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“What did Barry say?”
“That he doesn’t take orders from me. I said that’s true, but he’s still going to tell him. He will. Not my exact words, but the message will come across either way. Oh, and I also asked him how he got into Dexen’s home.”
My eyes grew wide. “You didn’t?” It wasn’t that he accused him which concerned me. It was that we were in a very public place. No fighting or worse needed to happen in here because of us.
“Of course, I did. I wanted to catch him off guard and see how he’d react. He genuinely had no fucking clue what I was talking about. Barry was never good at hiding his emotions. I mean, we see how well he blends in here.” JJ rolled his eyes. “He’s a fucking tool my dad uses. Whatever. It’s not him. That doesn’t mean the old man is innocent. He’s lucky I haven’t gone to his tower and threatened his life. It wouldn’t be the first time, but maybe he’s not involved in whatever this shit is with Dex.”
Dexen shook his head. “I didn’t think he was. I have no issues with your dad, at least personally. We’ve kept things civil between us. I hate what he does. He knows it but doesn’t care as long as you’re safe.”
JJ’s jaw tensed. He wanted to say something, but he decided against it. We were putting the past behind us. There was no reason to hash it out yet again.
Placing my palm on his thigh, I gave him a gentle squeeze until he exhaled a slow breath. “Enough talk about this. We’re on our first date. I want to be happy.”
Dexen nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
Cadence stopped at our table. “Sorry about that. One of our servers called out tonight so we’re short-staffed.”
“Need some help?” I asked.
“It’s been a long time since you’ve waited tables here.”
“Hold on,” Dexen cut in. “Greer used to work here?”
“Back in high school,” I said. “Once I got my license.”
“Ashford’s Steakhouse…” JJ murmured, looking at her. “Is your brother Reed Ashford?”
“That’s him. His fans think it’s a stage name but that’s our real last name.”
“Damn, I’ve played his band’s music in my shop countless times. We love it. Your stepbrother is in the band too, right?”
“He is. He plays lead guitar.” Someone called her name. “Give me your drink order before they drag me away.”
We all ordered sodas, not wanting to drink tonight. Not only did we have work tomorrow, but we wanted to be alert. I didn’t need to ask them to understand, they thought like I did. Dexen’s need was derived from having someone watching JJ’s moves. He kept looking over his shoulder at Barry.
Cadence came back with our drinks then took our orders. JJ still couldn’t believe the story he read on the back of his menu. How the beef was born and raised right here on the farm.
“So, the cows we saw when we came in here…”
I nodded. “Will one day be on a plate. It’s smart if you think about it. They know what their cows are eating, how they’re raised and handled. Great quality control. They only serve the best.”
“I’m glad we can’t see them from inside.”
“In the summer you can sit outdoors. There’s a large patio area. You can hear them mooing.”
JJ shoved me but was smiling. “You’re so full of shit.”
Laughing, I replied, “I am. Could you imagine that smell while you’re trying to eat? There is an outdoor area though. No cows mooing and no smell. They have so much land here, it’s crazy.”
“I like this,” Dexen said with a soft smile. “I’m glad we came.”
I reached out and put my hand on the table to take his in mine. “Me too. I wanted us to do something outside of work, outside of being home. We’re all so busy. We need a break every now and then.” I wanted to add especially with the shit going on today but kept that to myself. I made these reservations last week. There was no point in bringing them up until this morning. My fear was they’d back out. I wanted this date, and they were both smiling and laughing. It was perfect.
The biggest slabs of beef were brought to our table. There were bowls of sides for us to share. Even though the idea of the steaks we were eating came from this farm, JJ fucking moaned when he bit into it, making my dick start to plump.
“Oh my god, this is good,” he said before putting another bite into his mouth.
“Hands down, the best steak I’ve eaten,” Dexen added. That was saying something considering how amazing the chef at the club was.
