Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Nell
Today is a good day. I woke up early and went for a morning walk in the brisk cold of winter in Colorado.
It felt good to feel the nature around me. The crisp air and the quiet streets made me appreciate the simple moments before the chaos of daily life set in. Today we get a large delivery from a big romance author who writes MC, sexy bikers who like to talk dirty but in the sweetest way.
Swoon.
Right now I love my life; I get to be me and not hide the things that I love. Keith hated me reading. He told me that even with the romance books that I read, I was still terrible in the bedroom. Little did he know, it was just him I did not like having sex with.
“Good afternoon, Margarie.”
“Oh, good afternoon, Nell. It is a nice day for a good book, I see.”
“Every day is a good day for a good book.” I wink at her, making her laugh sweetly.
“Nell, can you be a dear and find me that romance suspense book you told me about?” I look to my left to see a regular customer of ours.
She loves coming in to read and to talk to other customers. Since her husband passed away a year ago, her visits have been more frequent. We do not care; if this is all the social interaction she gets, then so be it. I am happy to sit and talk with her, or get her what she needs while she reads.
“Will do, Marge. Are you okay to get to your table? I can have Dad come help you.”
She waves me off with a huff. “I am old, not dead, child. I can do it.” I grin, and turn away from her to get the book she is asking about.
Looking over my shoulder, I see a teenage boy help lower her into her seat. The sight makes my heart warm at the kindness that we sometimes forget with how the world is right now.
Tapping along the row of books on the shelf, I smile to myself at how many books here I have read. Since I left my ex, reading has taken over a big part of my spare time, and I’ve caught up on so many amazing books that are out there. I even jumped into genres that I have never read before.
I get that everyone has a preference but there is nothing wrong with trying something new.
With the book in hand, I walk back to Marge, nodding to the boy who helped her. His smile is sweet, then he joins his friends, who high-five him.
I hand Marge the book and step outside to clean the tables that we have out here. During the warmer months of the year this seating area is full, busting at the seams.
I place the used cups and plates onto a tray, wiping down the table top, getting it ready for the next customer that might want to use it.
Moving to the next one, I hear a cackle that sends a wave of prickles through my body.
“Oh, look, baby, she is still waiting on other people. Sad, really.” Closing my eyes, I control my breathing.
Like I have said, it did not hurt me that he cheated; it was just the humiliation.
Standing to full height, I turn to face them with a sickly sweet smile on my face. The best way to beat them is to not let them see you hurt; show them that they did not win.
“Oh, look, it is the cheating, lying ex-husband and his trashy sidepiece,” I reply with a childish shrug of my shoulders.
“I would not have cheated if you were good in bed,” Keith snaps.
I laugh at him, and his face reddens. “Let’s not lie to ourselves now, Keith. You would have cheated anyway. You are a weak man. I would bet my life on the thought that you are cheating on this one.”
“I am not his sidepiece; I am his main piece,” the chick smarts off, making me scoff.
“That is nothing to be proud of; you still slept with a married man.”
She gasps, her eyes narrowing in anger, and I grin. On the outside, I am cool as a cucumber, but on the inside, my heart is racing so fast, I fear I might have a heart attack.
“I know how to keep my man happy, bitch, unlike you. You are fat and have sex like a corpse. Keith told me.”
I look at my short nails, acting bored, before replying, “You do know that corpses can’t have sex, right?”
“Oh, fuck off, Nell. You always were a pretentious cunt. You were an easy lay, and not a good one at that. That is why I stuck around, because you were there if I needed a hole to fuck.”
I keep my face neutral, but my insides are churning. His words hit hard, and I have to force any emotion down to not let them win.
A warm arm snakes around my body, making me jump. Keith’s eyes go wide, just as lips touch my ear.
“Go along with it,” the smooth like melted chocolate voice says at my ear.
I nod. His next words send a ripple of lust through me like a rough wave.
“Good girl.”
Greedy slut.
It has been months since I have been touched and yet a voice sends me into a wave of blossoming arousal.
I shiver, and the stranger chuckles.
“Baby, I love how you react to me.” He kisses the side of my head.
What in the sweet candy hearts was that?
I turn my head to look at the man and hold in a shocked gasp at how freaking handsome he is. Dark blond hair that curls naturally, bright green eyes, and a smile that makes knees go weak all over the world.
He winks. Then he looks to the couple in front of us.
“I do not believe we have met, but I have heard about you. Such a shame that my woman had to endure time with you. But I will thank you for leaving her to me, because damn, she knows how to leave me weak and sated in bed.”
His arm tightens around me, my body tingling from head to foot at his touch like the hussy it is.
“Who the fuck are you?” Keith snaps.
His girlfriend stares at the stranger like she wants to lick him from head to foot. I can’t blame her; he is fucking hot.
Her gaze makes me want to pick up my tray and beat her over the head with it. I mean, he is my sexy stranger, right?
“I am her man,” he says, because come on, he does not know my name or me his.
Fuck, this could go bad very quickly.
“She hasn’t mentioned that she was seeing anyone. Were you cheating on me this whole time?” Keith glares at me, and a laugh bubbles up, making him frown more.
The fucking cheek of this guy, accusing me of cheating when he was caught red-handed at work, with his pants down around his ankles.
My sexy stranger looks down at me and nods his head, telling me to explain.
“I was not the one who cheated, Keith. We met after the divorce. We had not been a couple for close to two years, but I was stupid enough to stick around thinking things might get better, when in fact you were sharing your puny dick with any woman stupid enough to open their legs for you.”
“Hey,” his girlfriend snaps, and I wave her off.
“Oh, shut it. You knew he was married, yet you still fucked him. You give sisterhood a bad name.”
“And on that note, I am going to take my woman back inside so she can share those wickedly good lips with me, that she took before waking me this morning.”
My sexy stranger collects my trays and carries them inside for me, guiding me with a hand on the small of my back.
“Breathe,” he whispers as we step through the door.
Setting the trays on a table, he looks at me.
“Is there anywhere you can gather yourself?” I nod and take his hand.
Why? I have no fucking clue. I am winging this while having a mini panic attack.
What the fuck just happened?