Page 22 of Holding On

When he notices me in front of him, he sits up. "What do you need?"

"I'm done. I just wanted to tell you I'm leaving."

"Fine. Go ahead." He's still acting rude, not like the friendly Ethan I met earlier.

"Do you, um, need anything?"

"Like what?"

I shrug. "Maybe some food? I could run to the store quick. I have to go there anyway to get my own groceries."

He hesitates, and I assume he's going to agree to my offer since his kitchen is empty, but then he says, "No. I don't need anything."

"But you don't have any food in the fridge. Or in the cupboards."

"Why were you looking in my cupboards?" he yells, sitting up straighter on the couch. "I hired you to clean, not spy on me."

Fighting off the urge to tell him off, I quickly gather my supplies and hurry out the door. His place was such a mess it took me an hour longer to clean it than I thought it would and now I don't have time to go home and shower before going to The Chicken Shack.

When I get there, I change uniforms and meet up with Tina in the break room.

"What's wrong?" she asks, sensing my bad mood.

"My last job took forever and I didn't have time to go home and shower." I walk over to the mirror and check my hair. It's a mess so I yank it from the elastic band, smooth it out, and redo my ponytail. "And the guy I had to work for was a jerk. Well, he was nice for part of the time, but when I first got there and when I left, he was an ass."

"Is this someone new?"

"Yeah. It was um..." Can I tell her? He said not to tell anyone anything about him but he didn't say I couldn't mention I was at his house.

"Who was it?" Tina stands beside me at the mirror. "Someone I know?"

"It was Ethan."

"Ethan Baxter? The football player?"

I turn away from the mirror and face Tina. "Yeah, but he doesn't want me talking about him so I can't really tell you anything."

"You just cleaned Ethan Baxter's house," she confirms.

"Yes, but it's not his house. He just rents it."

"And he was there?" Her voice rises in excitement. "You actually talked to him?"

I laugh. "You act like he's a movie star. He's just a guy who plays football."

"Before the accident, he was expected to be a first round pick for the draft next year. That pretty much makes him a celebrity."

"Then it's gone to his head because he was being a jerk. I even offered to get him some groceries and instead of being nice about it, he yelled at me for offering." I check the clock. "C'mon. We have to go."

We leave the break room and walk through the kitchen.

Tina holds my arm, stopping me. "So what'd he look like?"

"Like a quarterback. Muscular. Athletic."

"Hot." She smiles. "I used to see him around town and damn, that boy could be a model."

I shrug. "I guess."

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