Chapter 7
SEVEN
AUSTIN
“Thank you,” Kenny says as Brittany sets our plates down. The server smiles at her and then pointedly rolls her eyes at me, probably still angry at me for kicking her out of Quitter’s last weekend. I smile at her anyway, which pisses her off more.
That’s one of the worst parts about a small town—no matter what you do, you’re pissing someone off.
If I hadn’t kicked her out and her mama found out she’d been in my bar, I wouldn’t be able to go to the corner store without hearing about it.
At least with pissing Brittany off, it was just the diner that would be miserable for the next few weeks.
“How’s your new job going?” I ask, waggling my brows at Kenny.
She rolls her eyes. “It’s going fine. I’m just a cashier, so I’m bored out of my mind most of the time.
The customers are mostly just a bunch of men who think I’m not charging them correctly, so they want to talk to Theo.
Theo stops what he’s doing in the back and comes out to tell them I’m right, and then they pay the amount without fuss because Theo was the one who read it to them. ”
“Men suck ass.” I spear a bit of roasted potato with my fork and pop it in my mouth. “Although I did have a really fun one on the show last week.”
“Ooh,” Kenny says, eyes alight as she leans forward. “Tell me more.”
I chase the potato with a bit of my OJ. It took me a while to build up the nerve to tell Kenny about my alter ego. It’s not that I thought she’d judge me, it’s just that she and I are really different when it comes to sex.
For me, sex is just sex. Birds do it, insects do it, even worms do it. It’s just an activity that feels great and usually, it’s pretty fun. I’m down to try almost anything once and some of the things I know I’m into definitely aren’t for everyone.
But Kenny is a virgin at twenty-two by choice. It’s not like she’s saving herself for marriage or looks down on people who are hooking up every weekend. She just wants to wait. I can’t really wrap my head around that, but I respect it. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.
“Massive dick energy,” I answer. “But he was a guest and I don’t think he ended up making an account. Or at least he didn’t reveal himself again if he did.”
Which was a letdown in more ways than one if I’m being honest. So it’s good he didn’t, because it was clear I’d let the orgasm get to my head. It was a stellar orgasm though, and I’m just a girl.
“That sucks,” she agrees. “Was he a good tipper?”
I feign nonchalance, picking at my acrylics. “Depends on if you think $300 in one night is a good tip.”
Kendall chokes on her water at that, her hand going up to catch it as it dribbles down her chin. “Three hundred dollars?!”
“Shh!” I scold, tossing her my napkin while my eyes dart around for anyone who might be listening in. I really, really don’t want Dad finding out. Not only would he want a cut of my money, but he’d happily call me a whore while taking it.
“Three hundred dollars?” she repeats, whisper-yelling this time.
“I know. Bat shit crazy, right? But like I said, just a one-off, apparently.” Another twinge of melancholy hits me, so I quickly change the subject.
“But hey, you’re not getting out of this so easily!
What’s it like spending your afternoons with the man you’ve been crushing on since you ran around the ranch in diapers? ”
“I think that’s an exaggeration.” Kenny’s cheeks flush ridiculously easily, which is one of my favorite things about my best friend.
I could talk about being double-penetrated by two tentacle dildos and she wouldn’t bat an eye, but even mention his name around her and she’s as red as a tomato.
If I were a better friend, I’d call her once an hour and do just that so she’d never have to waste money on buying blush ever again.
“It’s not,” I tell her. “I still remember when he got engaged. You made me spend the weekend at your house so your brothers would be too scared to come in and tease you for bawling your eyes out.”
Kendall pouts. “I was thirteen. Of course I was dramatic.”
“Dramatic because the ‘love of your life’ was marrying someone else,” I sigh with put-on sympathy. “You said your life was over. That you’d never fall in love again.”
“Well, I wasn’t far off,” she grumbles.
I roll my eyes affectionately. “Bitch, please. You could have just about any man in this town wrapped around your little finger if you wanted, but you’ve still got your heart set on Theo.”
“Do not.”
“Do so. I know it, you know it, your mama knows it. The only one who doesn’t know it is Theodore himself.”
“Ladies,” a deep voice says, announcing himself. Every single cell inside me snaps to attention and Kenny jolts, covering her heart with her hand.
Maddox walks up to the edge of the table, shoving his wallet in his back pocket. He definitely heard the last part of our conversation, but at least he hadn’t come in five minutes earlier and heard me talking about camming.
I’ve always had a thing for Kenny’s oldest brother, though it wasn’t anything like her crush on Theo.
I liked to flirt with Maddox because it made my stomach flip when he narrowed his eyes at me.
I never had butterflies over gentlemanly gestures or pretty-boy smiles.
Instead, they only came out to play if there was a promise of a firm hand or a stern tone.
That was another reason the man from the show last week had affected me so much.
Most of the men who watched me perform either couldn’t handle my brattiness or let me walk all over them.
Guestie not only handled it, but reined it in perfectly and used it against me, resulting in one of the best orgasms I’ve ever given myself.
Unfortunately, exploring those desires in real life left much to be desired. I wasn’t stupid enough to put myself in a situation where I could be hurt just because my pussy wanted us to be manhandled, and there wasn’t a single man I trusted enough to experiment with.
Maddox holds Kendall’s keys up and she reaches to grab them, but he tugs them away childishly. “Next time a dash light comes on, you need to tell me immediately, Kendall.”
“It literally just came on,” she snarks back irritably.
“You said it came on a few days ago,” he argues, dropping the keys in her hand.
“Right. So, like I said, it literally. Just. Came. On.”
I laugh at her frustration. I love watching the dynamic between the Whittaker siblings, but especially between any of them and Maddox.
Kenny’s usually a sweetheart, but a surefire way of drawing out her mean side is by nagging her.
If there’s one thing Maddox loves to do, it’s nag. “Yeah, Maddie. Like she said,” I goad.
He turns his head and his eyes narrow on me. “Any of your dash lights on, brat?”
“Why? Gonna crawl up under my hood and put in some work if so?” I ask, fluttering my lashes at him and pretending the nickname does nothing for me. The oddest twinge of familiarity hits, but it’s gone before I can understand why.
He doesn’t dignify my flirting with a response, but then again, he never does.
“My car’s all good, sir,” I say in a put-on, coquettish tone, twirling a strand of hair around my finger.
If he wants to treat us like we’re incompetent, I can play that role.
“Thank you for asking, though. I’ll be sure to be a good girl and let you know if I see one of them real pretty colors on my dash now that I know they’re not Christmas lights like I thought. ”
Maddox huffs, but the way one side of his mustache quirks tells me he’s squashing a smile. Kenny’s laughter doesn’t help matters—it only makes me break character and grin at her. I love making her laugh.
“I was just trying to be nice, Tex,” he explains, his voice more gentle than I care to hear it.
“I know.” I drop my hair. “It’s weird. Quit it. I ain’t one of your sisters.”
I can just barely see his tongue dart out to wet his lips past his mustache, but my eyes zero in on it all the same. “Trust me. I’m aware.”
My eyes dart back up to his. I swear they’re darker than usual and it makes my breath hitch.
Is he… flirting? He never flirts back with me. It’s always been one-sided. I tilt my head, studying him. He snaps out of it and looks back at Kenny.
“I mean it, Kendall. Tell me immediately next time. Don’t wait a week.”
He leaves before she can growl at him again, not giving me another glance. I watch his Wrangler-clad ass as he does, sighing wistfully and resting my chin on the heel of my hand. “One day, Ken.”
“God, shut up.”
“Does this mean you won’t be my maid of honor?”
The door to the diner closes behind Maddox and I finally look at my friend again.
“Probably not, no. Only because you’ll never make a move on him for real,” she says, popping a huckleberry in her mouth.
My mouth gapes. “Me? I’ve been making moves on him for years! I ask him to take me home every single time he comes to the bar! He’s the one that’s chicken-shit, not me. I bet it’s because he knows I’d have him pussy-whipped in no time.”
She pushes her plate away. “Ugh, I’ve lost my appetite.”
“I bet I fuck your brother before you fuck your boss.”
“God, please stop talking,” she whines, rubbing her temples like I’m the one being difficult.