“Are you finished?” I ask. Axle’s plate is empty—spotless, in fact. Did he lick the bowl clean?
He slowly nods. “I am.”
“The restaurant closes in the next thirty minutes.” As in hint hint, nudge nudge, please don’t get me into trouble with my boss.
“I’m staying untilyoufinish.”
I stare at Axle. He chuckles. “And when you start work tomorrow, I’ll be here for lunch.” He peers behind me. “And dinner.” He inches forward, closer to me. “Every day, until you go on a date with me.”
I close my eyes. I need this job. When I open them, he looks smug, like he knows he’ll follow through. Any girl in my position would have already accepted.
“One date,” I warn, though excitement shoots through me.
He rises to his full height, and I have to take a step back because he’s so close and much taller than me. The combination of cologne and leather is divine. I peer up. He cups my chin with one hand, making me take a deep breath. “See you tomorrow,Elena.”
My knees nearly buckle at his sexy, deep tone.
As he’s walking out, I realize I can’t have some stranger come to my house, especially one who’s in a motorcycle club. “I’ll meet you here at work,” I yell out in a rush of words.
He pauses and looks over his shoulder, the smug smile back in full force. “I’ll pick you up fromyourhome.”
“No, I’ll meet you here,” I object.
“I’m picking you up from your home, end of discussion.”
I open my mouth to argue.
“Uh,” he says, “I know where you live.”
I blink in disbelief. “How can you possibly know that?” He just met me, and I’ve just moved here. It’s not like I have friends he could have asked.
“I have my connections,” he says with a wink. He swaggers aways while I stand still, dumbfounded.
A shiver rolls through my body. What just happened? How did I end up getting conned into going on a date?
“What happened?” Mel asks.
“I’mapparentlygoing out on a date with him.”
“You sure he said the worddate?”
Annoyance bubbles up. “You know, you’re really not helping my already low self-esteem.” I take Axle’s plate and walk to the kitchen, Mel following close behind.
“Sorry, the Axle I’ve heard about is different from the one I’ve seen today.” She places her hand on my arm. “Good for you, getting out there and meeting new people.”
I flash her a faint smile, even though I’m terrified about tomorrow.
After our shift, we step out of the restaurant and go our separate ways. “Good luck for tomorrow,” Mel calls out over her shoulder.
I’ll need it!
I drive the short distance home and park outside. When I get into my room, I call my parents, needing to hear a familiar voice.
“Hello,” my mother answers.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Oh, so you haven’t forgotten about us?”
