AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Fine.” I rolled my eyes. “Just go sit at your booth. I’ll be over in just a second to take your order.”
Mason reached across the bar and gently tugged the end of my ponytail. “I really did think this uniform was dumb before you. I think you just unlocked a new kink for me.”
I gasped. “You can’t just blurt out things like that!”
He laughed easily and shrugged. “What can I say? I like seeing you blush.”
I turned away from them while they sat down and met Aaron’s eyes through the order window. He was a beautiful dark-skinned man who had an affinity for dangly earrings and gold eyeliner. He was better at makeup than I was and had more style than I could ever hope to have.
His hair was braided and tied up on top of his head but he’d left one braid hanging at his temple. He leaned forward and that braid caught on his eyelashes for a moment before he could push it back. “I heard all of that and I’d be a puddle if I were a woman, girl. Those men are hot and if you get them to keep coming in here, I’ll give you my first born.”
I covered my face with my order pad and groaned. “Why are all my new friends shameless?”
He laughed and the musical sound filled the diner. “None of us are getting laid, so we’re just excited someone might be.”
Joanie’s voice came from somewhere behind Aaron. “We need to do a sex dance. Like a rain dance, but for sex. What did you do, Vi? Tell us your sex dance secrets.”
I spun around and hurried away from the window. I refilled Jacob’s coffee and then checked on a few other customers before reaching the booth I was so nervous about.
Justin looked up at me and I could tell by the sparkle in his eyes he’d heard Aaron and Joanie. “I’m going to need to see this sex dance.”
Closing my eyes, I groaned and shook my head. “Nope. None of this is happening. I’m going to walk away and come back and it’s going to be like you didn’t hear any of that.”
I did just that but when I got back to their table, Mason was laughing and even Ben looked like he was struggling to keep a straight face. I sighed and sank into the booth next to Ben. He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer, close enough I could smell his woodsy scent. I swooned but tried to hide it.
“You fit in well here.” Justin looked me over and slowly shook his head. “Mason’s right about the uniform. I want to hug Joanie.”
I glanced down at my body and frowned. Were they seeing what I saw? I no longer had the body I’d had at twenty-one, but they were acting like I was the sexiest thing they’d ever seen.
“I don’t like that frown, or what I think it means.” Justin sat forward and tapped his fingers on the table. “That’s a conversation for another time, though. When I tell you how beautiful I find you, I don’t want anyone else around to interrupt.”
“You’re crazy.” I muttered and glanced around the diner to make sure everyone was okay. “You wanted to talk about Forrest?”
Ben’s arm tightened around me. “He’s not crazy. I’ve been hard since I saw your bare thighs. But that’s also for later.”
I glanced down at his pants and gulped. The PumpMaster 2000 had nothing on Ben.
“Is Forrest in school?” Justin’s grin said he was enjoying my discomfort.
I switched the direction of my brain and nodded. “He’s at Lily Elementary. Ms. Jenny is his teacher.”
“You said his last school wanted to move him up a grade. You’re doing good with him if he’s that smart already. None of us were all that bright when we were his age.” Mason nodded at Justin and laughed. “I’m pretty sure Justin was still trying to eat his own poop at six.”
Justin scowled. “I’m not even going to acknowledge that. Asshole.”
“You never finished telling us what you told him about his dad last night.” Ben brought the conversation back around but did it while leaning down to sniff my hair. “You still smell like vanilla and raspberries.”
I gave up trying not to blush. “Um… About Forrest…” I stuttered. “When he started asking about his dad, I didn’t know what to say. For a while, I told him that I’d tell him about his dad when he was older. But Forrest is a curious kid and doesn’t give up. He asked my mom on a day she was feeling especially hateful and she told him I didn’t know who his father was because I’d slept around.”
“What the fuck?” Justin sat forward. “Why the hell would she do that?”
I shook my head and let out a humorless laugh. “Because she’s never forgiven me for getting pregnant. I came back to town without a degree and everyone talked. She and Dad felt like people were judging them for not raising me better. She’s a gem, really.”
Ben rubbed my arm soothingly and blew out a deep breath. “I’m sorry that happened. You didn’t deserve it.”
“I just tell myself it’s the environment they were raised in. There’s no point in crying over it.” I shrugged. “After she told Forrest that, I sat him down and had a real conversation about his dad. He knows we lost contact and I’ve always told him if his dad knew about him, he would’ve been there.”
With a firm nod, Mason agreed. “We would’ve been there. We weren’t ready to let you go back then, Vi.”
