Page 10 of Rousing Renee

No. No. No.

Who knew if he was even interested in me? His blurting out that I’m beautiful when he was several bourbons in didn’t make it a confession of love. Besides, I didn’t want love. It’d been almost a year since I’d been laid and my period was starting soon, which made me a bitch in heat. His lips… they weren’t anything extravagant, but they looked pillowy soft. I bet they’d feel good down between my…

“Renee, can I get another beer?” Junior asked. He was new around here and liked to flirt when he was tipsy. It was harmless, and he left big tips, so I didn’t mind.

“On my way!”

I handled his drink and gave Ezra his last bourbon. “I’m not comfortable serving you another one, so this is it for you, mister.”

“Have you always been this shy?” he asked me in a voice so low it had to be sincere. At least that’s what I believed.

“Yes.”

“Is the age difference the only reason why you didn’t take me seriously back in the day?”

I backed away from the table, refusing to answer that question.

“I won’t bite you, babygirl. Not unless that’s what you’re into. I bet you do taste good, though.”

His voice was deep and though there was music playing, it still felt like he was whispering in my ear because I felt every damn word. There was a slight slur, but he kept it together well.

“Would you like water, Sir?”

His eyebrow raised, and he licked his lips as if he were contemplating what he’d do to me. I closed my eyes, trying to reel in my hormones. I couldn’t ride him like a rodeo cowboy on top of this table. When they reopened, he was still watching me, holding me in place with his intense gaze.

“You’re a good girl, aren’t you?”

Something inside softened, and I looked down at the floor. Nervously, I rubbed my hands together and tried to disappear in plain sight.

“I can tell, babygirl. It’s all right; I’d never take advantage because I know that little fact.” He chuckled and sipped his drink.

I exhaled and went to the other side of the restaurant to start cleaning. The crowd was long gone, and only a few stragglers were either eating or drinking. The night was pretty much over, and I could use cleaning as a way to distract me from Ezra.

Thirty minutes later, he was singing to himself at his table. He wasn’t disturbing anybody, and he didn’t sound half bad. He was the only person left inside and between me and the other waiter, we’d completely cleaned up everything.

Ezra stood up and almost fell over. I rushed over and helped to steady him as he just kept on singing as if it had never happened.

“How about you sit back down for me?” I asked him from beneath his arm. He was much bigger than me and I couldn’t handle all his weight bearing down on me.

“I need to go back to my–Just to be cloooooose to you, giiiiirl!”

Those weren’t the lyrics to the song currently playing at all.

“Ezra…”

“Yes, babygirl?”

With us being this close, it was impossible not to respond to his baritone voice. “I, um, can you sit down, please?”

He nodded once before he fell back onto the chair.

“Thank you.”

After speaking to my co-worker, Dax, he agreed to help me get Ezra to his apartment after we locked up. Dax drove the golf cart and Ezra sang the entire drive, moving from song to song smoothly. There were no hiccups along the way, and once we had him inside, I let Dax leave. He propped the apartment door open for me to prevent there from being too much privacy. I promised to call him if I needed anything.

As Ezra undressed and got ready for bed, I found Tylenol and grabbed him some water to drink. He’d need these in the morning because he was feeling much too good tonight. I put them on the table beside the bed and tried not to laugh at his attempt to get under the comforter.

“Warm?” I asked.

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