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“Yeah, Jose.” Ruby smiles to ease his fears. “I’m just explaining to the gentleman this booth is off limits.” Ruby turns her glare back to Tank, who at least looks apologetic for avoiding Ruby for days. He starts to say something but clamps his lips together. His gaze sliding to Jose and then Becky, a waitress who’s come to see what all the fuss is about.
“Ruby, could we speak?” Tank pauses and looks pointedly at Jose and Becky. “Privately?” His gaze comes back to hers, and they stare at one another for a long moment, no one saying a word. Ruby wars with herself. She should tell him to get lost and never show his face in the diner again, but she can’t bring herself to say the words. She relents, finally, turning to her co-workers.
“It’s fine, guys.” Ruby gives them a tight smile. “Go on back to work. There’s nothing to see here.” Jose glares at Tank but turns back to the kitchen. Becky eyes Tank a little too long for Ruby’s liking. Ruby can see the interest in the girl’s gaze as she takes in Tank’s enormous body. Ruby can’t blame her for admiring the man, but she’s not going to stand there while the she eye fucks him. “Becky!” Ruby exclaims sharply. Becky jumps, her gaze drawn from Tank to Ruby. She flushes as if she realizes what she is doing and quickly turns to scamper back to counter. Ruby turns back to face Tank.
“I’m sorry about disappearing,” Tank says. His voice and expression seeming to back up his regret. “I promise, if you’ll give me a chance, I’ll explain everything. Have lunch with me?” His eyes are pleading with her. Ruby bites her lower lip in indecision. She has to admit she’d been hurt when he hadn’t shown up that first night, but as the days had worn on, she told herself it is for the best. She can’t allow him to get close to her, for his sake.
“Tank, it’s busy in here today,” Ruby glances around at the diner. It’s true the place is hopping, but they aren’t shorthanded today. “I…I just can’t.” Tank’s face drops momentarily before filling with determination.
“Ruby.” Tank’s voice is firm, demanding when he says her name. “It might be busy, but you still have to take lunch. Please, let me explain what happened.” Ruby rolls her eyes and sighs. The man isn’t going to give it up so she might as well get it over with. Better to give in rather than cause another scene.
“Fine,” Ruby concedes. “Let me check my tables. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He nods. A sensual grin breaking out on his conceited face. Ruby huffs, shaking her head. She must be insane, but she can’t stop herself. Ruby heads into the kitchen, nearly colliding with Jose and Becky who have been creeping at the saloon type doors, as they eavesdrop on the conversation she’s been having with Tank.
“Oh Lord!” Ruby exclaims, drawing up short before knocking Becky down. She glares at the pair, but there’s no heat in it. She knows they are just trying to look out for her. “You two should be ashamed. Spying on me. I told you everything is fine.” Jose looks a little sheepish, but Becky has no shame.
“Be mad if you want,” Becky replies, “but we are just looking out for you. That guy is totally hot, but if he’s trying to do you wrong, we aren’t going to stand for it.” Becky cocks her hip to the side, placing her hand firmly on it. Ruby grins at the girl who’s barely old enough to work at the diner. Becky just turned seventeen. She’s a homeschool student who works on weekends and evenings. She’s very intelligent and driven. She’s already finished high school and is in her second semester of college. Ruby likes the girl and her spunk, but she doesn’t have time for her antics. She has a sexy beast to slay.
“I’m not mad.” Ruby grins at them. “Thank you for looking out for me. Jose, will you fix me a couple of bacon double cheese burgers, two orders of fries, a grilled chicken sandwich and another order of fries?” Jose nods and turns toward the grill. Ruby scribbles the order down before adding it to the order list. She grabs the freshly made pot of coffee and heads out to check on her customers.
Ruby is in the dining room for some time checking on her tables making sure they have everything they need. She clears some tables of dirty plates and drinks. Once she’s finished refilling drinks and taking out orders, she goes in search of Becky. Her order should be about ready. Ruby finds Becky loading down a tray with an order.
“Hey Becky, I’m going to take my lunch break,” Ruby informs her. “Will you watch my tables?”
“Sure, no problem.” Becky heads out into the dining room while Ruby gathers the food she ordered. With her tray loaded down with the food and a couple of sodas, she heads back to confront Tank. Her stomach in knots. She’s nervous about the conversation she’s about to have with Tank. She has a feeling he’s going to have a really good explanation for his disappearance, and she won’t be able to stay upset with him. Just seeing him has her body on fire and her mind a muddled mess. She recognizes deep down Tank isn’t the kind of man to toy with her affections. He’s been straightforward from the moment she met him, but she must stay strong. She just can’t allow him into her heart, any more than he is already. She blows out a breath. Straightening her spine, she carries the tray over to where Tank has been patiently waiting for her.
“Hey,” she says nervously as she sets the tray down. Tank eyes the food appreciatively. “I got you a couple of bacon double cheese burgers and 2 orders of fries. I hope that’s okay.” Ruby glances at him as she unloads the food in front of him. He flashes her another panty melting smile.
“It’s more than okay, beautiful,” Tank replies. “Thank you.” He takes her hand and tugs her down into the booth to sit beside him. Settling in, they both dive into their food, savoring the delicious flavors. Ruby is starving. She only ate a few bites of her sausage biscuit this morning before the diner had gotten busy. She hasn’t taken time to eat anything since. She moans as she bites into the grilled chicken sandwich. Jose has out done himself. It’s so good. She notices Tank has stopped moving. His burger half way to his mouth. He’s staring at her. His mouth hanging open.
“What?” Ruby asks, confusion on her face. Tank blinks and shakes his head.
“You need to stop making those sounds.” Tank’s voice is husky with desire. Ruby’s eyes enlarge as he looks at him. She swallows hard, nearly choking on her food. She reaches for her soda to take a sip. “You’re making me think of things I shouldn’t while we are in public.” Ruby chokes on her soda, making a snorting sound, soda running out her nose and mouth. She grabs a napkin, flushing with embarrassment. “You okay, there, beautiful?” Tank asks patting her on the back.
“Um…no.” Ruby coughs again. She dabs her mouth with the napkin. “You shouldn’t say things like that, Tank.” Ruby glances over at him. His face is lit with delight at her discomfort with the topic.
“You started it,” he replies as he takes a sip of his drink. “You shouldn’t be moaning like that in public. Save that for my bed.” Ruby’s face is beet red and so hot. She’s certain she’s about to spontaneously combust. It takes a few moments to get herself under control and to come up with a comeback.
“Pretty full of yourself, aren’t you?” Ruby asks. “So arrogant.” Tank grins at her causing a wave of desire to flood her once more.
“You’ll be the one full, beautiful.” Tanks leans in close to her nuzzling her neck as he speaks. Ruby shivers. Lord what this man does to her. She leans into his touch, forgetting for the time being she’s unhappy with him for ghosting her.
“Tank,” she says his name on a whisper. He wraps his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. He places a kiss to the side of her neck. “Mmmm.” She hums, relishing in his touch. He pulls back startling her. She opens her eyes to gaze at him, confused about why he stopped.
“This is not the time or place for this activity,” Tank says softly. Ruby blinks, then looks around remembering where they are and she pulls back from him. Shifting in her seat, fumbling with the napkin on her lap, she takes a deep breath, willing her body to behave itself. Tank clears his throat and turns back to his food. Ruby tries to focus on eating and not the intense desire running through her.
“I need to explain myself to you,” Tank says after a few minutes of tense silence where they’ve both been focused on their food. “I didn’t want to stand you up last week, but it was beyond my control.” Ruby’s head snaps to the side to look at him. She sees nothing but sincerity in his handsome face. “I was sent out for work with very little notice.” She frowns at him. He’s in the Marines, but she’s never heard of them being sent out for such a short time. She thought that deployments were for months at a time, and most of the time, the troops normally have a few days to weeks’ notice. She’s heard them talking in the diner before.
“I’m in special forces, Ruby,” Tank tells her. “We do tasks normal troops don’t do. Most of it is top secret. I’m not allowed to discuss it outside of my team. There are times we have very little notice before we are sent out. I wanted to tell you, but I had no way to contact you.” Ruby’s face falls, another reminder of her life situation, one that she can’t change no matter how much she might want to do so.
“I understand, Tank,” Ruby replies. She does understand why he couldn’t tell her he had to leave. “When did you get back?” Curiosity eating at her. She has a thousand questions, but that’s the one that pops out. He glances at the large watch on his magnificent wrist.
“About three hours ago,” Tank replies. “I came here as soon as I got out of debrief.”
“Oh Tank!” Ruby exclaims. “You must be exhausted.” He gives her a sheepish grin.
“Nah,” Tank says. “I’m okay. Slept on the plane.” Ruby looks at him, but she can see the fatigue on his face. Ruby shakes her head. “I needed to see you.”
“You need to eat.” She motions to his half-eaten burgers and fries as she digs back in to her food. Her break will be over soon, and she really is starving. After learning why he’s been missing for a week, the hurt that has been riding her for the last week recedes. They finish eating. Tank cleans his plate. Ruby can’t keep from smiling. The man can pack away some food in a short amount of time.
