19. Vicki
Chapter 19
Vicki
T he house was too quiet with Leopold having to go somewhere. The book Luce brought me wasn't helping my mind slow down, so I slid off the couch and ambled toward the basement. Kage would be working down here today, but he often closed the door behind him, so I didn't know if I was allowed. My hand gently turned the handle to peek down, finding I'd have to go all the way down them to turn the corner to see anything.
"Kage?" I called out. "Can I come down?"
"Depends!" he shouted back.
"Depends on what?" He couldn't see my snubbed face.
"Are you being bitchy and chatty?"
"W hat kind of question is that?" I stormed down the stairs to see him spinning a tumbler in glitter.
"The only time you're nice is when you've had an orgasm, but you've gone almost a whole day without one. I'm making sure you come in peace without having cum."
"I'm not that bad!" I placed my hands on my hips. My eyes took in the large basement room. Most would've used it for a second living area or game area, but he had different stations for each kind of thing he made. One long work bench lined the whole wall to give him room in front of each to work freely. A tumbler wall with all his epoxy needs were the first, then he had a heat press set up, one for shirts and one for cups. The third had bottles with liquids in them, so I headed that way. "What's this?" The front read, Mated .
"I make personal scents for people. They pick the smells, and I blend them to be good before shipping it out with whatever name they want it to have. That one is popular around Valentine's Day. Hence why I’ve shipped almost two hundred bottles in the last two weeks."
"Did you make ones for the guys?" I thought back to how each lingered in my nose. They were unique and delicious.
"Sure did." He kept his hands in the glitter, gently rolling the cup in it. My eyes focused on him, seeing him in his element. For a man as big as him, it felt weird seeing him love crafting, but his talent was unmatched. Projects lined the bar once they finished with tags to know each order number. Backdrops were rolled up a the wall for him to easily pull down for a photo session in the back of the room. Not only was he thorough, but he was also organized. Two skills that almost contradicted the other.
"You're so organized."
"Tal helped with that. He made me a system I could follow because he didn't like how I first did it. He's not one to like a mess." Kage placed the cup on a spinning thing before beginning the next cup. He had five rotating things for the cups, but only one had an open slot.
"Those are pretty." I got closer, studying the designs on them. They were dark romance themed, making me smile.
"One of the biggest markets for my things are women like you who enjoy what they read. I've made a perfume called Dragon's mate . I couldn't make enough to keep any in stock." He laughed.
"You have a pretty smile," I commented on it because he rarely did under his wavy hair.
"The only thing not ruined about me."
"You're not ruined!" I argued.
"Oh yeah? So if I met you in a grocery store and asked you out, you'd say yes?" He lifted his gaze for me to deny it. "You got my skills before seeing my face."
"I think you sell yourself short." I got closer, tucking back his light brown curls behind his ear. "Your hair is incredible, you have two dimples when you grin, and you have the prettiest blue eyes I've ever looked into. They remind me of a husky's. Then there's your strong frame that makes a woman feel protected because of your size. Your scars? They just tell me you survived something that should've broken you, but it didn't. And all of that is why I called you Alpha so easily."
"Careful, Little Omega," he growled. "I might not keep the hands-off rule if you keep looking at me like that."
Ugh. As much as I wanted him, I knew my body needed the recovery... until later tonight. I stepped away, pouting. That's when I saw his lunch was a gas station burrito. "Are you eating that? I've heard they do terrible things to people."
"Sure am, and I've never had problems." He cleaned his hands after getting the last cup spinning. "Why don't you spend the next lit tle bit soaking in the bath and getting ready for dinner? It'll help your nerves when you're by yourself."
"How did you know I don't like to be alone?"
"You mentioned being lonely in your sleep during your nap on the couch. You don't like that you're alone, so even a stranger's bed feels less lonely." He let his hands rest on the bar. "Go get in the bath, and I'll come join when I get a few shirts pressed."
"You'll join me?" I bit my lip.
"In the bathroom, yes. Not in the tub. I don't let people see my body."
A sadness found me. I didn't like he wouldn't let me. "Where did the scars come from?"
"An angry father," he answered easily.
Something pulled in my chest, and I wanted to kill his dad for hurting him. My feet helped me climb the stairs, but Kage stayed on my mind. I wanted him to show me his scars because I began wanting more with all of them. When I got to the top, I yelled down the stairs again before slamming the door. "Scars are h ot, so get over yourself!"
We walked into the restaurant that took us nearly an hour to drive to. I felt like me once again in the deep V dress I wore. The red shade kept driving the guys wild, and I enjoyed teasing them. They stayed true to their word, not touching me for the last twenty-four hours. My chafing didn't rub me raw now, and I could keep my legs together without hissing. My pussy still hurt, but I knew that wouldn't go away after being stretched and fucked yesterday.
"Is this table okay?" the waiter asked.
"Yes." I sat in the chair he even pulled out for me after laying out the menus. "Thank you."
"Excuse me?!" a woman called to him, raising her fingers to snap them in his direction. Jesus, the rudeness of it made me watch in disbelief. He gave us a curt nod to remove himself, giving us minute to look things over with a promise to return shortly. He moved to the woman, asking if she was ready to order. She asked what he'd recommend.
"We have a new Caprese salad that's delicious! It comes with grilled chicken that's been marinated in-"
She cut him off. "How dare you?"
"Huh?" he asked her.
"You're calling me fat, telling me I need a salad!" Oh god. She was one of those women. "How dare you body shame me! I want your manager!"
He didn't have to go fetch his boss because he'd been making rounds to all the tables. A swiftness made his strides longer to reach them faster. "Is everything okay?"
"Your waiter just called me fat! He told me I needed a salad!"
"No! No, sir. That's not what I said! I was trying to promote our new salad when she asked me what's good! I'd never comment on a woman's weight!" The poor boy greened at the gills.
"I demand a discount! No, you better give me a free meal!" Ah, there it was. Stirring the pot to get something for free. People didn't realize it could cost someone their job. This whole spectacle had me asking what my best fried would do. Luce was the strongest woman I knew, and she could destroy the world if she wanted to. She'd put this bitch in her place, but Luce wasn't here. I was.
I stood from th e table, storming over to her, snapping my fingers in her face to give her a taste of her own medicine. "Excuse me! You're making my dining experience uncomfortable, so I'm demanding you pay for my meal! And if you don't want to be fat shamed, gain some confidence! He. Never. Called. You. Fat." Yes, I said each word in a snap to piss her off. "And if you call their corporate, I'm going to warn them about you to log your number with every chain they know to prepare for your sick game to get free meals!"
She got up in a huff and rushed out of the restaurant.
Everyone sat in silence around me, but then my three guys began clapping manically, whistling for my job well done. Others joined in, celebrating that I removed the problem. Taking a small bow, I hurried back to my seat. The waiter talked to his boss before coming to collect what drinks we wanted, and if we were ready to order.
"I'll have that new salad you mentioned. It sounded delicious." I smiled.
"Same with us. We'd like to try something new. Four orders of it." Talon handed him back the menus. "We'd also like a bottle of your finest white wine to pair with whatever marinated chicken you were trying to mention."
Was it bad that I loved he knew my favorite drink was wine, and white paired with white meat? When he sent me a wink, I didn't know what to do with myself. I made him proud when I defended the worker. Leopold reached over to high five me. "Vicki, that was... I have no words. I don't think I've ever seen someone do that to a Karen before."
I blushed. "I don't like when people are rude to staff. My stepmom is awful wherever we go, and it bothers me. It's always bothered me even before her. I'd see it at every event because the rich are snobs. Luce usually puts them in their place, so I just asked myself what she'd do and did it now."
"Well, it was invigorating!" Leopold sat forward.
"Thank you," I murmured. "And I mean that for more than your words today. This whole week has opened my eyes that I've been...?" I tried to out it into words.
"Alive but not living?" Kage offered.
"Yeah. Just routine and terrible online dating. So when this comes to an end on Sunday, I just wanted to say I'm grateful you gave me my wish."
"Your wish?" Talon knew my soul in partial by what we shared, but not completely.
"To live a dark romance girlie's dream. You gave that to me, and I'll never forget it." The salads came out then, so I kept my head down to see the mozzarella cheese with the tomatoes and basil. The vinaigrette wafted, making me salivate with the lemon chicken next to it. "This looks incredible."
"Smells delightful," Leopold applauded because he was the main cook in our house. Our … Crap. I had to watch those pesky thoughts, but they made it hard, being so comfortable with us doing this public outing together.
The waiter poured our drinks, leaving us with his genuine smile. "My manager wanted me to tell you the wine is on the house. I hope you enjoy."
If we were going to stay together like my heart craved, this place would be a monthly outing. I hated my mind for the tricks it played, but when I looked around at the guys letting loose and laughing together, I knew this was tangible. It'd be ripped away from me in a few days, so I had to keep reminding myself this bliss had an expiration date. Come Sunday, I'd go back to living in my father's shadow. I'd go back to not existing but having money… money that didn’t give me a sliver of this amount of happiness.