The whole day seemed to drag in anticipation of tonight. My body moved, but my mind was not on my task. Thankfully, I could practically cook in my sleep, and nobody ordered anything too out of the ordinary.
Night couldn’t come fast enough, and we closed as soon as the last customer finished eating. Becca was surprised by our rush to close early. She’d wrangled the plan out of us with her insistent questioning and proclaimed she was joining us at the bar too.
“It’s too dangerous,” Atlas tried to argue.
“Is it because I’m a woman?” she replied, her arms crossed. Neither of us answered that. We were too smart to. “That’s what I thought. You know I can take care of myself, darlin’. Besides, it sounds like the only one in danger here would be you, Atlas. Isn’t it better to have another person on your side?”
We shared a look. We both knew there was no talking Becca out of something she wanted to do, so we agreed. Becca looked entirely too happy about this.
“You’re not coming just so you don’t have to go home to an empty house since your husband is on a business trip, right?” Atlas asked what I was thinking.
“Of course not, silly. I’m one hundred percent there to be your support,” Becca replied, but her sinister smile said otherwise.
I shook my head and laughed. Whether she was coming to avoid an empty house or not, I knew she would be someone reliable to watch our backs.
Becca went home to change and would meet us back at the diner. We did the same. I didn’t really have clothes for going out, so I pulled out the only nice polo I owned. The black polo had been getting a lot more wear recently. I really did need to invest in nicer clothes other than just T-shirts, so Atlas wouldn’t be ashamed to be seen beside me wearing the same thing all the time.
Not that I think he minded. Dressed in my black slacks and black polo, I could feel Atlas’ eyes scan me, heat thick in those greens. Knowing him, he probably didn’t give a fuck what I wore.
He was always clear that he loved me the way I was, but I wanted to do better for him. I wanted to dress better. I wanted to look polished so that when people saw Atlas and me together in public, they’d think we were a perfect match.
Atlas set a high standard, since he looked good in everything. He was especially stunning in the silky white top he’d chosen for tonight. It hugged his lean muscles in all the right places, and the silky fabric stretched across his skin, barely leaving anything to the imagination.
He’d left the top two buttons undone, and my hands itched to button him up. He already looked too fucking sexy without needing the extra provocation. I was in front of him with my fingers finding the buttons before I could really think.
“Is it too much?” Atlas asked shyly.
“You look absolutely mouthwatering.”
“That’s the plan,” Atlas said with a wink. “Hopefully, I’m hot enough to lure out a stalker tonight.”
I grunted and let the jealousy course through me. Atlas cupped my cheek, which had me meeting his gaze.
“I hate that you’re dressing up forhim,” I said truthfully.
“It’s all for the plan. I may be wearing these clothes to lure him out, butyou’llbe the only one undressing me.”
The fire of desire that seemed to always shimmer around Atlas flared. I took his mouth against mine. The kiss washard and unyielding, like I was trying to stake a claim to him before we left our home.
I had to stop before I said fuck it to the plan and dragged Atlas to bed to undress him as he’d promised. Insistentknocking coming from downstairs helped curb my desire.
“Sounds like Becca’s back. We shouldn’t keep her waiting,” Atlas murmured. His arms were still wrapped around me, the lust still clear in his eyes. I grunted a response and took his lips one last time before reluctantly parting. Atlas chuckled as he watched me adjust my pants so my desire for him wasn’t so obvious.
“Took you boys long enough.” Becca had her arms crossed when we opened the diner’s front door. She eyed Atlas. “And I can see why. Damn, sugar. I’d get a piece of that if I could too.”
Atlas shook his head and slung an arm around Becca. “What if your husband hears you talking like that?” he teased.
Becca waved him off. “He knows he’s the only one for me. He wouldn’t have married me if he couldn’t handle me flirting a bit.”
I smiled at that because Becca really was such a flirt. She flirted with anything that moved, even me, and that was a first for me.
Well, besides Atlas. But his flirtations were more blatant moves and declarations of how much heliked me.
Becca just did it for the fun of the game. She was cool like that.
The three of us climbed into Atlas’ car to head to the bar. Our friends were already waiting for us when we arrived.
The place was crowded despite it being a weeknight, which wasn’t too surprising. There wasn’t much entertainment around these parts, so hanging out at bars was a popular way to spend a night.
