AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He makes a growling noise in the back of his throat that usually gets my engines revving. “How long do you have?”
“An hour?” It comes out like a question. “I have to be back again for shift tomorrow morning, so I can’t stay. We could hang out around eight?”
“Hang out.” Chuckling, he closes a car door and makes me think he’s on duty. “I love your brand of hanging out, Lizbeth. I’m open for eight. Afterwards, I can tell you about the date from hell I had last night.”
“You did?”
“Yeah, clingy as shit, whiny about every damn thing. I got her top off, and she had a sports bra on. A sports bra!”
My nerves turn to humor. Shaky and uncertain, as my eyes come up to find Theo watching me from the front doors of the store. He can’t possibly hear what I’m saying, but he still wears a coat of anger. Of rage. We don’t know each other, but I still feel like I’m in big trouble.
Can he read lips? I turn away and give him my back. “That must have been terrible for you. Such a turn-off.”
Drake gives a throaty chuckle. “You know me, girl. You know I have a kink for lingerie. You gonna wear something nice for me? Make it black and barely there, and I’ll make it worth your while. I need something new to wash away the horror of what I saw last night.”
“Wait…” I frown. “Did you fuck her? Because you and I might be casual, but I don’t wanna be day two of your winning streak. Thaticksme out.”
He scoffs. “No, I sent her home. She was too whiny. She probably would’ve filled out a feedback form after we were done, and you know my fragile ego can’t take that kinda shit.”
“You’re such a little bitch,” I laugh. “I’ll be at your place around eight. I’m not coming to eat, no candlelight. Absolutely no romance. I just need to–”
“Let off steam?” he asks with a laugh. “I’ve got what you need, baby girl. I’ll bring the D, you bring the V, and we’ll jam that shit together till we make the gaga noises.”
“There is seriously something wrong with you. Like, right up in your brain, something got mixed up, and now you’re just weird.”
“And yet, you’re the one calling me,” he teases.
Touché.
“You sound kinda wound up; just come off your period?”
“No! Shut up about my damn period. I’ll see you later.”
I feel dirty as I hang up, and I’ve never in my life felt dirty after talking to Drake. Women are allowed to have casual sex. We’re allowed to be thirty and not married. I live my life for me, not to the standards society has set for me, which is precisely why I’ve been able to enjoy a casual relationship with a sexy man and zero commitment for so long.
But then I turn back to the front doors and find Theo Griffin’s eyes boring into mine. Suddenly it doesn’t feel okay anymore.
Scowling, I shove my phone back into my pocket and push the cart toward checkout. My movements are rough, and my groceries are tossed onto the conveyer belt haphazardly, annoying the cashier when she has to sort them before she bags them.
I pause when I finish emptying my cart and feel like something is missing. I have the chicken thighs. I have rice. I have the fresh produce and, annoyingly, the ground turkey. I look up with a frown and try to think of what’s missing.
Then it hits me.
“Where are my beans?”
The cashier continues to ring up my things and bag them with precision, but she does it with a scowl. She doesn’t give a single shit about my missing beans, and when I get home twenty minutes later and begin unpacking, I search every single bag three times.
“Where the hell are my beans?”
