Chloe snorts a laugh. “Hey, Nick. Uh, I need to grab something from the fridge. I’ll be right back.”
I scrabble for her hand, attempting to drag her back to me, but she pulls away with a smirk and leaves me alone with the giant.
“So, hey,” he says, running a hand over his soft-looking blond hair as he examines the restaurant. “I’ve been meaning to come here for a while now. I didn’t think I’d have such an impact the first time, though. Heh.” He forces a humorless laugh, but looks uncomfortable at his own joke. “I’m sorry I didn’t ask you earlier; are you alright? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
Still stunned by the sight of him, it takes a moment before I can answer. “Other than the few spots of sauce in my hair turning it into a sticky mess, I’m okay. The sauce, on the other hand...”
He cringes, his shoulders crawling up. “Is there anything I can do to help? Do you need someone to stir for you?” He tips his head toward the pots behind me. “Maybe I can help clean up?”
An idea takes shape in my head, and giddiness builds in my chest. “Now that you mention it, there is something you can do. Come with me.”
Old Folks and Duck Jokes
Nick
“I’m sorry. I don’tthink I heard that right. You did what?”
I sigh, pulling on my compression shorts and turning to face Rhett. “I scrubbed the sidewalk for her.”
“The sidewalk? You scrubbed the sidewalk in this weather?”
Despite having lived in Alaska before moving to Tuft Swallow, Rhett is not a fan of the cold. He hates the cold so much he often thinks of mild spring temperatures as being as cold as a mid-winter freeze. Which is ridiculous.
It’s beautiful outside.
“It’s not even freezing out. I was warm enough.” Never mind warm, I was damn near overheated. After watching how thewoman, who I now know to call Tina, lit up as she ordered me to scrub the sidewalk, I haven’t been able to get the thought of her out of my head. Something about the way her brown eyes seemed to glow from within when she set me what she clearly thought would be a terrible task sent blood rushing to my dick. I loved seeing her a little giddy with the excitement of making me pay for my mistake. What doesthatsay about me?
“Hey, hello?” Rhett waves a hand in front of my face. “What’s going on with you? I asked you a question. What did she say after you finished?”
I shake my head, forcing the image of Tina’s smile from my mind. “Not much. By the time I finished, they were in the middle of the dinner rush. She was too busy to talk.” Which sucks, because after I’d finished all the scrubbing, I was planning to ask her out. She intrigues me, and I want to know more. Any woman who isn’t afraid of my size, and who is happy to put me to work, is a woman I want to know more about. “I wanted to place an order, but after I spilled her sauce all over the sidewalk, I didn’t want to push my luck. I’ll call in an order tomorrow.” Or better yet, I’ll go in and order. That way, I can see her again. “You wouldn’t believe how good that place smells.”
“Uh huh.” Rhett eyes me with suspicion. “And that’s why you were in a daze just now? Because their food smells good? If you recall, I’ve been telling you to go there for months now.”
I shrug. “It might have something to do with the owner. When I nearly knocked her over earlier today, she had no problem giving me shit for it. She ordered me to bring that goat back to his owner. Oh, and he is the mayor, by the way. I asked Tina about him.” We’ve both heard rumors of the goat mayor of Tuft Swallow, but with how busy we’ve been with getting the gym open, neither of us has had the time to confirm it.
“A goat? A goat is the mayor? The Nosey Pecker was telling the truth?” Rhett snorts in disbelief, shaking his head. “That’s insane.”
“Well, technically, yes, he is the mayor. He was voted in during the last election. But there is a woman acting as mayor in his stead. You know, because he’s a goat.”
Rhett shakes his head, and says with a laugh, “This town, man. I love it here.”
“Me too.”
Every day in Tuft Swallow is better than the last. Opening my gym here was a risk, but I’m so glad I took it. The guys who want to train with me aren’t afraid of moving to a small town. They’re coming to train with Odd Duck D’Onofrio, so the location doesn’t matter. It helps that I have dorms upstairs for a few fighters, too. Having them live where they train has proven to be quite convenient in certain situations. Like now, when my fighters should be joining me for a training session with some of the local senior citizens. Instead of calling them, I send Rhett upstairs to bang on doors until they answer while I head into the room where I’m hosting the class.
Once in the main training classroom of the gym, I steel my nerves to greet the seniors. This group is feisty and inappropriate on the best of days. Not much will make me wear a shirt during a fitness class, but I wear one when the seniors are here. They all like to comment on, among other things, the state of my nipples in relation to the temperature in the room, and the comments occasionally border on sexual harassment.
“Hubba hubba, look at that fine hunk of man-meat. I’d like to get a big piece of that into my mouth. I bet he tastes absolutely delicious.”
Correction. Their comments frequently careen wildly and land firmly in the territory of sexual harassment.
“Well, hello there, Miss Martha. You’re looking lovely as ever.” The elderly woman titters a laugh and her cheeks pinken, or they would, if she hadn’t already coated them in a wide stripe of hot pink blush. “And hello to you, too, Miss Edith. How did I get so lucky as to have two of the most beautiful women in Tuft Swallow joining me in class today?”
Miss Edith grins salaciously and her gaze drops to the front of my shorts. “Well, I can’t speak for everyone, but whatever you’re smuggling in those shorts might have something to do with it.”
Miss Martha nods. “And those tree trunks you call legs aren’t too far behind. I love a man with big legs.”
The ladies wander away to find their spots for the class as another voice gets my attention.
