Page 11 of One Wild Night
He raised his hands into a shrug andlaughed.
They continued down the road for about five minutes until they saw adiner.
This woulddo.
"How about here?" He leaned into her shoulder andsmiled.
"Yeah,sure."
He parked up close to the entrance, and they got out. Inside was mostly empty, except for a few truckers in thecorner.
One of them zoned in on Abi, locking his eyes on her. He looked her up from head to toe. Scott instinctively thought to put his arm around her, to claim her, but he had to remind himself that she wasn'this.
The man, however, didn't seem like he would have cared one way or the other. His eyes were peeled to Abi. Looking at her with smug delight andsatisfaction.
She noticed and seemed uncomfortable with the way hestared.
Seeing the awkward look on her face, Scott placed his arm around her anyway as they walked towards the opposite corner. He was amazed when she didn't protest or make anycomment.
They sat in the last booth opposite eachother.
Scott glanced across at the man and saw that he was still staring. He looked like a fool ready to starttrouble.
Clearly, he didn’t recognize Scott. Most people around San Francisco and LA tended to recognize him straightaway, if not from football then at least from an ad or promo. He’d already done roughly ten photo shoots, one of which was for a Calvin Klein ad he actually saw on a billboard on the way here. He was happy Abi hadn’t seen it. It probably would have added to her sour mood of hispresence.
Abi’s cheeks colored fiercely as the man continued to stare, and that look of discomfort filled her faceagain.
Scott didn’t know what came over him, or what pissed him off more -- the fact that this idiot had overlooked him and dismissed him as non-threatening or the way he was looking atAbi.
“Hey, can I help you with something?” Scott balked at the man, startling him. He twisted around so the other two who were with the guy could see hisface.
At least they looked cautious, wary of him, but the guy just looked like this was some kind ofjoke.
“Wise guy! I’m talking to you,” Scottadded.
“Nothing, man. Just chill,” the guy replied with a smile that even Scott had to describe ascreepy.
“Okay, well if you eye-fuck my woman one more time, it’ll be the last you use your eyes.” Scott had a temper on him that couldn’t be tamed, and when it came to using it, he didn’t holdback.
It was great on the field. In the real world, not so much. However, in times like this, he didn’t think he could be blamed if he had to scare a guy ortwo.
The guy across from him didn’t look scared, but he at least seemed to get the message. He turned to face his colleagues who had gonesilent.
Feeling satisfied with the effect, Scott turned back to face Abi and immediately took in the look of wordless surprise on herface.
“What?” he asked, not sure if it was a good surprised look or if he’d just made hermad.
“You-- What if he came over here and started something?” As she spoke, he realized she wasn’t mad at him. If anything, she was grateful and was trying not to showit.
“Really, Abi, you’ve seen me on the field, and you know I’m not a man to be trifledwith.”
“And since when am I your woman?” she laughed. It was the first time he’d heard that laugh in years. A soft and gentle full-hearted sound that rippled through the air. It was the kind of laugh that could make anyone feel instanthappiness.
“You’rewelcome, Babydoll.” He smiled at her, and she shook herhead.
“Thank you.” She smiled, revealing her perfect white teeth. It was a genuine smile, too -- the one Scott remembered from the girl who used to lovehim.
As the waitress came over to take their orders, he couldn’t help but focus on thatsmile.
It seemed like this was definitely going to be one interestingday.
