“I am a little, actually. They’ve been able to spend time with you over all these years when I’ve been so close, but we somehow never crossed paths.”
“Oh.” she breathes.
“Alex, girl! You’re finally coming to check out my restaurant!” This must be Marcus now. He’s huge, burly, bearded, and friendly. He immediately sweeps Alex up into a bear hug, lifting her right out of her seat and off the ground. He looks over at me and says, “This isn’t Derek.” Great, already that asshole is being brought into this date night.
“No, Marcus, this is Connor, he’s my-”
“Boyfriend,” I interrupt her. “I’m her boyfriend, Connor Ashley. It’s great to meet such a good friend of Alex.” I reach my hand out to shake his, but he pushes it aside and pulls me into a big hug too. Alex mouths ‘boyfriend?’ at me while Marcus is hugging me. He doesn’t quite get me off the ground, but he still makes me feel like a small dude. Not an easy feat, considering I’m six feet tall, but he’s got at least 5 inches on me. Like I said, he’s a big guy. He and Devon could almost be twins.
“A new boyfriend?” He sounds more excited than surprised. “That’s fabulous. I never liked that Derek. Something always bothered me about him. I’m so glad you finally got rid of him, Alex.”
“Yeah, he was a scumbag, after all, Marcus. You and Domenic were right.”
“Domenic and I have an excellent track record with sniffing out scumbags.” He gives me the stink eye while he says this, probably trying to detect any scumbag tendencies. “We should have the two of you over for dinner sometime soon.”
“I promise I’m not a scumbag, just a musician, although some might say that’s close enough,” I say, throwing my hands up in surrender, “but I would love to join you for dinner sometime.”
Alex just laughs at her friend’s attempts to vet me. I understand it though. If he knows her history, then he probably feels protective of her. I know I would if we were just friends.
“Wait, a damn minute! Did you say you’re a musician? I thought you looked familiar. You’rethatConnor Ashley? From Sleeping Dogs? My husband loves your music.”
“Ok, that’s probably enough, Marcus. I’m sure you need to get back to the kitchen before your staff burns it down.” Alex is so sweet. She knows I don’t really like being recognized in public, so she’s trying to protect me. But Marcus is her friend and because of that, I’m confident he can act appropriately.
“Oh, girl. My staff is so well trained I can leave them for another ten minutes at least.” He laughs. “But tell you what, I will go back and I’ll make you and your man here something extra special for dinner. I’ve been working on some new things for the menu and I’d love your opinion on them. Connor, it was great to meet you, man. And I’m sure I don’t need to tell you to look after my girl here or youwillbe sorry. Domenic was special forces and knows how to hurt a man in many painful, yet undetectable, ways. I’ll have to tell him the glorious news about Derek too.” He smiles while he threatens me, so I’m not sure if he’s serious or not. Luckily I have no intention of hurting Alex, ever, so I should be safe.
“Noted. I will treat her like the angel she is,” I say, but he’s already almost all the way back to the kitchen. I look over at Alex. “He seems nice.”
“He really is, he’s just protective. He sort of thinks of me as a little sister and hates that I’ve had such shit luck with boyfriends.”
“Well, that unlucky streak is over, babe. I’m not doing anything to fuck this up. You’re it for me.”
Chapter 46
Alex - Panic and Run
“Well, that unlucky streak is over, babe. I’m not doing anything to fuck this up. You’re it for me.”
I let the silence take over for what feels like five whole minutes before I jump up and say that I have to pee. Actually, I think what I really say is, ‘I need to piss. Now.’ And then I run. But I’m sure he didn’t notice how awkward I was, right? It just plays worse in my head than it really was, I’m sure.
I sit in the bathroom stall thinking over what he said. I wish I’d brought my phone with me in here so I could text Becca. What does he mean that I’m it for him? That sounds serious. Serious is scary. Serious is where guys cheat on me and I get hurt. We are just supposed to be going on dates and getting to know each other.
I hear a knock on the main door, and then it opens. “Hello? Alex?” It’s Connor. Shit, how long have I been in here? “Are you ok, babe?”
“I’m here, I’m fine.” I stand up and open the stall door. “Just, uh, just needed a minute.” I walk to the sink and wash my hands. I may not have actually used the toilet, but I’m not going back without washing up first.
He chuckles at me a little, “I gathered with how quickly you jumped up and ran away.” He grabs my hand and we walk out into the hallway together. “I didn’t mean to freak you out by saying that you’re it for me. I just wanted you to know that I’m serious about not hurting you, and about us. I’m not proposing today or anything.”
I take a deep breath. “I know that. It just seems fast. We hardly even know each other.”
He pulls me into his arms and looks deep into my eyes. “We know each other, Alex. You’re a part of me, just like I’m a part of you. I may not know every little thing you’ve done for the last twenty years, but I know your heart. And you know mine.” Then he kisses me more softly than anyone has ever kissed me, just barely tickling my lips with his, and I feel my body relax and melt against him.
“Now, let’s go back and see what Marcus has cooked up for us. I’ve heard great things about the food here and now that we’re getting special treatment I really can’t wait to try it.”
We make our way back to our table, with Connor holding my hand the entire way.
“Marcus is incredibly talented. I’m so glad this is where you made a reservation. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him, and even longer since he’s cooked for me. I think you’re really going to enjoy this meal.”
“I enjoy anything that I do as long as I’m doing it with you Alex. But I am happy that coming here means I got to meet another one of your friends tonight.” He just knows what to say, this guy. I am in so much trouble.
