AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hunter chuckles. “It’s okay, little man. Grampie’s allowed to say it because he’s an adult.”
“Does this mean I can say it when I’m an adult, too? Because Auntie Taylor’s been teaching me bad words in secret.”
My best friend gasps. “Way to throw me under the bus!” She looks at me, wide-eyed. “I swear, I don’t know what he’s talking about. What’s that old expression? Kids say the darndest things?”
I giggle. “As long as I don’t start hearing it around the house, I won’t have any complaints.”
Behind us, someone coughs loudly. There’s a sudden commotion, followed by the sounds of panic.
“Oh my God!” someone shouts. “He’s choking. Somebody, help him!”
I turn to find a man at the next table grasping uselessly at his throat. His cheeks are bright red, his eyes bulging from the pressure building in his skull. I jump up from my seat and rush over without a second thought, positioning myself behind him to perform the Heimlich maneuver. After one, two, three thrusts in just the right place, the man spits out a wide chicken bone. It lands on his plate with an unceremonious clatter.
I pat him on the shoulder. “Are you alright?”
“Yes, thank you so much,” he rasps.
People at nearby tables applaud, but I blush and wave the attention away. “It’s nothing, really.”
“That’s my mom!” Lucas declares proudly.
I return to my seat, smiling sheepishly. Hunter chuckles, wrapping an arm over my shoulder so he can dip in to press a kiss to my hair.
“God, that was sexy as hell,” he murmurs against my ear.
“What? A man choking on a chicken wing? Whatever gets you there, I guess.”
“No, sweetheart. You saving a man’s life.That’ssexy as hell.”
“Yeah? Well maybe when we get home tonight, I’ll perform a little mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on you.”
“Ooh, I’d like that very much.”
Charlie clears his throat. “Yeah, can you guys not be gross and in love for like, two seconds? Your voices carry a lot further than you think.”
Hunter and I laugh. We’re not at all apologetic.
