AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I turn to go when Trent’s voice calls me back. “Clover?”
“Yes?” I stare at him in confusion.
“When do you get off?” Then, his cheeks burned. “I mean, when do you get off work tonight?”
“After close, around eleven. I’m usually the last to leave.” Holy fuck. Did I just tell a group of strange men I’ll be at the restaurant alone until late? I’m usually smarter than that. Something is wrong with me. “But my giant boyfriend walks me home, of course.”
They all stare at me for a minute, but Brax is the one to answer, and he looks surprisingly pissed. “Your giant boyfriend?”
“That’s what I said,” I respond, but my voice comes out far too high.
“Who is this guy?” And, yup, he sounds as pissed as he looks. “I mean– Ouch.” He swings a glare at Asher, who instead of looking shy looks like he’s trying to tell Brax something with his gaze alone. Brax, on other the hand, starts to rub his leg under the table. “I mean, boyfriend, okay. How long have you two been together?”
“Not long.” About as long as this conversation. “Well, enjoy the rest of your meal!” I squeak out, and then before they can question me further, I run for it.
I know I’m a coward, but I hang out in the back for a while. I’m already caught up on my paperwork and have everything ready for the new manager to take over tomorrow, which I’m super proud of, but I walk through the kitchen nervously, enough times that I’m pretty sure I’m annoying the cooks. Then I check all the dates on the food in the fridge and freezer, before I resort to lingering by the door going out to the dining room, where I catch a glimpse of the three men every time it opens.
I feel pathetic. I’ve never been the type of woman to get nervous around men, or act like an idiot, but I’ve never felt this instantly attracted to anyone before either. A feeling that I’m sure is one-sided.
My best bet is to avoid the handsome men. They’ll be heading back to wherever they came from in a few days, and I’ll be far from this town by tomorrow morning. Falling all over myself in front of them, imagining they like talking to me or seemed bothered by my made-up boyfriend, none of it matters. I just have to get through tonight.
So, it’s with mixed feeling that I eventually notice they’ve gone. Asher, Trent, and Brax. Three men who I will fondly think of while using my vibrator in the future. Three men I’d made a fool of myself in front of.
It’s for the best. Now, I can focus on saying my goodbyes and getting this place closed up.
THREE
Clover
It’s late when I finally finish closing up. I’m pretty sure my mascara has run down my face to the point where I look like a twisted clown, but the goodbyes from my staff hit harder than I thought. After they’d left, I’d cried like a baby for a while, forgetting all about how happy I was to leave this city behind and start a new life. I forgot all about my best friend, Sleepy Hollow, and our new restaurant. I’d just cried.
Like my mom had told me one night while I was cleaning up her vomit, “Sometimes doing the right thing hurts.” And it did tonight.
I’m nearly to my car, lost in my own thoughts, when I realize people are there. Taking several steps back, a scream catches in my throat. I yank out my mace as a dark shape looms toward me, and I start spraying while screaming like the great Xena Warrior Princess herself. The man in front of me starts screaming too, his voice nearly as high as my own, and he stumbles into the light of a lamppost near us. Which is when I realize it’s one of the guys from the restaurant. Brax.
“What the fuck?” I shout.
“Brax?” one of the shadows says, heading toward us.
I scream again and start macing, and then he’s screaming too. Trent. The blond one. His hood gets thrown back, and he’s rubbing at his eyes like I threw liquid fire in his face, which I kind of did. Only, as he’s moving around like an idiot, he crashes into Brax, and the two huge men go down like trees.
Brax tries to stand up, a garbled noise coming from his throat. I can’t tell if he’s aggressive, angry, or confused, but I air on the side of caution. Without hesitating, I kick him as hard as I can in the crotch, and he goes back down with a whimper.
A flicker of something unexpected comes and goes inside of me, and I clench my mace harder, ready to handle whatever these sick fuckers had planned for me. If they thought I was some wilting flower, now they should know that they were wrong. I’m going to teach them, one kick to the crotch after another, that I won’t be messed with.
I sense another person emerging from the shadows and swing my mace toward him, ready to strike if he gets too close. “Clover! Wait!” he shouts from near my car.
“Come on. Come closer,” I whisper under my breath.
“Just slow down a second,” he practically begs.
“Oh, I’ll slow down! I’ll slow down if you come close enough for me to kick your ass!” I don’t know what I’m saying, but I’m pretty sure I sound like a badass.
I can actually hear him sigh, even from this distance. “We hung around after to ask you on a date. That’s all.”
Date? “Please, motherfucker! You think this is my first rodeo? I’m going to beat you all to a pulp and shove your date right up your asses!”
Something comes flying toward me, and I swear I’m ready to mace it too when the rose hits the ground in front of me. “Seriously, we liked you. We felt awkward trying to get to know you while you were working and didn’t want to come across as pervs. We thought this would be better, but maybe with two of the lampposts being out, and the overall creepy vibe, and you being a woman alone… Shit, yeah, okay this was a bad idea. We’re just not used to asking women out.”
