Page 10 of Mistletoe Kisses

I blinked. Then blinked again. “Oh, uh, there’s a pharmacy in town. I’m sure they’ll have something to help you with that.” Yikes. Poor guy.

“The sauce. Itburns.”

“Oh. Oh! From your fingers? Oh god. That’s got to hurt like hell.”

“I’ll just be a few more minutes, then I’ll go die in peace back in the dollhouse from hell.”

I wasn’t sure what he was referring to, but I bit back a laugh from his petulant tone. I doubted he would appreciate it. “I’m sure there’s something I can do. Let me think.” Water didn’t help when eating spicy food, so I doubted water or ice would help down there. Milk? Maybe if he dipped his dick in that? This wasn’t something I’d learned about in any on-the-job training.

“This is going to sound ridiculous, but go with me here. What if I put some milk in a cup, and you, uh, put yourself in it? I could get a to-go coffee cup and fill it.”

“That might work,” he said weakly. “That’s what I read when I searched online.”

“Good. Okay, good. I’ll do that. Stay put. Be right back.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

I caught up with Kayla. “Hey, can you watch my tables for a few? I’m going to help a customer with an issue.”

She glanced at the restroom I came from and smirked. “Yeah, you are.”

“Not likethat.”

She sighed. “So boring. Yeah, no problem.” Her expression grew more serious. “Do we need to fill out an incident report?”

“I don’t think so, but I’ll check with Caleb.” I didn’t want to invade Ginger Spice’s privacy by sharing his predicament more than I had to, but she was right that I might need to tell our boss.

Back in the kitchen, I filled one paper cup with milk and another with yogurt, just in case. I found a couple of clean rags nearing the end of their life that could be trashed and snagged a bottle of water too. I emptied a small cleaning caddy and added everything to it so I could be as discreet as possible. His tone had indicated he wasn’t the kind of guy to let embarrassing things roll off his back easily.

When I got back to the restroom, I was relieved to see there wasn’t anyone else in there. “Hey, I got some stuff for you. Do you want me to pass it over the top of the stall or through the door?”

“Top of the stall, please.” Still so polite, even in distress.

I moved to the stall next to his to pass the goods in case anyone came in while I was doing it. “Actually, I think the stall dividers are high enough off the ground that I can slide it underneath so I don’t accidentally spill on you.”

He let out a relieved sigh. “Thank you. Not sure I could take anything else happening tonight.”

Poor guy. I wanted to take the embarrassment away. Something about the shy cutie triggered my protective instincts.

“There are some options for you. There’s milk, yogurt, water, and clean rags. You can leave everything in the caddy and put it in the cupboard under the sink, and I’ll throw everything away later.”

“Okay.” His voice was soft. “Um, what about the table? I feel bad that it’s going unused.”

“I’m not worried about that.” I paused for a moment. Maybe he thought it would draw attention to him to return to it. “Would you prefer me to clear it and put your coat on the rack by the front door so you can leave when you’re ready?”

“Yes, please. What about my bill?”

One of my best friends had anxiety, and this guy reminded me of her. Her brain always jumped to logistics that she could fixate on when she was particularly anxious.

“My treat. Least I can do given what you’re going through. That way, you can slip out whenever you’re ready.” Something struck me, so I took a risk adding something else. “The dining room is turning over with new guests, so no one who was there before will likely still be here by the time you leave.”

He let out a relieved sigh. “Thank you so much for all of this.”

“Hey, it’s no problem at all. I hope it helps. Take your time, okay?”

“Okay.” His voice was quiet.

“I’ve got an idea. You’ve got your phone on you, right?”

---