Page 27 of Filthy Player
While I’d been busy working on the other side of the restaurant, I’d kept my eye on Beaux. Even with his faded and frayed red ball cap on, dozens of people recognized him. He’d spent most of the night alternating between signing autographs and eating his burger.
He’d always been smiling, and more than once I’d caught that smile directed at me.
“You still have energy to go out?” I asked. I was thrumming with a mixture of exhaustion and anticipation. I wanted to see him, but he had practice in the morning. “We don’t have to.”
“Didn’t sit here all night drinking gallons of water and having a shit burger to end up spending the night alone.” His grin hit me in places, sweet places. Somehow, Beaux’s smile was a beacon, a light to all the stress I carried.
He smiled at me and it all melted away—while other things overheated.
“Okay. I have to grab my things from the break room and I’ll be off.” I turned to Joey and slid him my apron. “Hey, Joey, can you cash me out please?”
“Sure thing, Paige.” He winked at me and I laughed. Joey was almost forty, divorced with kids old enough to be starting middle school. A boy and girl twins, they often came in on the weekends he had them if he couldn’t get off work. I’d hung out with Bella and Bryan on more than one occasion. Sweet kids. That wasn’t unexpected since Joey was a nice guy, and even managed to co-parent his kids with his ex-wife with a grace that was sweet enough to be make believe.
He was also a huge flirt and winked at everyone.
Next to me, Beaux pushed off his spot at the bar. “I’ll wait for you out front. Don’t take long,” he whispered in my ear, hand on my hip like he’d done earlier.
My body gave the same trembling reaction.
He walked away and I hurried to the back, throwing on a change of clothes before heading back out to the bar.
Hannah was there, grabbing drinks for her last table.
“You headed out with Beaux?” she asked.
“Yes.” I bit down on my lip so hard it stung. “I can’t wait.”
“Have fun.” She flashed me a tight smile and hurried off.
Weird. She must have been stressed if she didn’t tease me about giving her the juicy details.
“Here are your tips,” Joey said when I returned to the bar. “Looks like you had a great night.”
“I did.” I didn’t count the stack of cash he handed me, but it was definitely thicker than normal. I shoved it into my purse. “Thanks for all your help.”
“No problem. Take care tonight.”
“I will. See you tomorrow?”
He shook his head. “Nope. Got the kids this weekend. I’ll be back on Monday.”
I grinned and waved. “See you then. Tell them I said hello!”
“You got it.”
I headed toward the door to the restaurant, unable to stop smiling when I thought of Beaux.
Even before I met Beaux, one of my largest concerns had been the chance of finding a guy who understood my priorities would always have my dad at the top of the list. I’d been burned enough to know it wasn’t easy, and after the last time I’d been rejected, I’d given up on dating at all.
So far, Beaux hadn’t only shown me that he understood my priorities, but he was okay with them. I might not have done it intentionally, but I suspected that for the last week, I’d been getting to know Beaux while keeping my arms up, forcing distance between us.
His actions tonight told me that distance might not be necessary with him.
My arms were getting tired from forcing it.
At some point, I had to let someone in, didn’t I? Why not risk it with a guy who made me smile and seemed to understand how much time I had to give?
I didn’t have long to think about it because as soon as I stepped outside, the beautiful sight in front of me wiped my concerns from my brain.
