Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Rhett
I dragged Elle into a dive bar around the corner that had the best fried food in all of Boston. This was my favorite place to hit up when I needed some comfort food.
"Wow!" Elle said as soon as we walked through the door. I understood her reaction immediately.
"Don't worry. The food is great, I promise."
I don't know why I had the urge to show her my favorite place, but as soon as Elle mentioned what she was hungry for, there was nowhere else I wanted to go. Even if the hotel bar we were at served the same exact food she mentioned, it was this place that I thought of.
"I'm going to hold you to that."
I smiled as I placed my hand on her lower back and guided her over to the bar. The gentleman behind the bar was the owner, and he smiled as soon as we sat down.
"Hey, Rhett. You brought a guest this time, I see. What can I get you both?"
I motioned for Elle to go ahead first and was surprised when she asked for a lager. I expected her to be a wine or martini girl with the way she was dressed up. "I'll have the same," I told Sam.
"Coming right up." He rapped the bar with his knuckles before walking over to the tap to pour our drinks.
"First thoughts?" I spun on my barstool and looked at Elle's profile. Her strawberry-colored locks twisted halfway down her back and complemented her porcelain skin. Everything about her screamed high class and was the complete opposite of who I was.
Elle turned and met my gaze head-on. She shifted until her legs were between mine. "The bartender seems nice and seems to know you well. Plus the place isn't dirty. Outdated for sure but it's clean compared to some bars I've been to."
Jealousy immediately tried to work its way into my system at the fact that she was at bars—probably with other men. I pushed the feeling down though. I had no right to be jealous of who she had hung out with before she met me
"Sam," I told her.
"Excuse me?"
"The bartender's name is Sam, and he's actually the owner. Great guy and he does keep a clean place."
"Here you go." Speaking of the man. Sam slid two beers across the bar. "Can I get you anything to eat?"
"We'll have one of everything," I said without taking my eyes off Elle. I smirked when she gasped.
Sam didn't argue. Nor did he say anything more before slipping away to put the order in.
"That's a lot of food, Rhett."
I laughed at her shocked expression. "How do you know? You didn't even look at the menu."
Elle blanched. "Well, I can only assume it's a lot of food."
I continued to laugh. "It's really not." Then I leaned over the bar and grabbed one of the paper menus Sam hid for people like Elle who had never been there before. It was nothing more than a five-by-seven card with eight items on it.
"Wait! They even have pizza and breadsticks here? I wouldn't have guessed that in a million years in a place like this."
I knew what she meant. I too didn't expect it the first time Sam showed me the menu.
"Sam owns a pizza shop as well. He feels it's good business to cross-promote his products."
Elle merely nodded her head at what I said. Before she got the chance to say anything more, Sam dropped off a basket full of onion rings and fried pickles. "The other stuff will be out in a few minutes."
"Thanks, Sam."
I grabbed one of the pickles and picked it up to blow on it. Once I felt it was cool enough, I brought it to Elle's lips. I instantly got hard when her plump lips wrapped around my fingers and she sucked the pickle into her mouth.
But it was the moan she let out while chewing that nearly had me shooting off like an inexperienced teenager.
"Wow, those are delicious."
I waited until she completely chewed and swallowed before grabbing an onion ring and repeating the process.
"Are you planning to feed me the entire night?" she asked in a playful tone.
I smirked in return but shook my head no. "Nah. I just wanted to make sure you weren't one of those girls who picked at food instead of actually eating it."
I had a feeling I was in big trouble when Elle picked up a large onion ring and proceeded to shove the whole thing in her mouth. Not even caring at all what she looked like in the process. I laughed at her antics.
"I'll take that as your way of correcting my narrow-minded thinking."
Elle didn't answer until after she washed the food down with a large gulp of lager. "You would be correct. Don't let the dress fool you. I could eat and drink most men under the table."
"Good thing I ordered so much food, then, because I don't know about you, but I'm starved." I wasn't just talking about food either. Although I was certainly hungry.
"Famished," was Elle's reply, and it made me think she was on the same page.
Too bad she was too innocent for a guy like me. She was wholesome and sweet while I was a train wreck, and everything I touched went to shit. I refused to do that to her after she told me how great her life was.
Sam eventually brought out the rest of the food, and we ate in comfortable silence. I quickly learned Elle wasn't joking when she said she could eat most men under the table. For someone so small, she sure could pack a lot of food in.
Elle sighed and leaned back on her barstool with one hand splayed across her belly. "I can't possibly eat another bite."
I didn't know how she ate as much as she did, but I certainly didn't say that. "Was it good?" I asked instead.
"Oh my Goddd." She groaned. "It was so damn good. I'm going to need to stop here every time I visit the city."
Well, I guess that answered the question whether or not she was from Boston before I could even ask it. "What brought you to the city tonight?"
"Ugh!" Yup, she actually said the word. "Some of my co-workers thought it would be fun to hit up a nightclub. I realized about five minutes into the venture it wasn't my scene."
I cringed at the thought of all those people packed into a small space. "I know what you mean. Crowds and loud noises don't do it for me."
"Me either." Elle swiped her hand across my forearm. "I don't even know why I agreed." She shook her head. "Wait. Yes, I do. It's because my co-workers are constantly teasing me for my lack of a social life."
"I find that hard to believe," I told her honestly. She seemed sociable when she practically forced me to talk.
"Did you forget the part where I told you I'm on a sourdough kick, and I like to read romance books? Those two things take up all my spare time. I have to make sure I don't kill my starter."
I didn't have the slightest idea what she was talking about, but the way she was talking about it, I couldn't help but nod my head in understanding.
"What about you? What brings you to Boston?"
"I work here," I answered vaguely.
"Do you routinely visit hotels in the city where you work?"
I thought about the hotel bar I had met her in not that long ago.
"Just one."
Elle looked at me like I was a puzzle she was trying to solve.
Good luck. Most have tried and failed over the years.
Then she glanced at the clock behind the bar and winced. "Your hour is almost up, and I should get on the road."
I motioned for Sam to bring me the check. I slapped my credit card down on the bar once Sam came over and waited while he ran it. Once I had filled out the receipt, I stood up and grabbed Elle's hand. "Let me walk you to your car."
The walk to Elle's car was done in silence. The easy flow of conversation we had at the bar, suddenly seemed to fade away.
All too soon, we were standing next to her gray SUV.
"Where's your phone?" I practically barked the question at her.
"Why?" She raised her brow and popped her hip at me.
"Because I want you to program my number into it and text me when you get home safe."
The attitude she just gave me slipped away and was replaced with a knowing smile. "If you wanted my number, all you had to do was ask," she teased.
"I thought I just did," I teased right back.
With a shake of her head, she dug her phone out of the small purse and handed it to me. "Save your number."
"No passcode?" I asked when I swiped the screen up and wasn't met with any resistance.
"I've got nothing to hide."
I shook my head at her. "It's not about hiding anything, it's about security." I saved my number and called my phone so that I would have hers as well. Holding the phone in the air, I reiterated my request. "Don't forget to text me, or I'll come looking for you."
"Yes, sir."
My cock stirred at her response, and I was forced to push those feelings down. Elle wasn't the kind of woman I could fuck, then walk away from, and I certainly didn't have anything more to offer her.
However, my next action took me by surprise as I leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Drive safe."
I watched as lust filled her eyes, but sighed in relief when instead of acting on it, Elle climbed into her vehicle and started the engine. With a small wave, she pulled away and drove off.
The rational part of my brain knew it was for the best and hoped it was the last time I saw her, but I refused to lie to myself.
I wanted to see her again.