Page 2 of Paco
“No, I’m not.” He picked up his cup and took a sip. The coffee tasted stale and harsh, like it’d been sitting out all day. “Give me a fresh cup of coffee and bring me some cream.”
“Don’t you ever say ‘please’ when you want something?”
“No.”
He scrolled through his texts as she walked away. The majority of them were from women he’d hooked up with in the past six months, asking when they could get together.
Shaking his head, he put his phone down on the table. The truth was he didn’t want to see any of them again. He’d had fun for a while, but no one had interested him enough to pursue anything for more than a few weeks. It wasn’t that he was against relationships; it was just that the one woman who’d captured his heart had also shattered it, and he wasn’t looking to have that happen again.
“Here you go,” Holly said, placing a steaming cup of coffee in front of him. “And I opened a new carton of creamer just for you.”
“Thanks.” He stirred a splash of cream in the coffee. The earthy scent filled his nostrils as he brought the cup to his lips and took a sip. Bitter sweetness snapped at the back of his throat as the hot liquid warmed him.
Glancing outside, he saw three women in short shorts huddled under the eaves of the diner as the rain poured down. A cold rush of wind swirled around him as the front door opened and a woman with too much makeup and too little clothing entered. Head down, she walked over to the booth next to his and slid in. Drops of water trickled down her face and neck, and she grabbed a napkin and wiped them away before running it through her long dark hair.
Then she looked up and locked gazes with him. Her eyes were like an endless stretch of midnight sky. A bundle of sorrow, pain, and loneliness swam in their inky depths along with threads of fierceness and pride. They drew him in. Something down deep, very deep inside him stirred faintly. He sucked in a breath.Damn.
“Here you go, handsome.” Holly put a plate in front of him. “I’ll be right back with your green chili. Can I freshen up your coffee?”
Dragging his eyes away from the woman, he nodded slightly as he pushed his cup toward her. “I need ketchup.”
“You got it,” Holly said, walking away.
He glanced at the woman again. She stared down at her phone while she blew her nose. Bringing the phone to her ear, she looked over her shoulder at a group of men at the lunch counter who were talking with Holly.
“I’m real sick tonight,” she said in a voice loud enough for Paco to hear. “I made about a hundred bucks, but I’m burning up.”
Paco picked up a fry and put it in his mouth. The woman looked like she was about twenty-three or so, and from the way she was dressed and the amount of makeup she had on, he guessed her to be a working woman. The other women still huddled under the eaves were older and looked worn out. Two of them had the signs of meth on their faces: sores, scarring, gaunt.
“Please, Bobby. I promise to work extra hard tomorrow. I just need to sleep. I’m really sick.” Tears trickled down her face, and she grabbed a napkin and wiped her nose.
“Here’s your chili and some fresh coffee.” Instead of putting the bowl of chili down next to his plate, Holly leaned way over and set it on the other side. Her chest brushed against him and she giggled. “Sorry. My boobs are so big that they always get in the way. I noticed your jacket when you walked out earlier to go next door for your shower. Is the Night Rebels a motorcycle club?”
Paco nodded while he squirted ketchup over his burger.
“Is your club one of them one-percenters?”
One of the truckers had swiveled around on his stool and stared at her. “I think one of your customers wants you,” Paco said.
She looked over her shoulder. “Oh. Him. He can wait. It’s not every day that a biker comes in here, especially one as good-looking as you. I love seeing a guy on a big Harley. I mean, you guys must be pretty strong to handle such a powerful motorcycle.”
“Okay. Don’t freak out. I was just asking if I could take tonight off. Forget about it.” The young woman set her phone down, then blew her nose again.
Paco glanced back at Holly. “I’ve got everything I need.”
The waitress narrowed her eyes. “You trying to tell me you wanna be left alone?”
“Yeah.” He picked up his burger and took a big bite. The woman in the booth watched him.
“Whatever.” Holly walked away.
“Can I have a cup of chicken noodle soup?” the woman asked the waitress.
Holly stopped at her table. “You got any money?”
She shook her head. “Put it on my tab.”
“Carl told me not to serve you anything until your tab’s paid up.”
