Page 15 of The Playboy and the Waitress

I walk him out and this is always the part that I hate because you don’t know how to act. I mean, I just met the guy, but he has done more for me in one day than most have my whole life, but I also don’t want to be just another notch on the bedpost either.

“You be careful going home and no practicing drifting through those curves, either.”

“Damn, you take all the fun out of it.” He pulls me close and kisses my forehead and then walks down the steps, talking to Brutus all the way to his car. He opens his door and then turns back towards me. “You will text me back, right? You’re not going to ghost me?”

“I will text you, I promise, and you’re not going to stand me up this weekend right?”

“I’ll be here, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

I stand on the porch looking down the driveway way after he is gone, the silence is almost deafening now that he isn’t here. I go out and walk around my car, running my hands over the top, looking for any new dents or anything they might have missed, but she looks better than ever. Brutus and a few of his females are grazing out in the field as I climb the gate, throwing my leg over it, relaxing as I look around. This is the one place I still feel the closest to Mom and Dad, and I come here a lot when I feel like I need to talk to one of them.

“Mom, I sure wish you were here. I’m way over my head with Playboy and I know it. My brain tells me to run like Hell, but my heart, well, he could easily rip it to pieces. I wonder if this is how you felt when you first met Dad. I refuse to have anything less than what you guys had. You always told me to never forget that I was worth something too. Never put someone else first, or you end up forgetting yourself in the process. And I know you can’t make anyone else happy if you’re not yourself. But damn, this is going to end badly. Do I take the chance that maybe our differences won’t matter in the long run, or do I cut my losses now?”

Brutus bumps the gate I'm setting on trying to get my attention. I reach over, scratching him between his ears. “Yes, you're still my favorite, pretty boy.”

When my phone buzzes in my pocket I jerk, I’m not used to anyone texting me in the evenings. I touch the screen and Playboy’s name pops up.

“Do you miss me yet?”

“Nope, I'm already out here flirting with another man.”

“Breaking my heart here.”

“No texting and driving.”

“Yes, Mom.”

“Lol”

I walk back into the house with a huge smile on my face, counting the days until the weekend.

CHAPTER8

Ihaven’t heard from Dage much the last couple of days other than a few random texts. He apologizes a few times for being distant, but that work was consuming all his time right now. I can tell the meeting he held hadn’t gone the way he’d planned just by the few texts he sent me.

I decide to drive Dad’s truck to work today just to be on the safe side. I walk into a mid-day shift and the place is kicking.

I am running food out to another server's table when my phone buzzes in my apron. Once I deliver the food, I glance down at the screen only to see Playboy’s name on the screen. Tucking myself into the closest beverage center, I take my phone out.

“Hey, I didn’t see the glow monster in the parking lot when I drove by…Just making sure you made it ok!”

“Yea, I'm here…I drove Dad’s truck.”

“Damn, you’re not only beautiful, you’re smart too… Are we still on for this evening?”

“I'm off at four, you can come anytime…I’ll fix us some snacks.”

“It’s a date.”

I stickmy phone back into my pocket and practically bounce out of the station. And I must be projecting all this happiness outward because all my customers seem to be in great moods themselves. The whole restaurant has a party like feel to it the whole day, or I am so excited I can’t see anything else. I have run around like crazy in order to get out of here on time, and just as I am getting ready to leave, I find out that one of the girls is looking for an extra shift for tomorrow. So, I give her mine. That’s the first time in years I have given away a shift, normally I'm trying to find extra shifts on my days off.

Alecia catches me before I can head out the back door. “Hey chick, you outta here?”

“Yeah, I gotta date.”

“Do ya now? Do tell.”

“I’m keeping it a secret for now. I don’t want to jinx it.”

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