Chapter 8 #2
It was better after he relented and allowed her to help him get comfortable before she got in.
Kelly made the mistake of suggesting putting the heated seat on for him, but then learned that that wasn’t doable for him.
His grafted skin had sensitivity reduction, so there was a risk of burning himself because he couldn’t feel the temperature.
It seemed like bitter irony that a man who had survived a literal explosion and extensive burns could sustain a new burn from something as mundane as a car seat warmer.
Most of their conversations that day had been on the lighter side.
Once Kelly knew Grumpy was asleep, she put on an audiobook Toni had recently recommended for her.
It was one of the reasons she loved her small-town job so much.
Her patrons weren’t just nameless, faceless orders and tips.
They were friends, family, and she got to know many of them so personally.
Toni was a criminal defense attorney, and while she didn’t frequent the diner often, the two tended to have long talks about their recent reads whenever she was in.
“…‘Lick it, baby. Take that sexy, pink tongue of yours and lick every inch of my dick. You look so pretty on your knees, hands cuffed behind your back. You have to earn the right to suck my dick—’”
“What the fuck are you listening to?”
Kelly jumped, but thankfully kept the car steady on the road. “Jesus! Warn a girl!” She reached over and hit the Pause button. “It’s an audiobook.”
“Are you sure? Because it sounded like porn.”
Kelly narrowed her eyes at him, even though she knew he couldn’t see it.
He was slumped against the window with a pillow between his head and the glass.
“It’s erotica. And yes, it’s explicit, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong.
At least my porn has a better storyline than a girl not being able to pay for her pizza or rent. ”
Grumpy snorted. “Wasn’t judging, Kell Bell. Just was not what I expected to wake up to.” He started to sit up. “Where are we?”
“Almost to Louisville. Maybe another forty-five minutes. You doing okay?”
“Yeah. Just gotta take a piss. You?”
Kelly groaned. “Well, now I do—because you mentioned it.” She started looking for some place they could have dinner, too.
They were silent another minute before Grumpy said, “So is that the sort of book you usually read?”
Kelly tried to stay relaxed and not automatically assume offense. “When I have time to read, yes.”
“You sound defensive, and I don’t know why.”
Shit. Apparently she wasn’t doing that great of a job then.
Kelly let out a long breath and visibly loosen her muscles.
“People get weird about romance books. I don’t know why.
They think it’s improper or something. Crude, even.
The whole ‘smut slut’ thing. I don’t know.
Personally, I read for the romance, for the connection.
If there’s open door sex, then that’s fine.
I like those books. But some of my favorite romances are closed door, too. ”
Grumpy was silent for a beat before asking, “Open door, as in the characters have sex with their bedroom door open? Like, public sex?”
The laughter exploded from Kelly before she could stop it. She tried to smother it, and ended up snorting painfully out of her nose. She had to grip the steering wheel tightly with one hand as she covered her mouth with the other.
“No! No,” she choked out, lowering her hand.
“No, that’s not what that means. ‘Closed-door romance’ is when the scene fades to black.
The characters have sex, but it’s not detailed on the page.
‘Open-door’ means that it is on page, with all the creative words for people’s genitals.
” She made a face. “Don’t even get me started on ‘member’.
Every time I hear or read that, I think about those big box stores and being asked for your membership card. ”
Grumpy chuckled. “Can’t say I’ve ever considered calling my dick my ‘member’.”
“What about ‘love stick’?”
Grumpy made a choking sound. “Fuck no.”
Kelly laughed. “Good to know. By the way, my acceptable words are ‘pussy’, ‘hoo-ha’, or just simply ‘vagina’. I know the medical terms aren’t supposed to be sexy or whatever, but I’ve never understood that. And ‘vagina’ is way better than ‘love sheath’ or ‘cave of passion’. What about you?”
He cleared his throat. “I can honestly say I’ve never called a woman’s, ugh, parts her ‘cave of passion’.”
Kelly smiled, glancing his way in the dark. “Good to know. But I meant, what do you like to read?”
“Generally non-fiction. I like military memoirs or mechanic journals. Especially ones about the brass era.”
“Oh, wait!” Kelly slapped the steering wheel in excitement. “I know this. You told me about this once. That’s like the original cars, like the very first automobiles. Back in the late 1800s and such.”
“You remember that?” Grumpy sounded surprised.
“Yeah. It was one of the first true conversations we ever had.” She did not add that it was also the first time Grumpy had called her by her name, and one of the few times he’d referred to her as “Kelly” before he shortened it to “Kells” and eventually “Kell Bell”.
“Just surprised you would remember. It was eight or so years ago.”
Kelly stretched over and gently touched his leg.
“I tried to remember everything we talked about, especially when it came to the things you were most passionate about. Plus, it’s not every day that I get to learn something new like that.
” Feeling a bit embarrassed, like she’d revealed something extremely personal, she was glad when she saw a sign for a country chain restaurant. “You good to eat there?”
“Anywhere is fine with me.”
Good, because she really did have to pee now. “I haven’t been in a long while and I love their country stores.”
“You don’t have to be embarrassed, you know.”
Kelly blinked, her head swiveling back and forth between the road and him. Though he was sitting up more, he was still mostly slouched against the door. She didn’t think he could have a good angle of her from there, but he must if he’d seen her blush. “What?” she stammered, playing stupid.
“Admitting that you remembered me talking to you about early motorcars embarrassed you. I don’t know why, but you don’t have to be. I’m flattered that what I said meant so much to you, especially back then.”
Kelly swallowed hard as she put the blinker on.
“It’s silly. I know I shouldn’t be embarrassed, and it sounds so juvenile, but I was crushing on you so hard those first few years.
I felt like a bumbling idiot every time you walked into the diner.
I wanted you to like me so much, and when you didn’t, I just…
” She shrugged. “I knew I had to get over you, move past you. But I never could.”
“It wasn’t that I didn’t. From the minute I saw you, I wanted you, Kells. But you have to understand the headspace I was in. Newly divorced, accused again of cheating on a woman I loved… I wasn’t good for anyone, especially you.”
Kelly nodded, keeping her eyes on the road. “I know that. Now. But back then, it was hard to not find fault with me, you know.”
“I’m sorry about that.” At the red light, Kelly picked up his tumbler of water and handed it over to him. His voice was getting raspier the longer they talked. “Thank you.” He took a few sips. “And in my defense, I never thought you’d go for a grumpy bastard like me.”
Kelly chuckled as she made a left turn. “The number of fantasies I had about you bending me over one of the diner tables…” She felt her face heat for an entirely different reason.
“We all heard the rumors about the women who hung around the club and the parties you guys threw in the early days. I almost worked up the nerve to go to one, but never did.”
“I’m glad. Not something I’d ever want you to be subjected to.”
Kelly pulled into the parking lot. Thankfully it was late enough that most of the dinner crowd had left or was leaving. “I know I shouldn’t be asking you this, but I’m going to anyway. Were you with any of them? The club girls?”
“Don’t ask me that, Kells.”
She looked over at Grumpy as Jackson parked in a spot near them. Though it was dark out, she’d managed to park them under a street lamp. “Why not?”
“Because I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you anything you want to know. But what happened back then has no place in our relationship now. I certainly don’t want to know about your history or whatever the kids are calling it these days. Your bed count.”
“Body count,” she corrected softly.
He nodded, not fully looking at her. “I don’t give a damn, or I keep having to tell myself that so I don’t go off on a murderous rampage to kill any man who’s even thought about touching you, let alone actually doing so.
Therefore, I suggest we just don’t talk about it.
If it’s something important or pertains to something that affects our future, then we can discuss it.
Otherwise, we keep our past partners in the past.”
Kelly could understand and respect that, and while it wasn’t his intent, Grumpy had answered her question. By not answering, he’d basically admitted to having slept with the club girls, the Honeys as they called them. “Deal. Now, let’s get inside. I really need to pee.”
* * *
It took a lot to piss Kelly off, but boy oh boy, was she seething. Why the fuck was everyone staring? What business was it of theirs what Grumpy looked like? The restaurant wasn’t even that crowded, but it seemed like everyone was pointing and staring.
One woman even gasped like Grumpy was the Swamp Monster come to claim her virginity.
Grumpy had requested a corner seat so his back and left side were to the wall. Kelly sat next to him while Jackson was seated across from them. He’d offered to take a table to himself, but Kelly had said that was ridiculous and invited him to join them.