Page 12 of Taste of Surrender
I looked up from the game I’d been playing on my phone, surprised he’d asked me.
“Who said he can hang out with us?” Jesse huffed, but I could tell he was teasing. “I guess if he makes us popcorn, he can watch the movie too.”
“Fine. I’ll make some, but you better pick something good.” I glared playfully at my brother.
“I’ll go grab some drinks,” Malachi offered and followed me to the kitchen.
The second my brother couldn’t see us anymore, Malachi pushed me against the wall and we became a tangle of arms, lips, and tongues. It was only our third kiss, but I was quickly becoming addicted to the taste of him.
When we pulled away to catch our breath, he pressed his forehead against mine. “The only thing I thought about during dinner was kissing you again. Even though it’s probably not a good idea, I just can’t get enough of you.”
“Me either. I’ve had a crush on you for a while,” I confessed, deciding to be upfront about my feelings if we were going to continue kissing every time we were alone.
“Really?”
“Uh huh.”
“I wish we didn’t have to hide, but Jesse can’t find out about us.”
“I know,” I sighed, wishing the same thing.
“But I can’t stay away from you anymore.”
My shiftat Belle’s Diner was over in thirty minutes. With my eighteenth birthday still a few weeks away, I was limited on the hours I was allowed to work and got off at around the same time as the usual Friday night rush of teens trying to grab a bite to eat before curfew. As I was about to clock out, I could hear the crowds of people filling up the restaurant.
“Jasper, I’ve got an order here for hash browns with cheese and jalapeños on top. Can you take care of that before you leave?” Lyle, the head cook, called out.
I knew only one person who liked his hash browns like that, and I’d been told he might stop by tonight. I peeked out through the pass to confirm my suspicions, and as I expected, Jesse was sitting at a booth with his friends. But it was the person sitting across from him who had my heart racing.
“On it,” I shouted back and got to work on the potatoes.
As I finished up with Jesse’s food, Lyle set out the other plates for their table.
“All right, I’m outta here,” I told him and then turned to Bonnie, one of the servers. “I’ll take this order out to table six.”
“Thanks, hun,” she replied as she filled some drinks.
Weaving my way through the crowd, I made my way to my brother’s table. “Hey guys,” I greeted. “So, who ordered what?”
After they all told me which meals were whose, Malachi looked up and smiled. “I didn’t know you were working tonight.”
He was full of shit because we had texted about me having to work and how he was going to convince the others to stop by after their show at Flanagan’s where they were the opening gig. Playing along, I replied, “Yeah, I just finished, actually.”
“Pull up a chair and hang with us for a few,” he suggested.
“Are you sure?” I asked, glancing at my brother to make sure he was cool with me staying.
Jesse nodded. “Yeah, but I’m not sharing my hash browns.”
“Be nice.” Olivia shoved him playfully before pushing her plate closer to me. “You can have some of my fries.”
“Thanks.” I grabbed a fry and popped it into my mouth. “And don’t worry, Jesse, I already tried a bite while I made them,” I teased.
He rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”
I chuckled. “So, how was the show tonight?”
“It totally rocked,” Silas said around a forkful of waffle.
