CHAPTER NINE
PAIGE
Annabelle was another no-show on Thursday and Paulie called me to come in to work. Since it was my only night off, Beaux and I had plans to go out for dinner. I’d thought about telling Paulie I couldn’t do it, but I’d received another physical therapy bill for my dad that morning.
We needed the money and since Thursday was the first NFL game of the season, Ride’Em Rough was sure to be packed, I told him I’d be there.
My fear had spiked when I called Beaux to cancel.
But when I talked to Beaux, while he’d sounded disappointed, he also hadn’t sounded too upset. He at least hadn’t given me the brush off despite the fact I hadn’t seen him for a week. I’d been too busy with work and his schedule was packed while his team prepared for their first game.
He’d leave for Atlanta on Saturday morning, play a game Sunday, get back Sunday night. Who knew when I’d see him again.
Needless to say, despite the extra tips I was raking in, I wasn’t in the greatest mood while I was at work. The Tennessee Titans were playing and there were quite a few fans at Ride’Em Rough, shouting and drinking their weight in pitchers of beer. Some days I wondered if I’d ever be able to scrub the scent of stale beer off me.
In addition to the packed restaurant, the table that I was currently bussing left me with a measly five dollars for a seventy-five dollar bill. My already poor mood was disintegrating by the second.
I slammed my empty drink tray onto the stand and punched in orders for a table when Hannah came up next to me.
“So who pissed in your corn flakes this morning?”
“I don’t know what you mean.” Punch. Punch. Punch.
“I know that if you stopped scowling and started smiling at all your tables filled with men you might make the money you came in for tonight.”
“Forget it, Hannah. It’s just a crappy day.”
Her hand went to my arm and she tugged me toward the back hallway. “Tell me what’s going on. Is it your dad?”
I let her pull me, not wanting to cause a scene although no one was watching anything unless it was being broadcasted from one of our fifteen big screens. When we were in the hallway, I dropped the tray to my side.
“Talk.”
I was starting to really like Beaux. For the last week, we’d talked almost every night. Some times we just talked about his practice or what my day had been like at the garage. But he’d made an effort to connect with me in some small way daily, and I was totally falling for him.
He consistently showed me he wasn’t the jerk he’d been the first night at Ride’Em Rough.
But how many times could I cancel on him, when the amount of time we could see each other was already so minimal, before he walked away, too?
I desperately needed someone to help me unravel the mess in my head.
“You have to promise me not to freak out,” I said, making my voice as stern as possible. “And I mean it. No getting stars in your eyes. No excitement. Nothing.”
“Okay,” she drawled. Darn. Her eyes were already twinkling.
“I had a date last week and it went well.”
“You did?”
I pointed a finger at her. “I said no excitement. No freak outs.”
“Right.” She nodded enthusiastically, not even trying to hide her smile. “No excitement.”
I shook my head. It was pointless. “Okay, so Beaux came to the garage last week—”
She jolted back. “Beaux? Beaux Hale? Are you serious?”
“I’m warning you—”
“I know,” she said and held up her hand. Her eyes stopped twinkling and narrowed. “Tell me everything.”
I told her about Beaux coming to the garage, the gifts he gave my dad, four of the team members showing up with him, and then dinner and drinks. I told her about everything but the kiss.
Some things were just for me.
By the time I was almost done, her brows had almost disappeared into her hairline, her eyes barely in her sockets, and her jaw almost touching the floor.
“You’re dating Beaux?” She shook her head like she couldn’t believe it.
“I wouldn’t say dating, Hannah.” I shrugged. I didn’t even know what we were. He was making it clear he was interested. I definitely was. Time together was a barrier I didn’t know how to conquer. “We only went to dinner once.”
“So why you’d come in to work if you wanted to see him? If Beaux wanted to date me or spend time with me, or whatever” —she flicked out her hand —“I’d do everything I could to be with him.”
“Because I have a mountain of bills to pay.”
“But it’s Beaux.” Her voice took on a wispy tone. She didn’t understand.
Frustration spiked in my veins. “And before Beaux there was Spencer. And John and Colton. All of them left when I couldn’t give the time they wanted, Hannah. I have other responsibilities, and my dad will always come first.”
Damn it. My nose stung and the back of my throat burned. Thinking of all the rejection I faced was humiliating.
I shouldn’t have started something with Beaux.
“Maybe Beaux will be different,” she said, and she still had that wistful expression on her face. “I mean, he seems like such a great guy.”
“He is,” I said.
He was.
He was playful and funny. He made me laugh until my stomach hurt. He was fiercely protective of Shannon and hilariously ridiculous in the way he made vomit sounds every time he talked about Shannon and Oliver Powell. He was also intense when he talked about football, totally focused. And he never failed to ask about my dad or Mike. “But you know, I always thought Spencer was a great guy too, the best, and look how that turned out.”
I’d thought I loved him and he’d stomped all over it. And while I was over him, knew I had moved on from him, it didn’t mean his rejection and the subsequent ones hadn’t left their scars.
“Who’s Spencer?”
I jumped at the sound of Beaux’s voice and spun on my feet. He was there, standing behind me wearing jeans and a Nike T-shirt, and a hat pulled down low on his head.
Blond wisps of his hair stuck out from beneath the hat and that, along with the surprise of seeing him and the scowl on his face, sent my heart racing.
He was so damn sexy. “Hey,” I said, my voice breathy. “What are you doing here?”
He slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “You had to cancel and I wanted to see you. Was hoping I could talk you into hanging out for awhile after your shift.”
He what? I stared at him. Next to me, Hannah sighed. She nudged me with her elbow and snapped me back to the fact that Beaux had wanted to see me so he made a way to see me.
If swooning was still a thing, I would have done it.
“Wow. Well, that’s nice of you.”
He flashed me a lopsided grin. “I told you. I’m a nice guy.”
He had. He’d also proved it. My cheeks ached from the smile splitting my face. “I’d like that. But it’s another hour until I’m off.”
“I know. I figured I’d grab some dinner and a couple drinks while I wait.” He walked toward me, rested his hand on my hip and before I’d adjusted to his presence so close to me, he pressed his lips to my temple. “It’s good to see you. And maybe later, you’ll clue me in on Spencer?”
He pulled back and gazed down at me. Blond brows arched on his head beneath a frayed and faded red ball cap, there was a question in his eyes.
“An ex,” I said, waving him off. “Not a big deal.”
“Sounded like it.”
Damn it. Of all the things I wanted to discuss with Beaux, Spencer was definitely not one of them. I also knew he was determined, and because of that, he wouldn’t let up until I told him.
“Later,” I said. “We’ll talk later.”
“Good. Now get to work. I have a surprise for you when you’re done.”
He turned and walked away. I was still so shocked by his presence and his sweetness, and the fact he’d wanted to see me so badly he’d come to hang out where I worked, it was moments before I remembered Hannah was still standing next to me. Like me, she was watching Beaux walk away, but there wasn’t the sweet goofy expression in her eyes she usually had. Her body was pulled tight, her chin jutted out, and a frown wrinkled her brow.
“Hannah?”
“Hmm?” She turned to me. “What?”
“You okay?”
“Yeah.” She nodded once and her playfulness returned. “Of course I am. Told you Beaux was a nice guy.”
I followed her out of the hallway and was stopped by Ray who told me I had a new four top to take waters to.
***
I wiped off the last drink tray and placed it on the stack, tossing my cloth back into the wash bucket behind the bar.
My feet ached, my arches were killing me, but my apron was weighed down in tips as well as the count I’d taken from the credit card receipts. Hannah had been right. After Beaux showed up, I couldn’t stop smiling. My tips increased exponentially.
I would have been able to do all the tasks required of me before clocking out, but when I took my trays over to where Beaux was still sitting at the bar, only a glass of ice water in front of him, we started talking while I worked.
“I think I’m done,” I said, untying my apron and tossing it onto the bar.
“What do you need to do to leave?” He pushed his glass toward the edge of the bar and Joey grabbed it from him with a thanks.
While I’d been busy working on the other side of the restaurant, I’d kept my eye on Beaux. Even with his faded and frayed red ball cap on, dozens of people recognized him. He’d spent most of the night alternating between signing autographs and eating his burger.
He’d always been smiling, and more than once I’d caught that smile directed at me.
“You still have energy to go out?” I asked. I was thrumming with a mixture of exhaustion and anticipation. I wanted to see him, but he had practice in the morning. “We don’t have to.”
“Didn’t sit here all night drinking gallons of water and having a shit burger to end up spending the night alone.” His grin hit me in places, sweet places. Somehow, Beaux’s smile was a beacon, a light to all the stress I carried.
He smiled at me and it all melted away—while other things overheated.
“Okay. I have to grab my things from the break room and I’ll be off.” I turned to Joey and slid him my apron. “Hey, Joey, can you cash me out please?”
“Sure thing, Paige.” He winked at me and I laughed. Joey was almost forty, divorced with kids old enough to be starting middle school. A boy and girl twins, they often came in on the weekends he had them if he couldn’t get off work. I’d hung out with Bella and Bryan on more than one occasion. Sweet kids. That wasn’t unexpected since Joey was a nice guy, and even managed to co-parent his kids with his ex-wife with a grace that was sweet enough to be make believe.
He was also a huge flirt and winked at everyone.
Next to me, Beaux pushed off his spot at the bar. “I’ll wait for you out front. Don’t take long,” he whispered in my ear, hand on my hip like he’d done earlier.
My body gave the same trembling reaction.
He walked away and I hurried to the back, throwing on a change of clothes before heading back out to the bar.
Hannah was there, grabbing drinks for her last table.
“You headed out with Beaux?” she asked.
“Yes.” I bit down on my lip so hard it stung. “I can’t wait.”
“Have fun.” She flashed me a tight smile and hurried off.
Weird. She must have been stressed if she didn’t tease me about giving her the juicy details.
“Here are your tips,” Joey said when I returned to the bar. “Looks like you had a great night.”
“I did.” I didn’t count the stack of cash he handed me, but it was definitely thicker than normal. I shoved it into my purse. “Thanks for all your help.”
“No problem. Take care tonight.”
“I will. See you tomorrow?”
He shook his head. “Nope. Got the kids this weekend. I’ll be back on Monday.”
I grinned and waved. “See you then. Tell them I said hello!”
“You got it.”
I headed toward the door to the restaurant, unable to stop smiling when I thought of Beaux.
Even before I met Beaux, one of my largest concerns had been the chance of finding a guy who understood my priorities would always have my dad at the top of the list. I’d been burned enough to know it wasn’t easy, and after the last time I’d been rejected, I’d given up on dating at all.
So far, Beaux hadn’t only shown me that he understood my priorities, but he was okay with them. I might not have done it intentionally, but I suspected that for the last week, I’d been getting to know Beaux while keeping my arms up, forcing distance between us.
His actions tonight told me that distance might not be necessary with him.
My arms were getting tired from forcing it.
At some point, I had to let someone in, didn’t I? Why not risk it with a guy who made me smile and seemed to understand how much time I had to give?
I didn’t have long to think about it because as soon as I stepped outside, the beautiful sight in front of me wiped my concerns from my brain.
Beaux was there, standing in front of his giant black truck, arms crossed over his chest, hat bill pulled low, and jeans low on his hips. His T-shirt showed off the dips and ridges of his stomach so fiercely my girlie parts quivered. One of his feet was up on his grill, the other planted on the pavement.
It wasn’t just his body and the way he was standing that skewered through me like a hot summer night.
It was his smile. It was directed at me, and it told me all the things he wanted to do to me as soon as he got me alone.