44. GiveTake
GIVE OR TAKE
Ivy
Lenny handed me a plate of food, his brows furrowed as he stared at me.
It was Friday night, and we were slammed. I was supposed to be off four hours ago, but alas, one of the night shift girls called out, and I didn’t want to leave Lucas and Lenny with two waitresses on a Friday evening in the middle of summer.
“Eat, Ivy girl,” Lenny said. His voice had the fatherly quality that always reminded me of my dad, and I felt myself nod.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll grab a few fries. I have four tables out there, and two of them have kids that are sucking down lemonade like they’ve never had sugar a day in their lives.
” Lenny shook his head as I shoved three fries from the plate in my mouth and then grabbed my next table’s order, turning to take it out.
“You can’t run like this forever!” he hollered after me.
“Heard, chef!”
His laugh echoed out of the kitchen as I went out the exit door, giving my table their plates and then getting a third lemonade for the little boy. Kid was going to be up until eleven at this rate.
Once everyone was settled, I was back in the kitchen, a chicken tender now drenched in buffalo sauce.
“Make sure you breathe, please. Don’t choke to death,” Lenny muttered from next to me as he slid a burger onto a plate for another waitress, setting it up on the warming shelf.
“I’m not,” I mumbled around the bite of food, quickly taking another bite along with a drink of water.
“You are. You’re going to have indigestion, eatin’ like that, girlie.” He eyed me wearily, and I tried not to roll my eyes.
“Ivy!” Lucas hollered from behind the bar. “Visitor.”
Lenny shook his head. “Girl is never going to sit down and eat a meal.”
“Oh hush. I sit down plenty when I’m not here.” I finished my chicken tender and wiped my hands off before heading back out into the dining room.
“Liar!” Lenny called after me, but I waved him off.
The man worried more than my own father sometimes, and I had quite the love-hate relationship with the fact.
I walked out into the dining room, my eyes scanning down the bar, looking for who could possibly be here to see me, when my gaze caught onto his. A slow smile tilted at the edge of his mouth, those damn blue eyes holding me in a mental chokehold.
He tilted his head over towards the door, and I nodded.
“I’m going to step outside for a few. Can you keep an eye on my tables?” I asked Lucas.
His gaze looked over to Oliver, and he smirked. “Fine. But hurry back. Nothing makes me feel better than an ‘I told you so’, so be ready.”
I shook my head. “Whatever you say.”
Without wasting another moment, I followed the cowboy out into the darkness.
August was just around the corner in Colorado. The sun had dipped below the horizon almost an hour ago, taking with it most of the warmth, the summer breeze cooling the night. But there was nothing cool about the heated gaze this man was giving me right now.
His hand slid into mine, and we went a little way down the sidewalk before he stepped in closer and I found my back pressed against the brick wall of the building.
“Miss me?” I questioned with a smile. My gaze was glued to his as my hands traveled beneath his T-shirt.
Both of his hands came up to lean against the wall on either side of my head. As if he knew if he touched me, he wouldn’t stop.
Since that night we’d confessed everything in the barn, I felt like there was this unshakable and unbreakable bond surrounding us. I hadn’t seen Todd since that night at the bar, but I wasn’t stupid enough to think Oliver wasn’t having the people in our circle keep an eye on him.
Maybe it was naive, but I trusted this man to handle the situation now that he knew. Was it very feminist and bad bitch of me? Maybe not. Was I being a bit of an idiot not asking questions? Possibly. But I was bound and determined to just enjoy what I had and not deal with the rest right now.
I wasn’t sure if I’d ever felt this calm and content in my entire life and I wasn’t going to let some asshole like Todd ruin that for me.
“You were supposed to be home hours ago, baby doll.” The words were a mix of growled frustration and confusion.
“One of the closers called out sick.” I shrugged. The words felt self-explanatory, but his expression didn’t change.
He leaned down, his nose grazing along my jaw until his lips found mine.
The kiss was gentle and claiming all at once, our mouths melding together in a scene that just made sense.
When he pulled away, his eyes intent on me once more, I knew the question before it fell from his lips, but I let him speak it anyway.
“How much longer?”
“Two more hours and then I’ll be home. Give or take with the intense traffic we have around these parts,” I replied with a smile.
He shook his head, and I knew he was fighting one of his own. He enjoyed my sass, and I enjoyed that he enjoyed it.
“I want to take you out. On a real date. Together. Officially.”
This was probably the sixth time he’d asked me. I knew he had the entire date planned, and he wouldn’t let it commence until I said yes.
It wasn’t even that I didn’t want to say yes.
I did, but part of me was terrified saying yes would somehow break apart this perfect thing we had going between us.
As if slapping a label on this would make it something different.
Something like Todd and me. But logically, I knew I couldn’t keep going like this.
“Say yes, Ivy.” His whispered words hit my core, and I swallowed down the anxiety.
I nodded, my hands falling down around his belt loops. “Yes.”
“Good. Now, go back to work. Tomorrow, you’re mine.” He leaned away, and I stood back up, a smile now permanently affixed to my face.
“Yes, Daddy,” I replied quietly, a knowing smirk thrown his way as I walked back into work.
Nothing hid the groan that left his mouth, though.