“Oh, I’ll have the same,” one of the girls jokes. “You up for a three way?” Everyone cackles and I’m shaking now.
“Food.” I try to keep my hand steady. “What food do you want, please?”
“Aww, someone’s shy,” another girl pipes up. “What’s the matter, sweetheart, you a virgin?”
“Excuse me,” I say, then turn and walk away. I hope I don’t get fired for this but I don’t care at this point. If there’s anything Paul has taught me in the last few weeks, it’s that I deserve to be treated with respect, and these idiots are being nothing if not disrespectful, and in a family restaurant, no less.
“Charlie, what’s wrong?” Dorine says when she sees me standing behind the counter, shaking.
“I can’t do it.” I tell her what they said to me and see her momma bear flame to life. She grabs my hand and leads me to our manager's office. We’re not in there for more than a minute before he’s storming out to the table and demanding they leave, informing them that anyone who treats one of his employees like that will no longer be welcome at Sunny’s.
I’m so relieved that I have to hold back my tears. Don is a great guy, but I didn’t know he’d go that far for me.
“Thank you,” I tell him. “I’m sorry I walked away—”
He shakes his head and rests his hands on my shoulders. He’s several inches taller than me with a beer belly and a bald head, but he has the kindest eyes of anyone I’ve ever met. Well, anyone except my Papa Bear. “You did the right thing, Charlie,” he tells me. “I’m sorry that happened to you. I’d have kicked them out the last time if I’d known. Don’t worry, okay?”
I nod.
“You okay, or you wanna take the rest of the day off?”
I shake my head. “I’m fine. Thank you.”
He nods and slaps my shoulder, then heads back to his office. Dorine gives me an encouraging smile and we get back to work.
When I get home that evening my feet are aching and I just want to crawl into Paul’s lap and cuddle on the couch, but I’m also fucking starving.
“Hey,” Paul says when I walk into the kitchen. He’s holding a pan of what appears to be some sort of casserole in his hands and it smells amazing. I can see the steam rising off of it from here and my mouth waters. And not just from the casserole. He’s dressed in gray sweats slung low on his hips and a white T-shirt that clings to his gorgeous upper body. If I had the energy to drool, I would be. “Perfect timing.” He smiles at me and my insides melt to goo. As soon as the pan is on the table, I’m across the room and my arms are around him, my head against his chest.
“Woah.” His arms come around me, but then he realizes he still has his oven mitts on and tosses them aside before he embraces me again. “You okay?” he asks.
I nod but don’t let go. “I missed you.”
He chuckles slightly and presses a kiss to my head. “I missed you, too, sweetheart.” I sigh against him and feel his half hard dick against my stomach.
“Hungry?” he asks. I pull away and nod. He scoots my chair out for me and I smile. He’s so damn sweet. I can’t get over how he fusses over me sometimes.
“What did you do besides make dinner and look gorgeous while doing it?” I ask as we dig in. The meal is just as amazing as I thought it would be. It’s covered in cheese which is my favorite, and there’s broccoli, tater tots, ground beef, and what looks like cream of mushroom soup mixed together. It’s delicious.
He flushes but shrugs. “Nothing.” Surely he did something, but maybe he just doesn’t want to tell me? But what on earth wouldn’t he want me to know? Hell if it’s something kinky I’m down for learning about that. Somehow I have a feeling that isn’t it, though. Pity.
“I promise, if you spent the day in bed I won’t judge.” I grin at him. He gives me a soft smile but doesn’t reply. “Porn?” I ask and his eyes go wide. I laugh. “Okay, not porn. You rob a bank? Work on your pole dance routine?”
His eyes widen again and he swallows. “You know about that?”
It takes me a second to realize he’s fucking with me and then my face is flushing. “Very funny,” I say, and he chuckles as he wipes his mouth off with his napkin.
“Okay, before you start getting really ridiculous I’ll tell you.”
“Thank you.”
He clears his throat. “I cleaned.”
I blink. “Cleaned?”
He sighs. “Yes. I dusted the tops of the cabinets, and above the doors, cleaned out the refrigerator, cleaned the washing machine, cleaned out the air vent, organized the hall closet.Then I iced my knee and back because they were killing me.”
“Ooh, you’re getting me all hot and heavy talking like that,” I tease, fanning my face. “Next time you have that much fun you need to include me.”
