Page 88 of Masters of Pleasure
Well, he wasn’t wrong about that.Avery didn’t want to add to it and was relieved he didn’t either, no matter how blasé he’d been initially about having this conversation in public.
“My house when you’re done?”she asked as he got up, taking his half-finished beer with him.She kept her voice low, though not quite a whisper.
Nick nodded.“I’ll text you when I’m on the way.”
He didn’t ask for her address as he sauntered away, even though he’d never been to her house.Of course, he’d have it on file in the office.
As soon as he walked away, Domi and Rae abandoned the bar and rushed back to stand over her, demanding in low whispers to know what he’d said.Knowing they hadn’t been able to hear, Avery felt better about whether anyone else had overheard her and Nick.Domi and Rae been sitting the closest and would have been trying to listen in.
Avery quickly updated them, then tossed back the rest of her martini.
“Let’s get going,” she said, hooking her arms through Rae’s and Domi’s.“We gotta get our clothes, and I need to get home.”
“You’d better text us tonight after he leaves,” Rae threatened.
“Ifhe leaves,” Domi tacked on with a giggle.Avery came to a halt, blinking, in the middle of the stairs.
“Shit… you think he might… shit!I need to get home!”She slid her arms from theirs and hurried up the stairs.
“What?Why?”Rae was right behind her, more curious than concerned.
“I need to shave!”
“You’re wearing a skirt.Didn’t you already shave your legs…OH.”Rae’s voice changed substantially when she realized.
Yup, there it was.Avery had been planning to go out tonight, not get laid, or she would have taken the time to shave both.Not that she was definitely sleeping with Nick tonight.
Just in case.
Nick
If keeping his head in the game had been difficult before, it was fucking impossible now.Thank God it was the end of the night, and things were already settling down.Basically, he stood back and let George handle the plates going out while he pretended he was watching over everything.
In reality, with his arms crossed in front of his chest, he was staring at absolutely nothing.All he could think about was going to Avery’s place tonight.When he’d made the suggestion, he’d expected her to change her mind and want to stay here.They could have gone upstairs to talk for more privacy… but either the thought hadn’t occurred to her, or she preferred having him come to her place.Personally, he preferred the total privacy since he knew how skittish she was about doing anything on restaurant premises, but he hadn’t actually expected to get it.
Not that he was expecting anything more than that, but he could damn well hope.
If he went home tonight with nothing more than a hot kiss from Avery, he’d be happy, but he was hoping he might get a little farther than that.They may have started officially dating tonight, but they’d been flirting and dancing around their mutual attraction for months.
“Uh, Chef?”
Crap.George was standing right in front of him, and Nick was pretty sure this wasn’t the first time he’d been addressed.
“Sorry, I was thinking about tomorrow’s special.Do you need something?”He would need to do a better job of covering.
“I think we’re about done if you want to get out of here.”George’s hazel eyes were full of concern, and he lowered his voice a little.“Maybe get some rest.”
Nick opened his mouth to say he was fine, then he realized George had the line handled.The restaurant would close soon, anyway.Although he never left early, maybe this once, he’d give himself a break.
“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.I’ll see you tomorrow.”Hiding his grin at George’s surprise, Nick went to fetch the file.It was finally time to go through it with Avery.
ChapterFive
Nick
Avery’s apartmentwas a ground floor unit in a garden apartment building.In the darkness, there were a lot of shadows, but the main path was well lit, as was the interior of the building where the stairs were.After the long evening he’d had, Nick was glad she didn’t live on the third floor since there was no elevator.He didn’t feel like walking up all those stairs.
His feet hurt, as they always did at the end of a long night, but he was more energized than usual.Most nights after shift, he would go home and sit on the couch, unwinding from the long day.He’d have a meal of broth and bread with a beer to finish it, maybe a cup of tea, then stare blankly at the television until two in the morning, when his body would finally be decompressed enough for him to fall asleep.Basically, most nights, he had nothing to look forward to.
