AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I pause and take a drink. “Then you sent me that message the night you went out with your girlfriends. My first thought should have been about the repercussions of other managers accessing that message and getting the wrong idea. Instead, I was immediately ready to go thinking about you discussing my tongue with your friends. I’ve been spiraling ever since.”
She contemplates everything that I said, and I see her glance around and stare at the people around the bar. Two other couples are sitting at the rail, and probably fifteen to twenty other guests are at the tables on the bar floor. I wait for her response and use the silence as an excuse to stare at her. She looks phenomenal. The skirt is short enough that I can see her smooth thighs. It’s been torture trying to keep my hands to myself.
“Well then, I guess my next question would be, what do you want from me? I’m not sure I’m ready for a relationship. I’m finally getting the hang of living in Indy, and I don’t want to feel rushed. My last relationship crashed and burned. Violently. I’d rather just focus on building a life worth bragging about, ya know?” she asks, pulling me out of my perusal of her body.
When I begin to speak, I’m interrupted when the food runner brings my salad. I mix the dressings and dump them over the top of my salad and dig in. I see Alana wave at the bartender, and she walks over when she finishes speaking with another guest.
“Hello, was there something else you guys would like to order?” she asks.
“Yeah, I’d like to put in an order for the jalapeno bacon mac and cheese, please. I’m not sure if he plans on ordering anything else.” She nods in my direction, allowing me to order more food.
I tell her no and take another bite of my salad.
The bartender walks away, and Alana says, “Mixing French and bleu cheese is gross. The colors and the textures don’t look pleasant together at all. It’s chaotic, and I’m judging you.”
I laugh loudly and continue to chew and swallow before I respond. “My mom always mixed them and called it special sauce. Now it’s my guilty pleasure. I put it on top of everything, french fries included.”
We sit in silence while I finish eating, and Alana waits for her mac and cheese. The quiet is oddly comfortable. I don’t know her well, but she seems to be pretty forward with what’s on her mind. That’s not always a common trait in people, and I appreciate the hell out of it. Things are so much easier when you’re upfront with thoughts and expectations. I’ve dated people in the past who didn’t speak up and say when something was bothering them, and all of those relationships ended badly. No surprise.
“Who is Stacy?” she asks.
I wipe my mouth with my napkin, then take a drink of my almost-empty Manhattan.
“Stacy’s an old friend. We dated over six years ago, and neither of us has had a genuine relationship since we broke things off. You heard me talking to her at work, so I assume you can imagine we’ve stayed in contact with a physical relationship throughout the years. Neither of us has an emotional interest in the other, and it’s been easy to continue a sexual relationship. We’re comfortable with each other. She moved to Cincinnati over two years ago, so we only see each other when we’re in the same city.”
She sits and digests the explanation, but I see the gears turning in her head. Once again, I’m glad she asked instead of assuming I had a girlfriend that I enjoyed blatantly cheating on. It gets the relationship out in the open and should reassure her I’m single and very interested in her. I see her face scrunch deep in thought, and I briefly wonder what in the world has her so confused. Then, I remember when I brought Francesca into the store while she was working.
28
Chapter Twenty Eight
Andreas
“The woman you saw with me at the store the other day was my realtor, Francesca. We’ve been discussing selling my house in the city so I can move to the country. She asked me to grab dinner and check out the Carmel location. You won’t ever see Stacy out and about in public with me. That’s not what our relationship is.” After I finish my explanation, I lean over and push a piece of her hair behind her ear.
Her breath catches at my sudden closeness, and the electricity from earlier comes racing back. If innocuous touches like this set us on fire, what on Earth is it going to be like when I get her alone?
“Thank you for being honest. Obviously, what and who you do in your free time is none of my business, but I’ve thought a lot about the conversation I overheard. I’ve been dying to find out who Orgasm Stacy is.” She chuckles,and the nickname she gave Stacy makes me laugh, too.
She looks at me, and I know she can see the glimmer of humor in my eyes. Her awkward demeanor is hilarious and endearing. I didn’t know how multifaceted her personality was until today. I’d only gotten sarcastic Alana.
“You’ve thought a lot about me making another woman come?” I question her mischievously.
“Well, I’ve thought a lot about what you said to her. My last relationship wasn’t exactly explosive sexually, and I’ve been going through a bit of a drought. Hearing someone sound so primal and excited for oral got my imagination flowing. Then, the office fiasco happened, and the thoughts just got more frequent. I’m conflicted about how I feel about everything. On the one hand, I want to give in and find out what it’s like to be with you, and on the other, I’m afraid to get burned because I work with you. I don’t plan on bartending forever, but the money is great. I’ve been reaching some monetary goals I’ve set for myself, and I’m not quite ready to give that all up for some dick, ya know?” she answers candidly. Another example of her brutal honesty shines through.
“Well, let’s look at it this way. I’m not directly your boss. Technically, I’m your boss’ boss’ boss. I only oversee the regional managers in the day-to-day stuff, and the regional managers handle Jim and everyone else. You fall under Jim’s management. He’s not firing you for anything sexual that may happen between us. If he did, you’d have a surefire lawsuit. We don’t take that kind of discrimination lightly.”
I calmly try to expel the nerves I can see written all over her face.
“Alana, nothing further even has to happen between us. What happened in the office was a grievous lapse in judgment on my part. I should have never touched you without explicit consent, and I should have never done it on the clock inside the store. I don’t want to pressure you into doing anything you don’t want to do. It won’t hurt my feelings if we part ways today and go back to only working with each other in a professional sense.”
“What if I want you to pressure me?” she blurts, her eyes widening with shock at the statement. The idea of her wanting me to force her hand and make her do what I want makes my blood run hot instantly.
I can feel my eyes darken, and Itsk. “You should be very careful about throwing those kinds of requests around Alana. We are in a very public place, and I’d hate to embarrass you.”
We stare at each other; the atmosphere crackling around us. Everyone else in the restaurant goes on with their meals without realizing what’s happening next to them. I can barely breathe. The tension is running so high, it’s almost choking me.
I lean toward her and whisper, “Go into the bathroom and take your panties off. You have sixty seconds. I’m watching the clock.”
