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"Fuck no, I want lunch." Dad puts his hands in his jeans pockets. "Just because you aren't sure what you want, doesn't mean we should have to pick between you and a good lunch. I guarantee you the taco truck will win every single time."
"Yeah," Barrett echoes. "We want lunch. Make your stand any way you want to, but don't expect us to follow you. We like our tacos."
I like my tacos too, but there's gotta be a point where I try to keep my pride. As I sit in my truck and wait for them to get whatever it is they're going to eat. I take the moment to glance at Kara. Her eyes lift up to mine as she takes Dad's order, and I know she's interested. I just need to figure out how to express to her that I am too.
And pray like all hell I haven't fucked this up because I can't tell when a damn woman is interested anymore. When Barrett and Dad get back in the truck, they're carrying an extra bag. Barrett grins. "Kara said to give this to you. Even if you're an asshole, she doesn't want to see you go hungry."
CHAPTER TWO
Kara
"Thanks everybody for watching today," I give a wave to the camera I'm using to stream my afternoon lunch rush. "We're about to get a little busier, so I won't be able to speak directly to everyone, but I'll be back later to discuss how things are going."
I inhale deeply, before letting my eyes fall to the vehicle parked out in front of my food truck. I watch as Abel sits in his truck, looking at the food Barrett's placed in his lap. His eyes lift up to mine, and a smirk spreads across his face. That fucker, he's onto me. He knows I talk a big game. Honestly, all I want is a little wooing on his part. Isn't that what every woman wants?
"Hey Kara, can I get a number three?"
I glance down, seeing my friend and fellow local business owner, Gabby. She owns a bakery, and supplies me with cookies and small pieces of cake I sell as desserts. "Sure, you want sour cream and mild sauce?"
She nods. "You either know me well, or I eat lunch here too often. You streaming?" She asks.
I laugh. "A little bit of both, I think. I am."
She leans over so that she can wave toward the camera. "Hey everybody, we'll be streaming together next week. We'll be showing y'all how to do tacos and make some baked goods. We hope to see everyone there."
I love when she gets involved. It takes a bit of the pressure off me. Back when I first started YouTube videos and streaming, it was because I couldn't afford the food truck on my own. I had to get a small business loan, but wasn’t able to repay it with what I was earning from the truck, and I had to get creative. In the beginning, my social media out earned my food truck every day. Now they're neck in neck, and I don't have to spend every week looking for sales in order to keep it all going.
The rush has slightly died down, it's always short-lived. Maybe a few minutes, or a block of twenty or thirty. Most days I can get started, look up, and it's over, feeling as if it only took the blink of an eye. She glances behind her to see if there's anyone waiting, when she doesn't see anyone, she forges ahead. "You and Abel huh? I was at Monroe's on Halloween, and I saw that kiss. Have you been steaming up the taco truck?"
"I wish," I sigh. "He's tough to crack. He holds himself pretty stiff, if you know what I mean. He's comfortable around his friends, but he doesn't seem to trust new people easily."
She raises a brow, before pursing her lips. "Probably has to do with his mama and what happened a few years ago."
"Wait? What happened a few years ago?" I'm all ears, ready for this tidbit of gossip I haven't been privy to yet.
Gabby squirms under my scrutiny. "Your BFF might be a better person to ask. She went to high school with him and has known him for years. I've lived here my entire life, but we went to cross-town rivals. From what I understand she's known that crew for a long time. It's kinda weird her and Boone had never met since she hung out with those guys on and off."
At the mention of Alexis, I make a mental note to text her when I have a free moment. I tend to forget she's known the group of guys as long as she has because of how weird it was that she didn't know Boone. "I'll ask her. What's the deal with his mama?"
"Girl, there ain't enough time in my lunch break to go into all of that. She's lucky that guy still talks to her."
That hurts my heart for Abel. Although he's serious, I see a side of him every once in a while, that shows me he can be carefree. And it also makes me wonder if that's the reason he's not open to what I'm so freely trying to show him. When I get done making her plate, I wrap it up and run her card. "Well that at least gives me something to try and work for, ya know? Maybe it's not just me he's fighting so hard against. Maybe it's all of it."
"I highly doubt it's you, Kara. There's a lot of history there that most people don't understand."
I nod, resigning myself to being patient, which isn't my strong suit. "Well, I just told him today that he'd have to make some sort of grand gesture for me, so we'll see, I guess. My fear is in asking for that, I've pushed him away."
"You haven't. Sometimes people can be so deep into their heads that they can't see their way out. I kinda think that's how it is for Abel. He's one person with his friends, kind of the person you think he should be. Then when you catch him in a moment of being alone, he's the person he really is. He might look one way, but he's definitely an entirely different person."
As she leaves, I think about what she's said. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that she's right. I originally thought one thing about the man who's got my attention, only to find out he's something completely different. Glancing at my watch, I take note of the time. I've only got another ten minutes to be open, and there's no one pulling into the gravel lot I have my truck parked in. Shutting the door on the side, I close up shop for the day, and begin cleaning. Thoughts of a brooding man with dark eyes heavy on my mind.
* * *
Four hours later, I'm heading into Monroe's. It's not an every night type of thing, but sometimes I need to be around others, who aren’t my employees. Then when I’m not around employees, I’m fucking tired. Most every day, I'm in the truck early, getting everything ready and then I'm working my ass off to make it through the six hours, before I can finally close.
Sometimes, it's all I can do to take a shower and go to bed, but tonight? I wanna be out and about. As I enter, I see my best friend behind the bar, smiling at Nolan. He's the hottie single-dad almost every woman in this town wants to snag. Apparently, him and Alexis dated in high school, but it wasn't meant to be. They're friends now, and just about every time I come in, he's sitting at the bar.
"Kara!" Alexis yells, waving me over. "Look at you," she gives me a wink. "Here to impress someone tonight?"
