Chapter 6
Ipop my head into the chrome kitchen of Gem’s Diner. Gem Cruz is waving a wooden spoon at Diego Garcia, a teasing expression on her wizened face. She unleashes a string of taunts at Diego in rapid-fire Spanish. The young cook unties his white apron strings and sighs in exasperation. “Don’t lecture me about what young people do, mami.”
“Do you care if I head out early?” I yell.
Gem and Diego look at me. Diego’s expression is apologetic. “Sorry, Pearl. I already asked to leave. My boyfriend is on the couch, sick as a dog, and he needs some cold medicine. Any other day, I would be glad to stay.”
I give Diego a conciliatory smile. “Of course. I hope Jared feels better.”
He whips his apron into the drawstring bag of dirty kitchen laundry, and walks down the kitchen toward me. “Gracias, hermana,” he says as he takes his leave.
Gem sighs once he’s gone. “If things don’t pick up in half an hour, we’ll close early. I could use the extra sleep.”
I step out of the kitchen, calling to her over my shoulder, “And yet, you look as fresh and young as the day you started this place, Gem.”
“I know that’s right!” she yells back.
I check my watch. It’s almost ten thirty at night, and I’ve worked a grueling double today. But I’m patient as always. Gem counts on me to work all the weird shifts that no one wants to work. And I will gladly take them, even if I’m only earning minimum wage. What else would I be doing if I wasn’t here?
Having sex dreams about River, probably. Although Auntie Delta would no doubt have me cleaning trailers.
A blush creeps up into my cheeks as I grab a rag to make sure every table is wiped down. I haven’t been on a date since I broke up with Bishop, and it shows. River showed me thirty minutes of attention and now I regularly dream about him. Mostly about how I imagine his tall, toned body looks in the buff. River getting into the shower, River waking up early in the morning, River coming back from a run… YUM.
The bells on the diner door chime, jolting me out of my reverie. Sam Bennett, the gray-haired patriarch of the Billion Dollar Bennetts, pokes his head in the door. “Are y’all still serving food, darlin’?”
I straighten, feeling like I’ve been caught. “Of course! We’re still open and ready to serve you.”
“Thanks, doll. We need to soak up some of the beer we drank while watching the Atlanta Kings obliterate the New Orleans Pelicans.”
“Wiped the floors with those Pelicans!” comes an all-too-familiar voice from behind Sam. My stomach drops and my heart gives a little flutter.
It sounds like River.
Sam winks at me as he parades into the diner. The man is as tall as an oak tree. Behind him march his sons, every bit as tall and handsome. There’s boyish-looking Brooks, somber Rhett, and gorgeous River.
“Hey, Pearl,” River says with a secret smile. “What’s going on?”
I duck my head. Hottie Walker Harrison is the last to enter, and he comes up to clap Rhett on the back. I know Walker is best friends with twins Rhett and Rex; the town gossip mill is strong when whispering about the Bennett boys and their exploits.
They join the drunk, noisy pack as they head to their usual corner of the diner and sink into two booths. River makes eye contact with me from across the room, a flirtatious smile on his face.
Oh boy. This isn’t my first time serving the Bennetts. Going by the last few times I’ve waited on them, I’m about to walk into a fat cash tip. I’m suddenly inordinately happy that I didn’t leave after all.
But these guys can also be a handful.
I gather up five menus and head over to hand them out. Brooks and River are in the closer booth. Sam, Rhett, and Walker are in the one by the window. I turn on my brightest smile while I take their drink orders. Water and coffee all around, except for Rhett. Rhett orders a green tea.
I go to fill them as quickly as I can. From my vantage spot by the soda machine, I catch River looking at me once again. He breaks into a broad grin, like he’s unashamed of being caught staring. This is different from how he acted before the UFO party. Like somehow, I am complicit. I gulp.
Is River a player? Because he’s putting the moves on me without even trying. He showed up unannounced to the GCUFOS viewing last night. Then he pretended to be my boyfriend and even kissed me in front of Bishop.
I bite my lips as I consider how this affects me. I want to know more about River, that’s for sure.
After dropping off their drinks, I take their food orders. I do Sam’s booth first. Two waffles, three orders of eggs, and five hashbrowns.
Then I nonchalantly sidle over to River’s table. I flip a page in my notepad and try to play it cool, but inside I’m as skittish as a possum caught by floodlights while on a stealthy midnight stroll. Resting my hip on the edge of their table, I lift my notepad. “What can I get you two?”
“It’s nice to see you again.” River’s blue eyes flash.
I’m not sure how to respond to that. I just flush and tuck my hair behind my ear.
“I’ll have three orders of hashbrowns, scattered, smothered, and covered. And can I get a cheeseburger with that?” Brooks asks, his eyes on his menu. He looks up. “Can I get a milkshake, too?”
My lips twitch. He’s clearly been drinking and his antics are that of a child’s. “Yup. Vanilla, chocolate, or butter pecan?”
“Pecan!” he says, pushing his menu away.
Act businesslike. You can do it. “Got it. And you, hon?”
River spreads out, taking up all the space in the booth and not looking exactly bothered by it. Of course he wouldn’t be bothered. He’s a big guy. He’s wearing a long-sleeved Atlanta Kings T-shirt, an Atlanta Kings championship hat, a sexy black motorcycle jacket, and black jeans that are snug in the butt and thighs. Every piece of clothing fits like a glove.
That’s something I really admire about River.
He looks at me dead in the eye, smirking a little. “I have a question.”
“What?” Tossing my hair, I hold my notepad up.
He looks me up and down and asks, “Can I order one of you? You’re the most appetizing thing in this whole place.”
I feel my cheeks flush. “Exactly how much beer did y’all have when you were watching the game?”
Brooks snorts and tries to cover his reaction by chugging ice water. River seems completely unbothered.
“No beer. Only whiskey.” He wiggles his eyebrows. “But my question stands. Are you on the menu?”
Rolling my eyes, I dodge his question. “You’re making your whole family wait, River.”
“Dude, just order already. I’m starving!” Brooks moans.
“Fine.” River slides his menu to me. “I want the all-star special with my eggs over easy.
“Bacon or sausage?” I ask.
“I already have all the sausage a girl could want.” He gives me a mischievous grin. “But I’ll always take a side of bacon.”
“You’re ridiculous.” My tone is flirty as I stuff their menus under my arm. “I’ll get your order in. Try to behave yourself while I’m gone.”
“Not a chance,” he shoots back.
My heart beats a little faster. It’s not often that I have someone as good looking as River being so flirtatious and bold with me. I can usually fend off any advances that customers make… but what if I don’t want River to behave?
God, I really need to get laid.
I shoot River a quelling look and hurry to the kitchen window. Calling out the order is quick work. I can hear Gem firing up the grill as I dart around, blending a milkshake and perking up a new batch of coffee.
Throwing myself into my work is easy. I’ve been practicing this for years at this point. Keeping my hands busy and my feet moving is almost second nature.
In fact, it only barely keeps my mind from drifting back to River. When I add the ice cream and milk to the blender and turn it on, I look over at him. He flashes me a smirk as he says something to Brooks that I can’t hear over the noise of the machine.
River showed up unexpectedly at the GCUFOS meeting the other night. Where he kissed me, I might add. And now he’s here at my work, being all sexy and tempting. And he clearly thinks I’m hot, so–
“Pearl!” Gem yells from the kitchen. “You’re going to burn the blender’s motor out!”
Shaking myself out of it, I turn the blender off and go through the motions of serving up the shake. Gem starts putting up plates and ringing the bell for service.
I’m busy carrying plates to the tables for the next ten minutes and then running around getting the Billion Dollar Bennetts whatever condiments they need for the foreseeable future.
When I’m finished with that, I need a break. I check my watch. It’s now past eleven. Heading into the kitchen, I find Gem washing dishes. “Hey Gem? Do you mind if I take five?”
Gem nods and stops spraying dishes. “Go ahead. Take ten if you want.”
“You are awesome and the best boss of all time, ever.” I pull my apron off, and brush a few crumbs off of my antique-blue diner waitress’s uniform skirt. Grabbing a white cable-knit sweater, I head out the back door and walk ten feet to the aging picnic table.
When I get outside, I take a deep breath, inhaling the night air.
There’s nothing outside here but the long, silver back wall of the restaurant to my left and the gorgeous, moonlit beach much further off in the distance to my right. It’s cold out here. The moon and stars are impossibly brilliant against the black backdrop of the night sky. I sit down on the edge of the table and wrap my sweater tighter, looking up.
Before I can even begin to relax, I hear the crunch of footsteps on the gravel of the parking lot. I tense up. The restaurant’s boxy shape casts a deep shadow over the parking lot, obscuring the approaching figure. Who is coming to intrude on my quiet moment?
But I already know who, even before River’s shape coalesces out of the darkness. He has his hands shoved in the pockets of his impossibly snug jeans. And the look on his face is far hungrier than the flirtatious one he’d given me inside the diner.
When I see his blue eyes, a ripple of unnamed emotion runs through me. Maybe I’m just horny. Or perhaps lonely.
He walks over to me, eyeing me like a cat creeping up to a mouse. “It’s cold out here, Pearl.”
“I like it,” I say, just babbling as an excuse to fill the space between us.
My heart rate increases with each step he takes. He comes to a stop mere inches away from me. My tongue feels too big for my mouth.
River is so damn hot. He cocks one eyebrow, and his eyes glint a soft blue in the shadows. The way he is looking at me right now, like I’m a whole damn snack, makes my knees weak.
“Do you need more syrup or something?” I joke.
A dimple flashes in his cheek. “I need something, all right.”
Gulp.
I ball up my fists in my sweater and try to play it cool. This is not even close to the first time a customer has hit on me. But River is the man I’ve been obsessing about since his lips touched mine last night. The blossoming burst of butterflies in my belly is a novel experience.
Just like spending the night with River would be, a naughty little voice in the back of my head whispers.
He doesn’t beat around the bush with me at all. “I want to take you out on a date.”
Double gulp.
I give my head a gentle shake. “You’re drunk, River.”
He reaches out to me, making eye contact with me the whole while. Asking for my permission to touch me without saying a word. I swallow, and offer no resistance as he slides his hands around my waist and pulls me against his body. My hands land on the lapels on his motorcycle jacket. I bite my lip and look up at him.
He flashes me a smile. “I think you’re gorgeous, Pearl. Go out with me.”
My heart leaps into my throat. I’m equal parts excited and afraid. I grip his jacket. “You don’t seem like the type to like diner waitresses.”
“You don’t know me well enough to know what I like.” He catches a few strands of my hair and tucks them behind my ear. “I’m not crazy. There’s a pull between us. Why shouldn’t we explore it?”
I open my mouth, but I don’t have an answer to his question. Instead, I ask, “How drunk are you, exactly?”
“I wouldn’t have come out here if I was drunk. Do you think that I didn’t suggest coming here to my family? This was very much planned, darlin’.”
Oh.He wanted to see me? A chill races down my spine.
River nudges my chin up, angling my face just so. My heart is galloping when he lowers his head. My eyes sink closed and I press up on my tiptoes to meet him halfway.
Our lips touch, hot and wet. Distantly, fireworks explode in my head. River kisses me surprisingly hard, his hands on my waist pulling at me as if he can get more of me that way.
I press my thighs together. The need I feel surges. A trickle of wetness blooms in the dampness between my legs.
Yes, is the only thing running through my head. More.
River presses my ass back against the table. I let him lean me back, feeling his lips as they press kisses into the sensitive skin of my neck. His hand slips down to cup my breast through my shirt, shaping my nipple.
My mouth opens up toward the night sky and I release a jagged moan. I shift against the pressure rising inside me and wrap my legs around him. His denim-covered cock settles along the seam of my pussy, thick and heavy. My eyes bug out a little as he sucks at a spot just under my collarbone.
Digging my fingers into River’s hair, I bring his mouth to meet mine again. His fingers dance along the top of my thigh and I writhe against him.
Here, I thought I was never going to want another man to touch me after Bishop treated me so poorly and left me heartbroken. But now I’m gasping and pressing again River like I’ll die if he doesn’t keep touching me.
River’s fingers skate up my thigh, grazing the front of my panties. I’m aroused so there is a sizable wet spot there. He groans when he feels it.
“Fuck, darlin’. Is that all for me?”
I just kiss him because I am too embarrassed to talk about it. His fingers brush my panties again, teasing me.
What if… what if I went home with River? What if River got me pregnant?
The idea honestly leaves me breathless. A baby with River’s tall frame and ocean blue eyes would be stunning. And I would know that he’s not a Sickle Cell carrier.
I imagine holding a baby with bright blue eyes, snuggled and warm and held close to my chest. My heart hurts with how badly I want that.
River moves to deepen the kiss, which snaps me out of my thoughts. I push against his chest. And he instantly pulls back.
He doesn’t let me out of his arms, though.
“I’m not in town forever,” he says. “Eventually, I’ll have to move back to Atlanta for my career. But while I am, it would be crazy for us not to date.”
My brow furrows. My swoony moment begins to disintegrate. “Are you asking me to have a one-night stand?”
“No.” River’s lips twitch. “I think we both know that it would be difficult to stop after just one night. What I’m suggesting is more… sex with no strings attached. And maybe we go on dates sometimes.”
“Oh.” My excitement gutters and dies. He’s looking for a fuck buddy. I don’t have a lot of time to devote to that.
“Did I say the wrong thing?” River asks.
I shake my head. “No. I just don’t think we want the same thing.”
“I like you, Pearl.” He grips my hips. “I’m not going around trying to seduce every woman I see. When we’re dating, you’ll be the only woman I want. I know a gem when I uncover it.”
I recoil.
Good lord. What a bunch of bullshit. Men are all the same. They all flatter you and make you feel good for a minute… and then let you down the second things get hard.
River tries to pull me closer. The scent of whiskey is strong on his breath. I push him away and put a few inches between us, pinning him with a serious look.
“You’re drunk, River,” I remind him.
“I told you already. I’m very much not.” He pushes a hand through his hair and gives me an easy smile. “Just think about my offer. I’ll give you multiple orgasms. You’ll have control. We can go on dates… or I can just be a late-night booty call on speed dial.”
“It kinda sound like you’re just drunk, horny, and full of yourself.” I screw up my face, and he laughs.
“Oh, Pearl. Just you wait. We could even pretend that we’re in a serious relationship and rub it in Bishop’s face.”
I roll my eyes. “I have to go inside, River.”
River’s eyes glint. “Wear pretty panties the next few days. Because I am going to be back here in the light of day. And I’m going to rip them off and eat that pretty pussy, Pearl.”
A ripple of electricity shoots through my body, and heat floods to my cheeks. River doesn’t know this, but explicit dirty talk really turns me on.
That dimple in his cheek flashes again as he grins. “Think about it.”
He raises his hands and backs away, turning around and heading back into the shadows. I press my hand to my heart and swallow. I said I don’t want a one-night stand, but what if I look at this from a different angle?
River is hot. He’s not planning on staying in town forever.
Maybe I should ask him to be my sperm donor. No strings attached, of course. Then we would both get what we want.