Page 10 of The Playboy and the Waitress

“Yes, you did.” He cuts his eggs up and takes a bite. “This is surprisingly good, thank you, Jenna. I haven’t had a homemade breakfast in forever.”

“It’s the least I could do. Eat up, it won’t take me long to get ready and we need to head out.”

“I notice you always wear a ballcap at the restaurant, is that a requirement?”

“Nahh, I just have really big hair and as the day goes on it gets bigger. These curls are brutal to contain.”

“So your hair is naturally curly.”

“Yep, when I was a kid I did everything I could to get the curls out. Of course, nothing worked, they have a mind of their own, and even when I do get it to fix… it never looks the same twice.”

“I didn’t realize it was so long until this morning. That hat hides your true beauty behind it.”

“Thanks, I think.” I shove the rest of my egg into my mouth and stand up. “I’ll only be a minute.”

I rush into the bedroom, grabbing a pair of jeans and another work shirt out of the closet, and then head to the bathroom. Once I have my clothes on I throw some eyeliner on and some lip gloss. I pull my hair through the back of my hat and then spray my curls down with water to get them to calm down. I'm a little frazzled this morning, my routine is off, and I feel like I'm walking on a cloud that at any moment will simply fade out from beneath me. I take a deep breath open the door and walk into the hallway.

I see Dage standing in the kitchen with a dish towel in his hand and he looks so out of place with his crisp shirt and dress pants on. As I stand here in my work shirt and faded jeans, reality hits me once again at how opposite we are. I won’t deny how attracted I am to him. I would have to be dead not to be, but I have never been able to separate my heart from my attractions. As much as I would love to plunge headfirst into him… I'm old enough to know better. Suddenly, I feel sad all over. My phone's alarm dinging jerks me out of my own mind as it's letting me know it's time to leave the house. I put a smile on my face and walk into the living room.

“You didn’t have to do the dishes. I would have gotten them this evening when I got back home. I hope you didn’t get anything on your shirt, that grease loves to splatter on everything.”

He smooths his hand down his stomach, looking at his shirt. “I believe I escaped its wrath. I take it it’s time to go?”

“Yeah, we have about forty minutes to get there. I didn’t think to ask if I was making you late for work.”

“Don’t worry about me. I tend to come and go as I please.”

I stock the wood burner and flip the lights off as we walk out. I turn to lock the door and when the wind picks up, I shiver. “Damn, I'm ready for winter to let go already.”

I hear his car start up as I double-check the door, but when I turn around he isn’t in the car, he is standing close to the fence. Brutus is staring at him from the other side. “I wouldn’t get too close to him if I were you. He may look calm right now, but you get in his space and that will change in an instant. And Playboy, you see that mud at his feet? All he has to do is stomp one of those massive hooves of his and you're covered.”

I laugh to myself as he steps back. “I knew he was large, but damn he is massive. He is quite impressive though, I must say. I don’t know that I have ever been this close to an animal this large that wasn’t in a zoo.”

“Brutus is dangerous if provoked, but I have been around him since I was a teenager. When he was smaller I would ride him around the pasture like he was a horse.”

“I thought you rented out the pasture to other farmers.”

“Oh, I do, but I still have a few heads of cattle myself. I have a few farmers in the area that pay breeding rights to him.” I walk up and scratch the top of Brutus's head. “All the girls think you’re a hottie, don’t they, big guy?” He swings his head and I laugh. “Come on, we are cutting it close as it is.”

We get in the car, and I swear if I could purr I would. He had turned on the heated seats and the car is as warm as toast. “Ahhh, no fair…you shouldn’t tease a girl like this, damn heated seats.”

“It is the little things in life that make it all worth it… isn’t it?”

“You know it.”

He backs out of the driveway, and I cringe when I hear another rock bounce up, hitting the inner fender. “Relax Jenna, if I'm not stressing you shouldn’t be either.”

“I know, but I simply can’t help it.” I grab my apron from the floorboard where I laid it when I got in and start rummaging through it for my badge. “Crap, I must have left my badge at the house, or I have lost another one and I can’t get into the restaurant without it. Can we stop by my car real fast? I have a backup one in the glove box.”

“Not a problem.”

We don’t talk much as he drives me back to work. I'm not sure what to say to him actually. Even though he stayed with me last night I don’t know him any better than I did yesterday.

An ambulance passing us has me looking the other way as he drives up and onto the parking lot where I had left my car. I hear him cuss and when I look over I gasp at the sight in front of me.

I don’t remember even getting out of his car until I feel his arms come around me, backing me away from what is left of my yellow glow monster. I hold my hands against my face as I press my cheek into his chest, sobbing.

I can hear him talking on a phone, but it’s like I'm in a tunnel. He pushes me back away from him as he tries to wipe the tears off my face.

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