Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
“How was your time off?” Mrs. P asked when Myla arrived at the theater early Monday afternoon.
She unwrapped her scarf and shrugged off her coat. “It was wonderful.”
Mrs. P’s brows rose. “Oh? You look like you’ve got a new beau.”
“You sound like my mom,” Myla said with a laugh. “Yes, I do. His name is Alfie. He works at the safari park.”
“How fun!”
Myla told her about meeting Alfie and how he’d intervened when Eddie had been such an ass.
“Well, I’ll definitely let Joy know she needs to not recommend anyone date Eddie. He sounds like a total jerk! But a silver lining for you. Sounds like something out of a romance movie, where the hero steps in to save the day and the heroine swoons.”
“I’m not sure I swooned, but I might have. A little.”
Mrs. P gave her a quick hug. “You must be soulmates! How else can you explain the strange events that led you together?”
“He says that too,” she said. “That we’re soulmates.”
She gave her a serious look. “You’re only soulmates if you both feel it. Soulmates are not a one-sided thing.”
“When did you know that Mr. P was your soulmate?”
“Immediately. Like day-one. First date, he hops out of his beater car blasting heavy metal music, wearing ripped jeans and a concert tee. I didn’t see any of that, though.
I saw his blue eyes, and the way he held doors for me and listened to me when I talked.
I was a total fool for that man from the moment we met. ”
Myla smiled. Mrs. P chatted while Myla finished putting her things away in the breakroom, and then she said, “I’m glad you’ve found your Mr. Right. Bring him around sometime, I’d love to say hello.”
“I will.”
Myla walked out of the breakroom to get started with her shift, but her mind wasn’t on the work, it was on Alfie.
She thought about the kiss at midnight, and how he’d called her his soulmate.
After the kiss, he’d lingered for a while, helping her family clean up after the party, and then he’d said goodbye.
She’d stayed over at her folks’ that night, as she always did on New Year’s, but missed the chance to spend time with Alfie.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she lifted it to see a text from Alfie.
It’s awful that it’s Monday and we have to work and not spend time together.
I agree! she texted back.
Can’t wait to see you tonight. How about dinner at my place? You can see the park without anyone else being there.
Sounds awesome!
He was picking her up at seven. Suddenly, her shift couldn’t be over soon enough.
Alfie parked in the employee lot at the side of the safari park and got out, coming around to her side and helping her from the SUV. They walked to an iron gate within the massive stone walls that surrounded the entire park, and he entered a code to unlock the gate.
“So,” he said, as he held the door for her.
“Right now, we’re only open on weekends since they’re doing a construction project near the safari tour that will be a bakery and coffee shop.
Plus, we don’t really get that many people in the colder months, anyway.
The time off during the week gives us a chance to work on remodels and updates that we can’t get to when we’re in the warmer months. ”
“That’s cool,” she said. “It probably makes your security job easier in the winter months too.”
“Definitely. The park has a cafeteria that handles the meals for the workers, plus the patrons when we’re open. I asked the head of the cafeteria to put a meal together for us, and it’s being kept warm in my apartment.”
“That’s neat that they provide meals for the workers too.”
“I appreciate not having to leave for lunch and dinner for sure,” he said.
They followed a path through the park that was lit with solar lights as well as the occasional streetlamp.
He pointed out the safari tour area that was blocked off because of the construction, the various food stalls, the aviary and avian hospital, and the petting zoo, where they could hear the soft noises of the small animals from inside.
They stopped at the carousel for a long moment, and then continued on to a small apartment complex at the back of the park. It was two stories, and his apartment was on the first floor.
“There aren’t a lot of apartments for such a big park and so many employees,” she said after he used a keycard to unlock the door and held it open for her.
“It’s fairly new,” he said. “The others have their own places. I had a roommate for a while, and when the apartment complex was built, I was happy to be able to get one.”
The apartment was spacious, but while it was decorated, it lacked a personal touch.
There weren’t any framed photos, but he did have knickknacks scattered around.
She couldn’t put her finger on it, but it just didn’t seem all that lived-in despite the clothes hamper being full, the closet stuffed with shoes and clothes, and the kitchen with dishes drying on a rack.
Alfie brought out a tray with two covered plates and set it on the coffee table. He pulled out two bottles of sweet tea from his jeans’ pockets and handed one to her before taking a seat next to her on the comfortable navy and cream striped couch.
Her curiosity at why it didn’t seem like he had much in the way of personal decorations in the apartment got pushed aside when he took the lids off the plates and revealed her favorite meal: pulled pork-topped mac and cheese.
“Oh my gosh, this looks amazing!” she said.
“I remembered you saying at your parents’ party how you wished you’d made pulled pork to go with the mac and cheese.”
“Alfie,” she whispered, feeling all mushy and warm on the inside.
He leaned over and kissed her. “I’ve also got what I think is your favorite dessert.”
She hummed in curiosity. “Well, I can’t wait.”
He turned on the TV and chose a streaming service, then they picked a comedy to watch while they ate. After eating the best pulled pork mac and cheese she’d ever had, Alfie brought dessert from the refrigerator—dark chocolate-covered strawberries.
“I picked right, didn’t I?” he asked earnestly.
She could have cried right then. Or fallen to her knees and given him the blow job of his life. It was just too dang sweet.
“You did,” she said. She took one off the plate. “How did you know?”
“I saw how many times you went to the kitchen counter after the party was over, dipping strawberries into a small bowl of chocolate frosting. I actually made these myself.”
“You did?”
“Yeah, I asked one of the women who works at the candy shop in the park what kind of chocolate to get and tips for making them, and then I went to get the stuff today.”
“So you not only picked my favorite meal, but you made my favorite dessert?”
He grinned, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “I’d do anything for you, Myla. You’re my girl.”
Swooning.
She was freaking swooning like a heroine in one of the romance movies Mrs. P was always talking about.
Taking a bite of the strawberry, she hummed happily at how sweet it was.
She leaned over and kissed him. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”
“I just want you to be happy.”
“I’m definitely happiest with you.”
He took the strawberry from her fingers and fed her the rest, and then they took turns feeding each other, the kisses between the bites of fruit and chocolate getting longer and deeper and more intense.
When they tumbled to the bed a little while later, she’d expected—hoped—that he would ask her to stay the night. But he didn’t. Instead, he suggested he run her home before it got too late.
She tried her best to hide her disappointment.
She was confused why he didn’t want to stay the night with her, at his place or hers, and it made her wonder if he was keeping something from her.
She wasn’t sure what it was, but there was definitely an undercurrent of something between them.
Long after he’d left her in her apartment and kissed her goodnight, she’d stayed leaning against the door and wondering what was going on with him.
He said they were soulmates, so why didn’t he want to stay all night with her?
Thursday, Myla worked the evening shift. Alfie had offered to take her to work and pick her up, because a snowstorm had come in and was dumping quite a bit of snow on the roads.
She adored how much he cared about her safety, and she hadn’t minded that he’d shown up that day and taken her to work and come inside to meet her bosses.
He stayed for a half hour of a new movie before he had to get back to the park, promising to be at the theater promptly at eleven, when she’d be done for the night.
She’d decided after several days of not sleeping all night with him, and nearly two weeks together, that she was just going to ask him about it. There had to be a reason why he wasn’t sleeping with her.
Maybe he snored.
She let out a soft snort at the thought.
No, something else was going on. And she was going to talk to him about it when he picked her up.
As the night wore on, she was looking forward to seeing Alfie, but also worried about what was behind him not staying all night with her.
It consumed her thoughts so much that after the theater was closed and she gathered her things and said goodnight to her bosses, she wasn’t paying attention to anything as she walked out of the theater.
Alfie had texted that he was just a couple minutes away, and she wanted to take a few deep breaths of cold night air before she got in his SUV.
The crunch of ice in the parking lot pulled her from her thoughts. She opened her eyes and lowered her head, certain Alfie had arrived.
But it wasn’t Alfie at all.
“You bitch!” Eddie yelled.