“I’m ready for summer now!” Randy, a regular, calls out as he takes a seat with his friends.
Lexy walks over to their table, and I don’t like the way Randy’s eyes track her.
She’s gorgeous, like something out of a fairytale, and she doesn’t even know the effect she has on people.
But that’s not even the best part of her.
She’s funny, fierce, quiet on the outside, but there are depths in her that shouldn’t be mistaken for weakness.
She’s…
Magnificent.
“I missed my beer, but Lexy…” Randy puts a hand on her elbow, and I see her stiffen.
Randy’s not a bad man. I’ve never cared when he flirted with the other waitresses.
But damn if I don’t feel like breaking that hand right now.
What the hell is happening to me?
“Randy!” My voice cuts across the room.
He looks up, startled, then notices my not-so-friendly gaze.
I nod toward Lexy. “Off limits.”
Randy nods quickly. “Yeah, sorry. Won’t happen again.”
He looks everywhere but at her as she takes their order.
But the image of his hand on her, the way his eyes moved over her like he had any right to, sits wrong in my chest, something instinctive and sharp that makes my jaw tighten again.
I grab a glass, dragging the towel over it slower than necessary, more to steady myself than to actually clean it.
Doesn’t help.
Because the next thought hits harder.
Less than two months.
That’s all she has here.
Then she’s gone.
The realization settles deep, heavier than it should be, like something I didn’t know I was holding onto just slipped out from under me, leaving a hollow space behind.
Gone from the apartment.
Gone from the bar.
Gone from this… whatever this has been.
I press a hand lightly against my chest, like I can push the feeling back where it belongs.
It doesn’t move.
That shouldn’t bother me.
