Page 2 of Forbidden Lyrics

“I have a boyfriend,” I remind him, my voice shaky.

“One you’d be smart to stay away from.”

My brows furrow as I pull my lips into a thin line.

He laughs dryly, though I’m not sure what he finds so amusing. Personally, I’m about to vomit all over the floor if this conversation goes on much longer.

“He’s dangerous,” he informs me as if we’re talking about the weather.

“Huh?”

“Your boyfriend. He’s dangerous. You’d be smart to stay away from him.”

I gulp but stay quiet, praying he’ll grow bored of our conversation and leave me alone, but I’m afraid that’s wishful thinking.

“Do you know what happened to his last girlfriend? Em?” he asks, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look at him. “She disappeared. Vanished into thin air. I’d hate for that to happen to you too. I’ve always been a sucker for an innocent girl who likes kink.”

“Hey, Dove!” Reese interrupts, her voice light and chipper, though her eyes are anything but. She’s another waitress at SeaBird and is slowly turning out to be one of my good friends, too, especially now that she just saved me from Mr. Creeper.

“Everything okay here?” she asks.

I gulp again and look up at the mystery man who can’t be more than five or six years older than me yet still makes me feel like a little kid.

“No problem,” the stranger answers for me. “Right, Dove?” He emphasizes my name like it’s a secret password that gives him permission to speak with me when all I want to do is run and hide. “I was just leaving.”

He steps around me but still manages to make me feel small and insignificant as he does so. Reese’s upper lip curls in disgust as she watches him leave. But not before he gives me one last knowing look as he walks out the door.

Whoever he was, I hope I never see him again.

“You okay?” Reese asks once he’s out of sight.

Blinking slowly, I try to wrangle in my emotions, but it feels impossible.

“Uh, yes. Yes, I’m fine,” I lie.

“What was that about?”

“Nothing.”

“You sure?”

With a jerky nod, I wring the dishrag between my hands like it’s a lifeline. “Yes. Yes, I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine. What happened, Dove? Who was that?”

“I-I don’t know. He was looking for Fender.”

“And?”

“And I told him that I didn’t know where he was.”

“Okay?” She frowns. “Is that it?”

With a deep breath, I shake my head. “No. Then he started asking me how long I’d worked here and if I’d be interested in…”––I clear my throat, hating the way my cheeks heat––“in hooking up later. I lied and told him I had a boyfriend, thinking maybe that would get him to back off.”

Surprised, Reese points out, “That’s a good idea, actually––”

“It didn’t work. So, I told him that Gibson was my boyfriend and that he’d be back any minute and wouldn’t appreciate him talking to me. I know it’s the furthest thing from the truth and that Gibson hates me, but it just popped into my head, and––”

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