Page 19 of Beneath the Midnight Sky
The music was playing again, and I was still sitting on the bottom of my shower. I needed to get out. I had work tonight. I forced another slow, deep breath. Reaching over, I shut the now-cold water off and reached up to grab my towel, pulling it down around my body.
Drying off my face, I took another deep breath. It was fine. I was alone here. I was safe here.
I slowly stood, wrapping my towel tighter around my body and opening the curtain. Touching my phone screen, it unlocked to reveal four missed calls from an unknown number. I swallowed down my panic. I’d just change my number again. No problem.
I wiped off the mirror and started getting ready for work. I could do this. It would be fine. It had to be.
Work was absolutely slammed.Apparently, there was a rodeo in town or something of the cowboy type event, so, of course,everyone wanted food and beer. Honestly, though, it was better for me. Not only more tips, but the busyness of it all kept my mind off the unknown calls and a certain Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome that I wasn’t letting myself think about anymore.
I went up to the bar to grab the drinks for one of my tables, only to turn around and there he was. As if my subconscious had summoned him—mind, body, and soul to my workplace. A place I’d never seen him prior to now. He was sitting at the bar next to me with a shit eating grin on his face. My pulse instantly sped up just from the sight of him in front of me. I swear it was like I could feel him between my thighs again.
Fuck, would it always be like this? It couldn’t always be like this. Absolutely not.
“Don’t mind me. You’re busy. I’ll be here when it slows down, little angel,” he said, the grin still on his face, as if he couldn’t be happier to be here in front of me right now. He’d shaved his face, and honestly, I wasn’t sure what I liked better. The bit of stubble or the clean-shaven look.
I nodded my head and took my tray of drinks to my tables, doing my best not to sneak glances back at him every spare moment I had.
The next two hours flew by, filled with busy tables of rowdy people, decent tippers, many fake smiles plastered to my face, and subtle glances Rowan’s way while he ate at the bar, talking to our bartender Lucas.
I swore as I ran around, I’d periodicallyfeelhis eyes on me. The heat rushed through my entire body every single time. I wasn’t even sure why he was here to begin with. I could be making this a thing in my head, and he was just here to get some dinner. Maybe he and Lucas were friends. This visit could have nothing to do with me, and I was being a cocky little bitch for no reason.
Of course, there was only one way to know for sure.
When most of my tables were gone for the night, and things were finally slowing down, I gathered up my courage and pulled out the stool next to him. “Hey, Lucas, can I get some water?”
Lucas nodded, walking off to grab me a glass. I looked next to me to find Rowan staring, his face somewhat somber. “How ya feeling, little angel?”
The fake smile I’d had plastered on since the start of my shift faltered. “I’m fine,” I said with a shrug. He raised an eyebrow at me, as if to say,“try again.”“It’s just been a long shift, and I had some drama beforehand that I don’t want to talk about. But thank you for asking,” I spit it out as quickly as I could, trying to enforce the seriousness in my tone without coming across as rude.
Rowan just nodded for a moment. “I understand. What time do you get off?”
“Uh…ten. So, about an hour from now, I guess. Assuming my tables leave in a timely manner.” I shrugged and looked away. Why in the world was I blushing right now? He just asked about my schedule—not my panty color this evening. Although if he asked about that, I’d probably blush and tell him.
“Okay, I’ll be here,” he said it so matter-of-factly, as if there was no further discussion needed.
My head snapped back toward him as I tried to hide the shock on my face, but failed, if his expression was any indication. “What do you mean? You’re here for me?”
He smirked. “Oh, angel, why else would I be here?” He shook his head for a moment and then looked back over at me, taking my hand in his. “I need to just put this out there now. No confusion. No miscommunication. I know we said we were keeping it casual. If that’s truly what you want, I’ll be there to support it. I’m not trying to push you. But, Aspen, I like you. While I have no idea what that means, or even looks like,because I’ve never done this before a day in my life, I’d like to see what it could look like with us. If that’s okay with you.”
I nodded and realized my mouth was hanging open. I reached with my other hand and took a drink of water.
“I get the feeling you have trust issues, and while I won’t try to push the issue until you’re ready to talk about it, I need to really emphasize that this ball is in your court. However slow you want to take this, I’m here for the journey.”
A few moments passed before I realized I needed to check on my tables, and I hadn’t said a single word back to Rowan.
“Uhm, day by day?” I said cautiously and glanced back over at him.
He nodded with a smile. “Day by day, little angel.”
I bit my bottom lip in an attempt to hide my nervousness. “Okay. I’m going to go back to work now.”
He leaned over and gently kissed my cheek. “See you soon. Oh, and we’ll chat about that lip biting after you get off.”
His eyes were serious, and I felt the blush crawl up my cheeks while my thighs clenched. At this rate, the man was going to ruin my panties before I ever made it home.
8
I’D PROTECT HER
