It was another early shift and I was excited to be working with Rose today. It always made the time go by so much faster. I hadn’t seen her in a couple of days and was excited to tell her about my meetup with Colton. His level of hotness couldn’t be properly conveyed without using hand gestures, so it was a conversation I wanted to have face to face. Unfortunately, there hadn’t been more sightings of my neighbor, and I was a little bummed about it. It had been a couple of days now and I hadn’t gotten the chance to see him again. It wasn’t for lack of trying though, I’d been practically stalking his house, just hoping to catch a glimpse to satisfy my craving for the man.

Rose was in the breakroom when I arrived, so I quickly brought her up to date and filled her in on my pizza dinner with Colton.

“Did you kiss him?” she asked, her voice filled with excitement.

I looked at her with horror on my face. “No! Of course not. His little girl was right there, as well as his friend.”

She shrugged. “Exactly. He had a babysitter. You could have taken him back to your place and gotten a nice ride.”

“Oh my God. You are a dirty, dirty woman.”

“You should be a little dirtier yourself, Jenna. Take a walk on the wild side. You’ll like it,” she said, with a wink as she walked out of the breakroom.

Honestly, I secretly wished I was as brave as Rose. She would have already sampled the goods. I was a bit more reserved, even though my body was aching for his touch. I wanted to be naughty and daring, but I just wasn’t born that way. I was missing that gene or something.

Heading for the floor, I could see that Rose was already taking the order of an older couple who were seated in her section. I got right to work, preparing for a busy lunch hour. As I filled salt shakers, I decided to ask Rose how to make the first move on Colton. I wanted a little taste of the wild side, too.

“Look at that fine ass.” As I heard the words, I knew immediately who it was.

I spun around to see Darren leering at me with his two stooges beside him, literally ogling my ass.

“Go away, Darren.”

“Uh-huh, baby. I’m hungry—for you.”

I rolled my eyes and turned back around, inciting a round of whistles. I ignored them, hoping they would go away.

“We’re hungry,” I heard one of them shout.

“Crap,” I muttered, pissed to find them sitting in my section.

Rose was with another table. She wasn’t going to be able to save me.

I stomped toward them. “What do you want?”

Darren’s hand reached for me and thankfully, I dodged his touch. “Come on, baby. I can give you a good time.”

“Touch me and I swear I’ll jab this pen in your eye,” I growled.

“Ohh, I like a woman with spunk. Will you tie me up? I bet you like it rough,” he said, spittle flying out of his mouth as he thrust his hips forward.

I couldn’t stop the look of sheer disgust that came over my face. “You’re disgusting.”

Looking at the other two, I got the idea they had been drinking. Darren was definitely drunk.

“I’ll have a hamburger with a side of you, naked and panting,” he said, licking his lips while he stared at my chest.

I wanted to vomit. He was a slimy prick and I hated everything about him. I managed to get their orders and made my escape from the table, dreading the next hour. I knew they would stick around for at least that long and the entire time they were there, it would be more of the same.

“I’m sorry,” Rose whispered, as I filled their drink orders.

“It’s getting old. Why don’t they find someone else to torture?”

She shrugged. “Because you’re the prettiest girl in town. They want you.”

I groaned. “That is not a compliment.”

“Sorry.”

I set their drinks down at the end of the table, refusing to reach across.

“Are your panties wet?” Darren asked, his words close to slurring.

I ignored him, spun around and walked away, nearly running straight into Colton. “Hey,” I said, surprised to see him.

“Hi,” he said, looking over my shoulder, his face stern.

“Are you here for lunch?”

He nodded. “We are.”

I looked down and saw Abby standing next to her dad, staring up at me.

“Hi, Abby.”

“Hi,” she said, in a quiet voice.

“Go ahead and sit anywhere,” I said, anxious to get away from Darren and his boys.

Even now I could hear them grunting and whispering about my ass. I hoped Abby didn’t hear them.

Colton looked at me before taking Abby’s hand and leading her past the table where the assholes were sitting. He moved toward the back of the diner, putting some distance between himself and the obnoxious jerks. He was in my section though, which made me very happy and a bit nervous. He made me anxious. And horny. Very horny.

“What can I get you two to drink?” I asked, bringing their menus to the table.

“Is everything okay?” Colton asked, his voice low and harsh.

“Yep, it’s fine. Kind of a daily thing with them.”

He nodded, his eyes drifting to the table where the guys were laughing.

“Order’s up!” I heard the cook shout from the kitchen.

“Take a minute to decide and I’ll be right back,” I said with a smile.

Picking up the plates, I carried them to the three detestable men.

“Do you like whip cream, Jenna?” Bryce asked.

“Not really,” I mumbled, rushing to get them served.

“I do. We were thinking about what you would look like sprawled out on this table, wearing only whip cream. We’ve decided I get the first taste. How sweet do you taste, Jenna?”

I refused to let him see how nervous I was. “Is that it?” I grumbled.

Darren’s hand reached out, grabbing my own. “I’m hard. You make me fucking hard. Do you want to feel it?” he hissed.

I yanked my hand away.

“Touch her again, dirtbag, and you’re going to be sorry.”

My mouth fell open as I turned to see Colton watching the scene from his booth. Darren, whose back was to Colton, spun around.

“Who the fuck are you?” he shouted.

“Watch your mouth or I’ll have you kicked out of here,” I growled.

“Listen to the lady,” Colton said, his eyes narrowed as he glared at the men. “I don’t like that kind of talk around my little girl. Learn some respect.”

“Why don’t you mind your own business,” Aaron snapped.

“Enough. Eat your food and get out,” I said, leaving their table and making my way to Colton. “Thank you. I can handle them.”

He shook his head. “You shouldn’t have to listen to stuff like that.”

I smiled. “It’s okay. Thank you for trying though.”

Taking his order, I went back to the counter.

“Wow, that was intense, and hot,” Rose whispered as we stood behind the counter.

“No kidding.”

“Jenna!” one of the assholes shouted.

I turned to see what they wanted. Darren was holding up his empty glass. I turned back to Rose. “Seriously, can’t I refuse them service? Why do I have to put up with this crap?”

“You can try. You know Aaron will just tell his daddy. You know, the guy who signs our paychecks?”

I sighed. “This sucks. I have to get a different job.”

Walking to the table, I grabbed his empty glass and quickly refilled it.

“Jenna, I know you want me. I’ve seen you looking at me. Your face gets all flushed and you squirm around. I’ve seen it. We don’t have to play this game. I’ll pick you up after work, we’ll go back to my place and I’ll give you what you’ve been asking for.”

“I don’t sleep with pencil dicks. I know you have an itty-bitty peepee. It was all over school. The girls you slept with back then were unimpressed,” I said with a bright smile, watching his face turn red. “I want a real man.”

“You stupid bitch!”

“That’s enough,” Colton’s voice boomed. “She asked you to back off.”

I looked over at Colton, appreciating his help, but also not wanting him to get his ass kicked. It was three against one.

Bryce and Darren stood. “Sit down guys,” I ordered. “I’ll call the cops,” I warned.

Darren ignored me, walking toward the table where Colton was sitting. Colton slid out from the booth, standing at his full height, which put him several inches taller than all three of them. His muscular build was evident in the tight shirt as well.

Colton’s size and obvious strength did little to deter the three men moving toward him.

I rushed past them and stood in front of Colton. “Stop. Sit down. There is a little girl sitting here.”

Colton gently nudged me to the side. “It’s okay. These guys want to flex their muscles.”

Bryce puffed out his chest, attempting to intimidate Colton. If the situation hadn’t been so serious, I would have burst into laughter. Instead, I had to try and diffuse things. I didn’t want Abby to witness any violence and I certainly didn’t want Colton to get hurt or hauled off to jail because he was defending me.

“Everyone, sit down. Bryce, go on now, or I’ll call the cops and report your ass.”

“I don’t want any trouble,” Colton said, in that deep voice that sent shivers down my spine. “You guys back off our lovely waitress and we can all finish our lunch.”

Aaron grabbed Bryce’s arm. “Come on, this slut isn’t worth it.”

Colton lunged, pushing me out of the way. I gave him a quick hip-check, pushing him away from the three other men.

“Aaron, I suggest you get them out of here. Your daddy finds out you’re in here causing trouble, he might just cut off your allowance,” I said, pointing my index finger at him.

“Let’s go, guys. Seriously. The food sucks here anyway,” Aaron said, staring me down with serious hatred in his eyes.

Thankfully, Bryce must have realized it wasn’t worth it. The three of them left, not paying for their meals and knocking over the newspaper stand as they went.

I spun around to look at Colton, my hands on my hips. “Thank you for that, but I can handle myself. I really don’t need you picking a fight in here. This is a family diner, not a bar.”

He smirked. “The way they were talking, it sounded like a bar.”

I shrugged. “They are annoying, but there’s not much I can do about it.”

He nodded his head before taking his seat in the booth again. Abby didn’t appear to be the least bit bothered by what had gone down.

Abby stopped coloring and looked up at me. “Are you going to come to my house and eat dinner?”

I smiled. “No, I don’t think so.”

“I want you to come over. Daddy will make you dinner.”

I could feel my cheeks go pink as I looked at Colton who was staring at his daughter with an open mouth. Abby looked at her father and smiled sweetly.

He looked at me. “Sorry,” he murmured.

“Please, I want you to come over. I got the rest of my toys out of the boxes. I want to show you my new dress up clothes, too. And look!” she exclaimed, dropping the crayon she had been holding and showing me her hands. “Daddy painted my nails!”

I laughed at the sight of the poor little nails that had definitely not been painted by a professional. “They look gorgeous!” I said, looking at Colton who suddenly looked very uncomfortable.

“Please, will you come over?” Abby asked again.

Colton shook his head. “I can make dinner tomorrow night if that works,” he said, in a voice filled with resignation.

It was hard to imagine a man with such a tough exterior painting his little girl’s nails. Abby had her daddy wrapped around her little finger and it was the cutest, and sexiest thing I’d ever seen in my life.

“I get off at five. Can I bring something?”

His smile was genuine as he shook his head. “No. I’ll take care of everything.”

I looked at Abby and winked. “Looks like I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

As I left the table, a weird almost buoyant feeling enveloped me, making me feel like I had a little bounce in my step.

Rose grabbed my arm and pulled me into the kitchen. “What the hell was that about?”

“Which part?” I quipped.

“He almost beat the hell out of Aaron and his buddies for you. If you aren’t going to snag that man, move aside, Missy. I want a piece of that.”

I smiled. “Actually, I’m going to dinner at his house tomorrow.”

Her mouth dropped open. “I knew it! I knew you wanted him.”

“It has nothing to do with me wanting him. His daughter asked me to come over for dinner. I couldn’t say no.”

Rose was shaking her head. “Liar. You want him, I know it.”

With an innocent wink, I walked away. I was certainly warming to the idea of having a little fun with my gorgeous neighbor. We were both adults after all.