Page 16 of A Beary Nice View
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Maybe you can learn to help out with a few tables now that we’re gone,” Bo says with a shrug. “You can send our final check in the mail.”
We both walk past Bradley whose face is now a deep shade of red. “You’ll never have another job in this town after this!”
“We’ll take our chances.”
We step out into the coolness of the night and make our way to the parking lot. As much as I’m worried about the future and what the hell I’m going to do now, I can’t help but feel ridiculously free. I smile over at Bo who’s grinning just as wide.
“Jesus, that felt good.”
“Yeah, it really did. Fuck that guy and fuck this place.”
“I think I might call Bradley’s boss and see if they know how he’s running this place. But that can wait. Tonight I’m gonna go home and sleep like a fucking baby.”
I chuckle, feeling the same way. I walk over to the bike rack and unlock my bike.
“Hey, Dell? I think your boyfriend is waiting for you. I just wanna say you guys seem really cute but I’m a little offended you didn’t tell me about him sooner.”
I look over in surprise. Bo is right. Alaric is parked in his truck nearby, waiting for me. I smile, my stomach fluttering with warmth.
“In my defense, it’s really new still.”
Bo hums. “Fine, I’ll allow it. Stay in touch, okay?”
“I promise,” I say, squeezing his shoulder before rolling my bike over to Alaric’s truck. “Hey.”
“Hi,” he says tentatively. “Hopefully I’m not coming across as one of those stalker guys who thinks the waitstaff is flirting with him,” he says with a soft smile. “I wanted to make sure you were okay after talking to your manager.”
“Not creepy. You’re very sweet, Alaric. I’m doing okay.”
“Do you want a ride?”
“Yeah, that would be great,” I say, rolling my bike to the back of his truck and putting it into the back. Then I walk around and get into the passenger seat.
“Here,” he says, handing the dessert over. “I thought maybe you’d like a little sweet treat.”
This man. It’s like the rug beneath my feet has been swept away and Alaric is there to catch me. It feels so natural. There’s no overthinking or awkwardness. I don’t have to try to be anyone but myself. We fit together like two puzzle pieces.
“Thank you,” I say softly, opening up the box and taking out a piece of sugary fried dough. It’s delicious and really hits the spot after a night like tonight.
“So, how did it go?”
“It went okay,” I tell him between bites. “Bo and I both quit. Bradley threw a bit of a tantrum but I don’t care. That place sucked and I’m glad to officially be done with it. Bo said he’sgoing to call the people who own the place but I don’t have much faith in anything happening. They hiredBradleyafter all.”
“What will you do now? Are you going to be okay until you find a new job?”
I let out a long sigh, sinking deeper into my seat. A big, strong hand finds my thigh. My stomach swoops almost violently at the simple touch. I look over at Alaric but his eyes are on the road, a small smile on his lips.
“I’ll be okay. I have a bit in savings and I still get royalties from the audiobooks I’ve done. I think--” I start to say but cut myself off.
Alaric looks at me before looking back at the road. “Yeah?”
“I think I’ll give it a month.”
“Give what a month?”
“I’m going to throw myself into auditions. One month of auditions and chasing every single lead I can find with my voice acting. If I get nothing back, that’s okay, but I think this is my time to really dive head first into this and see if I can actually find something worthwhile.”
Alaric grins over at me. “I think that’s an amazing idea, Dell. Do you have your own studio for recording your auditions?”
