I’m freaking out, unsure how to handle this situation I find myself in. Feeling their eyes burning into me, waiting for me to open my mouth and spill it all. My eyes bounce between all of them, and I feel like my heart might leap from my chest.
I swallow nervously and shrug. “Um, Reno, but it’s no big deal.”
Iris gives me a huge smile, and I feel my stomach twisting with nerves. I’d love for her to just leave it at that, but I know damn well she won’t.
“What do you mean it’s no big deal?” She moves closer to me, searching my eyes, and continues, “You haven’t slept with anyone at the club. This is a big deal, Valencia.”
I stare at her, uncertain of what I should do or say at this moment. I know it’s a big deal, but I don’t know anything besides that. I don’t even know what the hell it means to him if anything.
“Reno doesn’t do anything with anyone.” She rests her hand on my arm and smiles. “This is a big deal.”
As if I wasn’t confused enough, she had to say something like that. I haven’t even had time to wrap my head around the entire situation, and now I feel like my business is out there, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
“Details,” Iris says, wiggling her eyebrows.
“What? No,” I say.
I try to avoid her question and begin to wipe down the counter and refill Sal’s coffee.
“Oh, come on. How was it? Was it rough and wild or soft and passionate?” she pushes.
“Iris,” I say, shaking my head.
“How big is he?” she asks.
Sal sips his coffee and holds his hand up. “I don’t need a fucking visual,” he says.
They are all laughing, but I feel the tension wrapping around me. I don’t want to talk about it, and even if I did, I don’t know what to say.
We didn’t exactly discuss anything last night, and this morning I rushed out without a single word. I have no idea what it meant or didn’t mean to him. I have no idea what is going on between us. Maybe it was just one amazing night, and that’s all he ever wanted. Maybe it will lead to something more. Maybe he wants a fuck buddy. I have no idea, and I’m not about to discuss it all with them.
I’ve never been with someone like Reno. He makes me feel things I never thought were possible. He makes me feel like there is good in this world. He saved me once, and I’m beginning to feel like that was just the beginning.
As if on cue, the door opens, and Reno walks in.
Panic takes over, and I feel my body shaking. My heart is pounding, my hands are sweating, and my stomach is in my damn throat. When they all chuckle, I snap out of my thoughts and shoot them all a glare. The last thing I need right now is for Reno to think I was talking about something private that happened. Something that we haven’t even discussed ourselves.
Reno takes a seat at the counter, and his eyes collide with mine. I can clearly see that he damn well knows we were talking about him. I just stare at him silently until Iris walks over.
“Your usual?” Iris asks.
His eyes leave mine, and he nods. “Yeah, but make it a double so Valencia can get something in her stomach too.”
Iris smirks as she walks away. “You got it.”
I continue working, trying to ignore the fact that I can feel Reno’s eyes burning into me. I know I should say something, but I’m panicking and don’t want to deal with it right now.
I don’t know how to read the situation. He hadn’t said a word to me, yet he made sure to order me something to eat. He’s confusing as hell.
“Listen, I’ll make up for the hour and a half that Valencia was late.” This grabs my attention, and while my back is to him, I listen carefully. “Is there anything that needs to be done around here?”
He wants to make up the time I was late? I could easily stay and make up the hour and a half, but he took control of the situation. Not in a way that I’m used to, either. He’s doing something nice for me, something to help.
I’m so used to being taken advantage of that it’s hard for me to understand why someone would do that without an ulterior motive.
“There’s nothing around here, but I am having trouble with my car. Would you be able to look at it for me?” Iris asks.
I continue to pretend to be busy myself, so I can listen without looking like I am.
