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"I'm covering for Mags." I hold up the empty glasses I was about to place under the bar. "I gotta get going."
Please stop talking to me.
He gives me a fake pout. "Can you make me one of your specialties?"
I sigh inwardly but smirk. "Surprise you?" I know how to put on a show, and that's exactly what I'm doing.
Aiden winks. "You know it. You never disappoint me."
Usually, I enjoy his flirty behavior, but tonight, it annoys the ever-loving hell out of me. The last thing I want is for Wes to think I'm a psycho stalkeranda whore.
After that, my shift runs smoothly. I am able to turn my Wes-obsessed brain off and focus on my job. I don't allow myself to acknowledge his presence and serve my customers their drinks.
I'm holding my Guardian Helix, about to slice a lime, when the atmosphere shifts. I purposefully didn't bring my usual curved blade tonight.
My eyes fly up of their own volition. It's as if someone—Wes—has called my name, and our gazes collide.
My breath hitches before the pulse in my veins takes off. I'm having flashbacks to the time I was put on Ritalin for suspected ADHD. Needless to say, my attention deficit was caused by my homelife falling to pieces and the counselor I was forced to see being an incompetent asshole. He took the easy way out, and in addition to misdiagnosing me, he also overprescribed the shit. No one at twelve years old should think they are having a heart attack.
I hold Wes's impassive stare as he saunters by, trying desperately to steady my breathing. He has his hood over his head, his features expressionless. His entire body language screams alpha, and my thighs clench together.
I scold myself internally, but can't help the desire building in my core. I've had a crush on this guy for so long that him acknowledging me makes my vagina break out in a cha-cha.
Following his exit, I have a hard time concentrating. Thankfully, no one orders anything too extravagant for my last hour, and I manage to finish the night and get home without any further incidents.
Thursday isMags's night off, but knowing that Wes will most likely be at The Grizz, she talked Kiwi into moving his date to our place of work. She hates hanging out at a table alone.
During breakfast this morning, I downplayed how Wes's presence caused complete emotional havoc in me, but she gave me her therapist look, and I spilled my guts, recounting every last detail.
As I got to whatIthoughtI saw when Aiden hugged me, she grinned and shrugged casually. "He wants to fuck you."
"Shut up!" Heat crept up my cheeks. "You know that can never happen."
She rolled her eyes. "Why not? You don't have to tell him what you did. But you need to get your lady parts serviced. They have cobwebs."
"Jesus Christ, what did I walk in on this time?" Grizz is standing in the patio door with Echo slightly behind him.
What the—? How didn't I notice my dog wasn't in the house? Good Lord, what kind of dog mom was I? I stared at my best friend in horror, and she understood immediately. Getting up from her chair, she walked over and hugged me while Grizz stepped to the side to let Echo in. My four-legged girl jumped in my lap and gave me her best good morning kiss. I couldn't even be upset about being covered in dog saliva. I didn't notice that she wasn't here when I woke up.
"Stop stressing out. I let her out, like, twenty minutes ago. It's all good," Mags whispered in my ear and kissed me on the crown of my head. "Thanks, big guy." She dismissed our boss, and once again, I wondered what their history was.
Watchingmy friends chatting at their table from my spot behind the bar, I can't help but feel guilty. Kiwi likes Zeke, but with my shit show of a life, he doesn't get to see him. I've been in constant need of my best friend—not that he would ever hold it against me. We made that pact when I was eleven and Kiwi was thirteen—on the day Rae left. We swore on a blood oath that we would never not be there for each other, and to this day, we have stuck to our promise. I look at the small scar across the pad of my thumb—one of my many links to him.
As expected, Wes walks in not twenty minutes after his practice ended. Zeke is not here yet, which means Wes must've been one of the first to leave. I'm not sure if that excites or freaks me out more.
I track his every move as he walks by my friends, meeting Kiwi's gaze and holding it. Neither of them looks away.
Wes's hair is still wet and tied back. He's wearing a red-and-black hoodie with the team's mascot on it and jeans that hug his ass like—God, why does he have to be sex on a stick?
Maybe my lady parts do need to be dusted off.
Nope, no, they don't. And if they do, not by Weston Sheats.
I find Mags's eyes, who was just waiting for me to look at her. Her usual smirk is missing, and she's psychoanalyzing me:Is King going to make it through the night?
I look back down to the glass that I've been polishing for several minutes. I need to ignore him. Maybe he'll leave.
Yeah, like that's going to happen,the old King laughs inside my head.
