I stare at him for a second before shaking him off. Everything he says is true but I also can’t let something like that just happen and not do anything. After charging across the dining room, I step into the kitchen and Ben turns to look at me. The man is a little pissant and I mean that literally since he just barely reaches the top of my chest as I glare at him. My gaze flicks to the blonde he hit.
“You okay, darlin’?”
She nods. “Yes.”
“You feel safe enough to stay here?”
“I…” Her gaze flicks to Ben and I notice her hands shaking before she turns back to me with resolve in her gaze. “Yes, I’m okay.”
“Guess what…” I say, turning back to Ben with my skin on fire and my fingers itching to wrap around his throat. I pretend to glance down at his name tag. “…Ben. You just made a new best friend.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
I take a step forward and flash him a menacing smile. “It means I’m going to be back here every goddamn day and if I ever see you put your hands on another woman, I’ll show you how it feels. Are we clear?”
“You think I’m afraid of you?” he sneers, crossing his arms and I glance around the kitchen as the three cooks and dishwasher look on with a mixture of amusement and trepidation. Fuck this little shit, thinking he’s a badass and hitting the women who work for him. Before he even realizes what’s happening, I sweep his legs out from under him, flip him on his stomach, and shove my knee against his spine as he screams.
“What was that, Ben?”
“Okay, okay. It won’t happen again.”
“You’re fucking right, it won’t.” I release him and stand back as he lumbers to his feet. As he backs away from me, I wave and flash him another grin. “See you tomorrow, Benjamin.”
“Jesus, dude,” Smith says as I get back to the table and sink into my seat. I shrug.
“What? I couldn’t let him get away with that. Besides, I just gave us the perfect cover for coming back here every day.”
He shakes his head. “Where the hell did you learn that move and can you show me how to do it?”
“The Marines and no,” I answer with a laugh, feeling lighter than I did when we first arrived. My phone pings from my pocket and I pull it out, frowning when I see the notification from the dating app I signed up for.
“Everything okay?”
I glance up and nod before shoving the phone back in my pocket. I can’t believe I actually signed up for that stupid thing and that I still haven’t deleted it. “Yeah.”
“You sure?” he asks, his face knitted in concern. I sigh.
“I drank too much the other night and signed up for a goddamn dating site.”
He grins and leans forward. “Did you now? Any luck?”
“No,” I lie, thinking of the message from a woman named Shiloh I just got. He laughs.
“You fucking liar.”
I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter cause it was a dumbass idea and I’m not going to go through with it.”
“Why not?”
“‘Cause like I said, it was just a dumb idea that sounded good after a few too many beers.”
“Yeah,” he agrees, leaning back again. “But you just said you wanted the wife and the family and all that, right?”
I nod.
“So, you’re never going to find it if you don’t try.”
I roll my eyes. “Like you tried? Or Storm? Or Kodiak? You all met your wives because of luck.”
“Dude, just give it a shot. There’s a coffee shop literally right across the street,” he says, pointing out the window and I glance over my shoulder, eyeing the little cafe. “Just pop over there and get coffee with her. It’s like thirty minutes out of your day.”
I flash him a glare. “Just let it go.”
“No. I’m serious. Give it a shot. Maybe she’s the one.”
“You sound like a goddamn girl right now, you know that?”
He shrugs. “All I hear you saying is that you’re scared and maybe you should shut up and listen to me cause I know how good it is on the other side of that mountain you’re too afraid to cross.”
Motherfucker.
I want to come back with a snappy remark but his words hit a target I didn’t even realize I’d put up and I sigh as I lean back in my chair and fiddle with the silverware next to my plate. Jesus Christ, what the hell am I doing? I’m thirty years old and I’ve been single for the last ten goddamn years because of one dishonest woman.
“You’re an asshole,” I growl as I pull my phone out of my pocket and he laughs.
“I’m okay with that.”
Ignoring him, I pull up the message from Shiloh.
Shiloh062:
Hey, handsome ;)
I’d love to get to know you more.
Are you free soon to go out?
WyattL23:
I’m free right now, actually.
Want to grab a cup of coffee?
“So…” Smith asks, leaning across the table to try and see my phone as I move it away from his gaze. “What did she say?”
“None of your damn business.”
“Aw, come on. Let me see the fruits of my labor.”
My phone buzzes with a notification and I scoop it up as I shake my head. There’s no way in hell I’m giving him the satisfaction of this. “No.”
Shiloh062:
I’d love to.
Just tell me where.
I send her the name and address of the cafe across the street and she replies back right away, telling me she’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Setting my phone back down on the table, I run my hands through my hair as my knee bounces. Smith smirks.
“Jesus, dude. You look like you’re about to shit a brick.”
I pin him with a glare. “Shut the fuck up. I’m going on this damn date, aren’t I?”
“When is she going to be here?” he asks, grabbing his fork and cutting off another piece of lasagna. I watch in fascination as he shoves the bite in his mouth and chews for a second before making a face and spitting it out on his plate. “Fuck! I forgot how bad that was.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“It’s not my fault, man. It’s sitting in front of me, looking and smelling like lasagna and I’m so fucking hungry that my brain blocked out how bad it is. Now, answer the question.”
I scowl. “What question are you talking about?”
“You know damn well what question I’m talking about. When is she going to be here?”
Rolling my eyes, I glance down at my watch. “Ten minutes.”
“And just to give me an idea of how screwed you are, when was the last time you went on an actual date?”
“Fuck you,” I spit, crossing my arms over my chest as I turn to look out the window. It pisses me the fuck off but he’s right. The last time I went on a real life date was when I was married to Piper, before I deployed and my whole world collapsed. Since then, if I did hook up with a girl, it was always casual, something just to fulfill a need and dating was never required.