The voice is familiar. Smiling, I glance up. “Ember!” I’m not a hugger, but I push Gunner out of the way, rise from the bench, and enfold my newest friend in my arms. “I didn’t know you worked here! Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve visited on my break.”
“It’s my first day,” she says in a soft, unsure voice. My heart breaks for her. Something bad’s happened to her too.
I put her at arm’s length. We’re the same height. She has deep green eyes and dark-brown hair, and like me, she is too skinny. She steps into my space and says near my ear in a soft voice for only me, “Why are you with them? Did they threaten you?”
“No,” I answer in an equally soft voice.
Her puff of relief lifts my hair.
Completely ignoring me, she addresses Gunner and Beckett. “What would you like to order?”
Confused, I sit. Gunner tries to pull me into his lap. I jab him in the elbow. He grunts. Rush rises out of his seat. “I’m out of here.”
Still confused, I don’t think. I speak, my words lined with steel. “Sit. It’s Ember’s first day, and we don’t want to get her in trouble. Plus, she’s, um”—I wave my hand—“you know”—I clear my throat—“Emma Stone.”
Rush looks from me to Ember and back to me with his jaw clenched. “That’s a hard pass.”
A flush creeps up Ember’s pale face. The X gouged into the left side of her face is a stark white against her pink flesh.
“Apologize.” I glower.
Rush crosses his arms. “She doesn’t deserve it.”
I turn to Ember. “I’m sorry, Ember. Rush is being a jerk. I’ll have the vegetarian pho. What does everyone want?” When I see her next, I’ll ask her what her history is with Rush. It’s obvious he dislikes her, and she isn’t a fan of his, either.
Of course, to make the moment even peachier, the door opens, the bell above it ringing, and I’m grabbed under my arms and slung over someone’s shoulder. Gasping with surprise, I stare at the ground. “Put me down!”
“Move the fuck out of the way, bruh. Take Sorrow’s spot.”
A few minutes pass, and then I’m set down on the bench and Trace sits next to me. Rush is across from us. “I’ll take the beef tenderloin with meatballs.”
While everyone puts in their order, with Rush going last and Ember avoiding looking at him, Trace slides his arm across my shoulders and pulls me to him. “Doing okay?” he says near my ear. “They give you a hard time?”
I shake my head. Then he does something unexpected. Something that has my chest constricting. Trace leans in and kisses me behind the ear in the pretense that he’s staring at the artwork on the wall. Liking the small gesture, I place my hand on his thigh and draw a heart. He squeezes my shoulder.
Across from us, Rush smirks. “Are you two lovebirds done with the PDAs?”
I furrow my brow.
Rush snickers. “We all saw the kiss behind the ear, Sorrow. Jesus.” He blows out a breath. “You two might as well get a room. The sexual tension is fucking thick.”
Gunner and Beckett agree. They’re nodding.
Rush puts his elbows on the table and directs his following words to me. “So you good for tomorrow? We pick you up at noon?”
“Only if Trace comes with.”
“You go, Sorrow. I trust you. Trust these boys to take good care of you.”
“It’s not about trust. I want you there.”
Rush and his friends are nice enough guys. I’m not nervous or scared around them. I haven’t experienced a fight-or-flight response, even when Gunner tried to pull me into his lap. He was doing it in fun and games, that’s all. And my heart didn’t beat out of control, and the butterflies didn’t awaken when he did it. But my heart is beating fast being near Trace. I want to turn into his body and take in his scent and warmth. The butterflies are going crazy in my belly. I want to eat Trace up like a yummy dessert.
“That’s not for me to decide.” He looks pointedly at Rush.
“I’m fine with it. But we’re crashing your place tonight for pizza and a game of CoD. How about it?”
Trace sticks out his fist. “Fucking game on.”
