Page 58 of Down Shift (Driven 8)
Then reality returns when he lifts an eyebrow and waits for a response.
“A surprise, huh? I could use one after today.” I try to sound unaffected and yet I know he’ll catch the tinge of resignation in my voice. “Super busy here.”
“That so?” Impenetrable blue eyes search mine. Gauge if I’m telling the truth. And I’m not sure if he believes me.
With the regulars sitting at the opposite end of the bar, the longer our gazes hold, the harder it is to bite back all the secrets I’m holding from tumbling out. Because right now I need someone more than ever. Sure, it was tough in the beginning when I left my old life, but for some reason it’s easier to run when there’s no one in front of you bringing you back to that person you used to be.
And so right now I just need someone. A friend. Him.
“Lotta tourists today.” I break our gaze and focus on wiping down the rest of the bar top. Doing my best to keep it together.
“Looks empty now.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Something happen today, Socks?”
“Nope,” I say, tight smile back in place. But when I look back up, it softens at the concern in his voice. “Does this surprise have anything to do with chocolate?”
His smile deepens. “Even better.”
I untie my apron and throw it into the bin for laundering, which completes my cleanup duties, since I’m not closing tonight. “Better than chocolate? How about a foot massage?” My aching feet guide my thoughts.
His laugh mixes into the noise around us as I wave bye to Liam and come around the bar. “Definitely better, but I can make both of those happen if you really want them to.”
“Really?” While I’m referring to the surprise being better than what sounds like nirvana to me, the
fact that he even offered puts a genuine smile on my lips.
“Really,” he affirms as he places his hands on my shoulders and directs me to the side exit of the bar. The heat of his hands, the sudden public display of whatever-this-is-between-us, and the quick little squeeze he gives them leave me knowing I needed this comfort from him at the end of my day.
But when I push open the door and see my car sitting in the parking spot across from me, the emotion I’ve been holding back comes crashing down on me. I gasp his name; then my hands automatically go to my cheeks where the tears I’ve fought all day finally win the battle.
The means to escape sits right in front of me. Zander has given me a working car to pack my shit in and drive away from the sight of my father and the impending dinner date tomorrow night. Forgo the fear and just move to another town, another place, create another life until I’m strong enough to not give in to the conditioning I’ve spent a lifetime living under.
“Getty?” Concern. Worry. “I hope that means you’re happy.”
I wipe away the tears coursing down my cheeks so that I can look at him with a smile. Zander. The man who represents new beginnings and the ability to make a choice when I never even realized I wanted this choice to make.
Run or stay.
And this right here, his selfless act, somehow triggers my confidence. Tells me to throw my doubt aside and choose to stay. Keep this new life I’ve created on my own. To straighten my spine in opposition to my father, show up for dinner instead of be a coward and run again, and prove to him I’m much more than he ever thought of me.
I choose to stay.
Emotion washes over me. The kind that chills your skin and warms your soul all the while stirring that slow, sweet ache in your lower belly because every part of you has just awakened to things you were sleeping through.
Without preamble, I step into him, bring my hands to his cheeks, lift onto my tiptoes, and press a chaste kiss to his lips in silent thank-you. My reaction seems to stun him and a part of me likes being able to do that. Smiling through the tears, I step back, top teeth worrying my bottom lip, eyes locked on his.
“Thank you.” My voice comes out a whisper and I feel like I’ve said this to him so many times since I held him at mini-blind wand point, but this time it means so much more than he can even fathom.
Something glances through his eyes and his lips transform with a shy smile when he reaches out to wipe the tears off my cheeks. With a simple nod he accepts my gratitude. “Wanna take a ride?”
My back is aching and feet are sore and all I’d thought about was heading home to soak in a hot bath, but nothing has ever sounded better. “Only if you take the wheel.”
“Deal.”
With the sun slowly dropping toward the horizon, the coastline stretches for miles ahead of us. The ocean is all I can see out the passenger window besides interrupted snippets of the pine trees standing tall in the rocky terrain. The windows are down and the chilled air whips through my hair, but I welcome it after the scent of alcohol all day long in the bar. And the blast of air is so loud in our ears that it’s too hard to talk, so we drive in a comfortable silence, both contemplating our own thoughts.
