road, but I don’t think anyone around the table misses my voice crack.
He sits back, placing his arm over the back of the bench he’s sitting on like he owns the fucking place, a smug smile firmly on his lips as he assesses me.
“Burger, fries, soda. You to leave us alone.”
“Jesus, Ethan,” his blonde friend mutters.
Rolling my eyes, I note it down, not that I’ll forget, and turn my back on them.
“Was that really necessary?” a guy’s voice says before one of the girls pipes up. “You sure you don’t know her?”
Shaking my head, I walk to the register and put the order through to the kitchen.
“Friends of yours?” Cody asks with a laugh.
“Oh yeah. Can’t you just feel the love?”
He laughs. “How have you done one day at school yet managed to piss off both the cheer squad and the football team already?”
“I have very special skills.”
His eyes glance over my shoulder and his face drops a little. “Do you need me to take over that table? I don’t mind.”
“No chance. I’m not allowing them to think they’ve won.”
He nods before leaving me to greet a few more familiar faces who sit in his booths. It’s the two girls from Saturday night. There’s some shuffling from behind me before the two guys walk over and sweep their girls into their arms.
I watch them for a few minutes before the bell from the kitchen rings out to tell me there’s food ready.
Sadly, Ethan�
��s is the first prepared, but that doesn’t mean it’s the first I deliver. I push it to the back of the counter and pick up every other one.
With it still getting cold in the kitchen, I head toward where the two of his friends are now sitting at the other side of the diner with their girls.
“You guys want this over here?” I ask, able to breathe a little easier being away from the main group.
“That’s great, thanks. Listen—” the blonde guy starts.
“You don’t need—”
He interrupts. “I do. Ethan’s being an ass. This whole thing with his parents has rocked him more than he’ll admit.”
“I don’t give a shit. You think all of this is what I wanted?”
“No, no, of course not but—”
“Do not ask me to go easy on him or give him the benefit of the doubt or some bullshit. Not happening.”
He holds his hands up in defense. “Was going to do no such thing. You seem like you can handle yourself around him.”
“So, as stimulating as it is, is there actually a point to this whole conversation?”
The other three around the table stifle a laugh.
“You know,” the dark-haired guy pipes up, “I think the two of you might actually get along just fine. I’m Jake, in case you forgot. This is Mason. My girl’s Amalie and this is Camila.”
If he expects me to remember that, then he’s got to be even more delusional than I think he is.
“You need anything, give these two a shout,” Blonde says, nodding to the girls.
“Thanks.” It’s totally insincere, but I’m not really the kind of girl that other girls make friends with.
I leave them to it and head back to the kitchen. Ethan’s food should be suitably cold by now.
I fight the smile that wants to spread across my face the entire journey toward him with his plate.
He looks up as I approach while everyone around him eats.
I drop it down in front of him a little harder than necessary, a few fries bouncing off the plate and onto the table.
His eyes narrow at me, his lips press into a thin line. He’s desperate to give me a dressing down, but something’s holding him back. I’m assuming it’s his audience.
I smile at him. “Enjoy.”
More and more students pour in through the front doors as they make their way from the beach once the sun starts to set, and I’m so busy that I hardly have a chance to acknowledge the hate stare coming from his table every time I so much as walk past, but he never tries to say anything and I avoid taking any more orders from them as they sit chatting.
It must be half an hour later that the noise of them all leaving fills the diner. I look back over my shoulder as I head toward the kitchen to see I’m right. Most of the girls have already walked out, leaving a few of the guys hanging back, sorting out the check
Breathing a sigh of relief, I continue forward. That is until warm fingers wrap around my wrist and I’m pulled none too gently into the dark bathroom beside me.
“What the—” My words are cut off as his hand comes down on my mouth. My eyes widen in shock.
He stands close, his nose only an inch from mine, his increased breath covering my face. I can only just make out his features with the emergency light illuminating the space around us. The rest of my senses are on full alert—it’s how I know he smells fucking mouthwatering right now. Asshole. Why can’t he smell as rotten as his personality?
“You have no fucking right being here. You’re quitting. Tonight.”
My eyes narrow. Who the fuck does he think he is, trying to dictate my life?
My chest heaves and my hands tremble slightly with his closeness and the evil hint in his blue eyes as he stares down at me.
16
Ethan
This is my fucking place. My fucking escape. Why the fuck does she have to have found a job here of all places?
I was desperate to say something, to do something as she stood at the end of our booth with her little pad of paper in hand, but I didn’t want everyone around knowing there was anything between us. As far as I’m concerned, Dad will get bored and the two of them will fuck off out of our lives as fast as they entered and no one will need to be any the wiser.
Anger swirls within me as I watch her deliver everyone else’s food bar mine. She thinks she’s fucking clever. Well, she needs to think again because she won’t win these games she’s trying to play. I’m the fucking master here and she’s merely the puppet.
I see my opportunity the second everyone starts to leave. I excuse myself to the bathroom and double back on myself, following her down the hall that leads to the kitchen.
I watch her ass sway in her short as fuck skirt. What was Bill thinking when he offered her a job? Like fuck does she fit in here.
Her little gasp of shock when I pull her into the dark bathroom makes my lips twitch in achievement. The dim light above reflects in her dark eyes. I swear I see a little fear in them. It makes my cock hard.
She flinches when I demand she quits, but I’m not stupid. She’s not going to listen to anything I say. She’s already proved that my words don’t affect her like they should. This girl’s all about actions, and I have plenty of things up my sleeve to prove to her that she doesn’t belong here, that she doesn’t belong in my life.
I take a step closer, my hand dropping from her mouth but only enough so I can take her chin in my fingers and pinch hard enough to make her fight to get away.
“I took it fucking easy on you tonight. But bringing me cold food… you’re not going to get away with that, trash. I left my check on the side, I’m sure your wages tonight will easily cover it.
Her defiant eyes hold mine, but the small amount of water that’s beginning to pool in them gives her away.
“You scared of me?”
“Never.”
I close the space between us, my nose brushing hers. I don’t miss her sharp intake of breath at our contact.
“You should be,” I whisper. “And it’s not just me you’ve got to worry about. All those guys out there, they do what I say, and they’ll make your life a living hell if I so much as whisper the words.”
She swallows, her slender neck rippling against my palm. “Bring it on,” she taunts, her lips curling up into a smile. “I’ve dealt with worse than a rich prick like you. You can’t fucking touch me.”
“Oh, sweet cheeks. We both know that’s not true. We both know I’ve already touched you, and we both know just how much you were enjoying it.”
Reaching forward, I slip my hand under the tiny scrap of fabric that’s wrapped around her hips. She’s wearing fishnets beneath, and the second I push my fingers inside two of the holes they practically disintegrate. The rip sounds out and it’s like music to my ears.
“Ethan, you can’t—”
“When are you going to fucking learn? I can. I will. And I’ll do it whenever the fuck I like.”
I trail one finger over her center that’s covered in soft cotton.
“What’s this? Granny pants? I thought you were a lace kind of girl.”
“What do you care?”
“You’re right. None would be so much better.”
“Ah, fuck,” she cries when I tuck my finger beneath the fabric and immediately find her swollen clit.
“You’ve been waiting for this since I pulled back the other night, haven’t you? And if how wet you are tells me anything, it’s that you followed my orders. You didn’t get yourself off, did you?”
“Y-you’re not getting any of my pleasure.”
Her eyes shine bright and her chest heaves as I continue teasing her nub.
“Is that right? Because right now you’re dripping down my fucking fingers like you can’t get enough of me.”
If it were lighter, I’d love to see the color I know is staining her cheeks at my comment.
Slipping my fingers lower, I find her entrance and push two fingers inside her tight pussy. A groan climbs up my throat,
but I catch it before it passes my lips. She doesn’t need to know that I’m imagining just how tight she’d squeeze my cock.
I lean in, my rough cheek scratching her soft face until my lips brush her ear. She shudders, and I smile.
“Next time, I’ll be the one taking all the pleasure.”
I pull my fingers from her and step back. My cock’s tenting my pants, but with the darkness in here, I doubt she can see the effect she’s having on me.
Learning from my mistake when I lift my hand, I don’t suck my own fingers like I’m desperate to do. Instead I lift them to her lips.
“Open,” I demand. And in true trailer trash style, she keeps them firmly shut.
“I don’t take kindly to you defying me. Open your fucking lips, or I won’t wait until next time to push my cock between then.”
I don’t think she means to open her mouth, because she looks as shocked as I feel when her lips part and I’m able to push my fingers inside.
I realize my mistake instantly, and it makes me regret this even more than tasting her the first time.
Her lips seal around my fingers before her tongue licks around each one as she sucks.
My breath catches and my cock weeps. That is until just before she releases me and her teeth sink down into my skin.
“Argh, you fucking bitch.” I pull my hand back, wiping her saliva off my fingers and pulling them up to see if she broke the skin.
“Put any part of your body in my mouth and that’s what’s going to happen, posh boy. Just because you’ve got money and a highly inflated ego, it doesn’t mean I’m going to drop to my knees at the click of your fingers. Now, get out of my fucking way, I’ve got a job to do.” She steps around me and pushes the door open. The move floods the room with light and she stops and looks back at me over her shoulder.
Her eyes run down the length of my body before lingering on my obvious hard-on. “Hmmm… looks like someone didn’t get the message. Might want to tell your cock that I bite before you end up in the ER.”
Her laugh fills the room as she steps out and allows the door to slam closed behind her.
SAVAGE: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Rosewood High Book 3) Page 12