Page 14 of Sofa King Cute

“This time?” I whisper mostly to myself, but Troy nods.

“Yeah, it’s kind of his thing.”

“I should go.” Tears sting my eyes, and I shove the cake toward Troy. It almost falls, but he manages to grab it in time.

“Shit, Liv, wait,” he calls after me, but I ignore him. I’ve got to get the hell out of here as quickly as possible.

Chapter Ten

JULIUS

It was so damn late last night by the time I got home I never texted Liv. I wanted to—hell, I even started to type out a message, but then I worried about waking her up. Once I knew she got home safe, I focused on working and kept at it until it was fixed.

The old folks’ home can’t operate without electricity, and when the box blew, so did their backup generator. When I got there, it was a mess, and I ended up calling emergency services. Between helping the nurses and first responders, hours went by before I could get in there and actually fix the problem. After I replaced the old, outdated box, I fixed the generator free of charge. Seeing how necessary it was, I knew they didn’t need to be in a position like that again.

When my alarm went off, I’d only gotten about an hour or two of sleep, and I must have hit snooze by mistake. The second time it went off, I had to hit the ground running to get ready. I had just enough time to swing by and get Troy before my first appointment of the day.

I’d scheduled several appointments today not knowing I’d be up all night working, but it was too late to cancel.

“I’m starving,” Troy complains as we load up the truck.

We’ve been at the insurance office downtown for the past couple of hours. They wanted some extra outlets installed, but I swear the longer we were there, the more they kept adding work. It’s not that I minded doing it, but I’m running on empty and still haven’t gotten a chance to text Liv.

“Yeah,” I say, glancing at the diner. It would be good to take a break and talk to her. “Let’s eat.”

We walk to the diner, and I can see Sofa King Cozy nearby. I’d love to go in there and see her face to face, but I don’t want Troy with me. He’s an asshole, and today my fuse is shorter than usual. If he starts popping off at the mouth about Liv and her tits, I’m liable to choke the life out of him.

Troy says hey to the waitress when we walk in and grab a booth. She hurries over and is extra bubbly, but she’s probably directing it at him. He’s the one looking at her like he’s never seen a woman before.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were ignoring me,” she says, and I glance up, seeing she was in fact directing her attention in my direction.

Troy grumbles something under his breath about being invisible.

“And for you, Julius? I bet I’ve got something you’d like.” She leans closer, and the front of her uniform parts. If I didn’t look away in time, I’d probably have gotten an eyeful of her cleavage.

I rattle off my order quickly then take out my phone so I have an excuse not to look at her. A second later she’s gone, and Troy is sulking.

“It’s like you don’t even give a shit.” He stuffs the menu back in the holder like a child.

I reach over and straighten it before I pick up my phone again. I want to text Liv, but I’m trying to think of the perfect thing to say.

“Pussy just landing in your lap left and right and you don’t care.”

Okay, I think I should start with an apology, but if I say I miss her, will that be too much too fast? Maybe I should keep it simple for now. Just breaking the ice.

“Now I’m glad I ate that chocolate cake.”

I have no idea what he’s talking about, but I type a message and text it to Liv.

Me: Sorry about last night. Thanks for the delivery.

Maybe I should have said something flirty? I didn’t want her to think I’m a creep. I’m staring at the screen when I see bubbles pop up like she’s typing. It makes my heart jump in my throat, and I realize just how much I’ve missed her.

How can I feel so strongly about someone in such a short amount of time? Maybe it’s because I’ve never felt this way about anyone so I know she’s special.

“Here’s your drinks.” The waitress places them in front of us, and I look up to thank her. It’s a mistake because she’s bending down again.

Suddenly my drink becomes very interesting, and I concentrate on counting the ice cubes.

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