Page 35 of Never Let Me Go

I nod, wondering why she feels she needs to be cautious around me and hold herself back. “You're not the only one feeling that way.”

“So if I ask you why it is that you do this work, would you tell me?” She looks up at me with hope in her eyes and a blush staining her cheeks as her teeth sink into her full bottom lip. It’s a tantalizing picture and I find myself fighting the urge to tell her my entire life story.

“Maybe someday,” I answer instead.

She flashes me an adorable pout. “But not today?”

“No, not today.”

Before she can reply, the waitress walks up to the table and practically slams our drinks down in front of us. Juliette and I stare at each other with wide eyes as she rips her notepad from her apron and gives us an expectant look.

“What do you want to eat?” she asks, practically snarling at us. A defiant look flashes in Juliette’s eyes as she reaches into her purse and yanks her wallet out. I watch in amazement as she pulls out a hundred dollar bill and slips out of the booth before bringing her thumb and middle finger to her lips. A loud whistle pierces the air and the restaurant falls silent, every single patron and employee staring in our direction as she climbs up on the seat and waves the money in the air.

“This goes to anyone who wants to take over our table and give us polite and professional service.”

“What the fuck?” the waitress hisses as I hide my smile behind my hand. A murmur ripples through the crowd but I can’t take my eyes off Juliette. She’s fucking magnificent. Another waitress sets a stack of plates down on the counter and steps out into the dining room. Our waitress turns to her with a death glare. “Seriously, Kitty?”

Kitty shrugs. “My kid needs braces.”

“This is bullshit,” she whispers, turning away from our table and shoving Kitty with her shoulder as she passes her. After she disappears into the back, everyone else turns back to their meals as the chatter resumes and Juliette sits across from me again.

“I’m so sorry about that, y’all. Robyn can be…”

“A bitch?” Juliette provides and Kitty laughs.

“Well, yeah. What can I get you two to eat?”

Straight ahead of me is a glass door that leads into the gas station connected to the restaurant and I smile.

“Actually, let’s get out of here.”

Juliette turns to me with a scowl. “Why?”

“I have an idea. Just trust me,” I say. She studies me for a second before nodding and handing the hundred dollar bill to Kitty who starts shaking her head.

“I can’t accept that. I didn’t do anything.”

Juliette grins and forces the bill into Kitty’s hand. “Sure you did! You made Robyn go away and that’s well worth a hundred dollars. Well… ninety-five dollars once you take out the cost of our drinks.”

“I…” Kitty snaps her mouth shut and shoves the bill into her apron pocket. “Thank you.”

She turns and heads back into the kitchen as we stand up and I hold my hand out to Juliette as I flash her a grin. After grabbing her bag, she slips her hand into mine and a feeling of peace settles over me as I lead her into the gas station.

“What are we doing in here?” she asks, scanning the small store.

“Finding food.”

We walk through the aisles, holding hands and grinning as we grab chips, sandwiches, drinks, and candy before carrying our haul up to the cashier and dumping it all on the counter. He rings us up and tosses everything into a bag before handing it over to me. Once we’ve paid, we walk back out to the truck and I release Juliette’s hand to lower the tailgate.

“Ta-Da,” I say and she laughs.

“What am I looking at?”

I set the bag of food down. “A picnic… on the side of the interstate.”

“A picnic?” she asks, arching a brow at me and I shrug.

“Or we could go back inside and let sweet Robyn wait on us.”