Chapter 15
chapter
fifteen
“Welcome to Andrea’s.My name is Chad and I’ll be serving you today … but do me a favor and sit tight for just a second. I’ll be right back to take your order.”
Journey and I frown as we look at each other before laughing.
“That was odd,” she says.
“Yeah it was,” I answer, shifting my body in the seat to make myself more comfortable.
I wonder at what point in time everyone in the world got so fucking annoying.
Journey sits across from me in a green top with white pants. Her hair is flowing today, washing over her shoulder and running down her chest in a dark waterfall. Her brown eyes stare back at me, making images of last night flash in my mind. I never knew something as simple as sitting across from someone in a diner could be so alluring. My need for this woman knows no bounds.
I clear my throat and momentarily break eye contact before saying, “Stop looking at me like that before I take you in the bathroom again. You know we’ve already christened one of the stalls here.”
Journey’s smile is diabolical. “Oh, that’s right. We did, didn”t we? Let me see. If I’m not mistaken, you went in the stall first while I was sitting out here with Summers. I gave you a minute to get situated before I went in and kneeled for you like your good girl. Then you fucked my mouth and left. Do I have it right, Sir?”
I swallow hard as my cheeks heat up from the memory. My entire body begins to warm from the thought of that day and I suddenly have to adjust in my seat again to hide my growing arousal.
“Yeah, I think that was how it happened. That was right after you met your new partner following Winter’s death.”
Journey says, “It was. He and I were barely talking then. The guy seemed so nervous. He was really on edge in the beginning, totally skittish around me like he’d never worked with anyone before. He’s still annoying but I’m glad he got over that.”
“I bet. Meanwhile, I have to get over how hard you just made me by mentioning how we used that stall the last time we were here.”
“Oh, really? Is it fully hard? Can I put my foot on it under the table?”
I smile but speak firmly. “No. You’ve done too much already. Now be a good girl and behave so we can have lunch … so I can take you home and make you my dessert.”
“Mmm, yes Sir,” Journey says, just as the sound of our waiter clearing his throat slices through our conversation.
“Yeah … are you ready to order, or are you still talking about having each other for dessert? Because I can circle back,” the waiter interjects.
At first I think he’s joking, but when I look up, there isn”t a hint of a smile on his young face. Journey isn’t smiling either, so I decide to let it go so that things don”t get out of hand quickly. Because if my Little Devil snaps, I’m snapping, too, and nobody wants that. Hell, I still hear the sound of my knife cutting through the tongue of the last guy who didn”t know how to be respectful.
What a beautiful fucking sound.
“We’re ready to order,” I reply, tapping Journey’s hand so she stays calm with me. “I’ll have the ham BLT with a water, please.”
“Great,” Chad says, turning to Journey with zero enthusiasm. “And for you?”
Journey glares at the young man who looks like he isn”t even old enough to shave yet. His hairless face is devoid of happiness and full of attitude. I assume he’s just a kid who doesn”t want to be at work today, but the look on his face makes it feel like he hates us personally.
“Journey,” I call to her to break the building tension that has quickly made our little piece of the diner sweltering hot. “It’s fine.”
My kinky detective clears her throat, obeying her Dom.
“Okay,” she says, doing her best as she looks up at the kid. “I’ll have the patty melt if that’s okay with you.”
“It’s fine,” Chad says, snatching up our menus like he’s in a hurry and hightailing it to the back.
“What the fuck is his problem?” Journey asks, frowning hard.
“I couldn”t tell you,” I answer with a shrug. “But let’s try not let it ruin our day off together, especially after last night: the club, the Shibari, the guy in the alley, and our night in the basement with our own Shibari show. My good mood is immovable.”
Journey glances in the direction of the kitchen where Chad seems to have scurried off to, but she shakes away whatever thoughts are running through her head and smiles when she looks at me.
“Yeah, last night was incredible. Admittedly, I’m still a little sore, which I always love the day after we have a scene. That’s how I know it was next level.”
“What”s still sore?” I inquire, hoping to obtain some new information to store in my memory. Knowing how my Little One feels both during the scene and after it are vital to my growth as a Dominant.
“My legs a little, but my arms and shoulders for sure,” Journey answers.
She lifts her right arm in the air and rotates it, trying to stretch it out. She maneuvers her arm in a big circle just as Chad returns with a plate in each hand. Journey doesn”t see him and accidentally knocks one of the plates out of his hand and onto the floor, where food skitters everywhere and the plate shatters with a loud crash. Everyone in the diner turns to us and Chad turns beet red, dropping the leftover plate on the table so hard that food falls off it.
“What the fuck?” he bellows, glaring at Journey like he could kill her. “Why are you spinning your damn arms around like this is a fucking Pilates class, lady?”
Journey snatches her arm back down, clearly sorry for the accident while being pissed off by how this kid is talking to her. She stands up, anger pouring from her eyes, and this time I don”t try to calm her down.
“I didn”t mean to do it,” she says, clearly trying to keep her composure. “And I’ll gladly pay for another one since it was my fault, but if you don”t quit with the fucking attitude, you”re going to cause a problem.”
“Oh, you want a problem over the food you just knocked out of my hand? We can have a problem if you want one. I don”t care if you”re a girl or not. Don”t get in my face after you just ruined the fucking meal.”
Now it’s my turn to stand.
I know he’s just a kid, but my patience is running extremely fucking thin.
Chad looks right at me and raises his fists, squaring up like a boxer in the ring.
“You want to go, motherfucker? Fine, let’s do it,” he barks just as a very large man in a sky blue button-up comes rushing from the back.
“Whoah, just calm down,” the guy says. “Go to the back, Chad. Let me handle this before you get yourself fired.”
“Fired?” Chad screams, falling into a temper tantrum he can’t seem to climb out of. “I’m not the one who knocked over the plate, Mr. Clark, and I already know you”re going to take it out of my paycheck. It’s fucking bullshit.”
“I said that I would pay for it,” Journey tries to chime in.
Chad isn’t having any of it. “Fuck you,” he snaps.
“Hey,” I cut in, stepping forward to defend Journey but struggling with keeping my beast at bay. “You might want to watch it. You”re on thin fucking ice, kid.”
“Oh, now you”re threatening me? Call the cops, Mr. Clark. I’m being threatened at my place of work.”
“Chad, you have got to calm down,” Mr. Clark says, placing a hand on Chad’s shoulder to try and turn him away from us.
“Call the cops?” Journey adds, reaching into her pocket and yanking out her detective badge. “I am the cops, you little shit.”
Journey shoves the badge in Mr. Clark’s face, and the diner goes silent. Journey glares at the kid and who I assume is the manager, waiting for them to say something now that they know she’s a detective, but they have no fight in them now. The kid knows he fucked up and shakes his head before walking away.
“I fucking quit,” he spits over his shoulder, then he walks out of the diner without another word.
“Damn it,” Mr. Clark whispers to himself.
“Are you the manager?” Journey asks, using what she has described as her cop voice.
Mr. Clark turns around, frustration weighing heavily on his face. “Yeah, I am. I’m sorry about all of that. Chad has had it rough lately.”
“Yeah? Well, he seems like a little asshole,” Journey snips. “No worries, though. I’ll pay for both the food and the plate that was broken.”
“That’s fine, but I just lost an employee when I really can’t afford to. So … it’s fine.”
Journey’s eyebrows jump to the top of her head. “Wow. So you”re blaming me for that little prick walking out on you?”
“Ma’am, I’m not blaming you for anything. It’s a very frustrating situation.”
“I’m sure it is,” I interject. I pull a one hundred dollar bill out of my wallet and shove it into the manager’s hand before placing an arm around Journey’s waist and turning her toward the door. “Sorry for the inconvenience. That should cover everything. We’re going to go before the situation gets any worse. Thanks for your help.”
“His help?” Journey snips, but I pull her with me, pushing through the exit and stepping out into the sunlight.
I keep my hand on the small of Journey’s back as I guide us to the parking lot, passing a blue sedan with a man wearing a low hat, staring at us like even he knows we almost caused a riot inside. He is probably contemplating whether he should go in after seeing what was clearly visible through the windows. I ignore him and everyone else as I push us forward until we reach the truck. I open Journey’s door for her and close it, finally able to breathe now that she is behind a closed door.
When I get in, I turn to Journey who is clearly fuming. “Well that wasn’t what I had in mind for spending our day together.”
We would”ve had a much better time smothering someone together like the good old days.
She exhales, but it does nothing to relieve the tension in her face. “Not exactly.”
“It’s okay,” I say, placing a hand on her knee. “Don’t let it get to you, Little One. It was just a kid with an attitude. We can let this one slide.”
Journey’s eyes snap over to me. “Can we? We didn”t let it slide with the guy from the club. Why now?”
“Because he’s just a kid,” I answer. “Things have been going great with us, Journey. We’re happy and not having to run from the police. We don”t need to murder every person who rubs us the wrong way and put ourselves in their crosshairs. We’ve been fortunate thus far, but let’s not push it over a kid working in a diner. Okay?”
Journey stares at me for a while, and I wish I could hear the thoughts in her head. I can tell she felt disrespected in there, but we’ve already left multiple bodies in our wake and I don”t want it to start drawing attention.
I rub her cheek with my hand, doing everything I can to extinguish the fire I know is blazing in her right now. Luckily, I see when she sighs and lets it wash off of her.
“You’re right,” she says. “Let’s not let it ruin our day off together.”
“That’s my girl,” I reply, starting up the truck and driving away.
Journey keeps her head turned away from me, staring out the window as we leave the parking lot and drive past the diner. Her body is tight and I can see her biting her lip from here.
“You good?” I ask.
When she turns to me, she’s no longer biting her lip. She”s smiling from ear to ear like nothing ever happened.
“I’m good,” she says, reaching over and taking my hand in hers. “Everything is perfect.”