Page 78 of Bend
She mussed up my hair, g
etting me back for earlier. I glared up at her. She was lucky I hadn’t done anything with it yet.
“Later, cranky.” She hugged Mom and kissed her cheek. “Darren and I will be over for dinner tomorrow night.”
“All right.”
She waved goodbye, and silence filled the room. Mom looked around the room for something to do.
“You up for another game?” I motioned to the cards.
She smiled and began shuffling. Guess I had my answer.
--oOo--
Thirty-six hours after seeing her, I still had Hope on the brain. It was accentuated by the three-mile trek back to the parking lot to get my truck. Luckily, Dex checked for me, and it was still there and not towed.
I spent the entire day before with Mom, and completely forgot to have Cassie drop me off on her way to work. After all, her store was a block down Broad Ripple Avenue from Union Jack’s.
My attempt at running the distance was squashed by my hard dick trying to bounce around in my shorts. I should have put on some compression shorts instead of the boxer-briefs I wore. Hindsight was supposed to be twenty-twenty, but all I saw was Hope. I couldn’t stop—thinking about her, wanting her, needing her, and desiring her. It was too much. I knew where to find her, and I planned to see her again.
As I passed my sister’s shop, I banged on the window and stuck my tongue out at her, scaring some of her customers and their furry companions. She screamed “hoodlum” at me, but I pretended not to hear as I continued on.
I thought about going straight to my truck and getting to the gym, but I wanted to see her. When I stepped into Union Jack’s, the hostess perked up, staring a little too hard at me. Her appreciation of me could be used to my advantage.
“Hi, how many?”
I smiled at her. “One in Hope’s section, please.”
Her posture dropped, and she lost the vibrancy she’d shown when I entered. “Hope’s not in today.”
“Do you know when she’s working next?”
She shook her head. “I’m not allowed to say.”
I leaned forward, giving her a good view of my arms. “What’s your name?”
“Adriane.”
“Adriane.” Her name rolled off my tongue, and she shuddered, giving the effect I wanted. “Adriane, it would mean a lot to me if you told me when she’ll be back. I promise I won’t tell anyone you told me. She was a really good waitress, and my friend and I were a bunch of drunk asses the other day. I wanted to apologize.”
She blinked at me. “Oh. Well…” She looked down at a piece of paper. “Looks like she’s scheduled tomorrow.”
I smiled and took her hand in mine. “Thank you.”
“Y-you’re welcome.”
I walked through the restaurant and out the back door to the parking lot and my awaiting truck. As I headed off, I formed a plan. Dex was right, as much as I hated to admit it—I had to fuck Hope, and soon. Only after, with a clear head, could I take her on a date. That was if she said yes.
I’d given up trying to figure out what was wrong with me, and gave in to the devil in me that wanted her flesh.
When I walked into the gym with a smile on my face, I felt good. The emotion swiftly vanished when I saw our receptionist and scheduler, Dawn, leaning over the front desk and whispering frantically with Aaron, our youngest trainer.
My neck tensed and my jaw clenched as I walked forward. Something was wrong. Dawn’s eyes widened when she looked up and saw me.
“H-hi, boss.”
I looked between her and Aaron—who looked so nervous he’d turned white.
