Page 46 of Life of the Party

This man was my boss. What did he want?

“You let me know if anyone gives you any trouble.” His breath was hot against my neck. I shuddered as his hand moved from my ribs, sliding slowly down my waist, his fingers kneading my hip. I didn’t know what to do. I stood there, frozen, hoping he’d be done soon, thinking if I ignored him long enough, someone would eventually distract him, that he’d stop when I didn’t respond.

I was wrong. With a chuckle, he kept going, sweeping his hand further down, cupping my butt in a playful slap. I jerked at the touch, a surprised gasp escaping my lips, my eyes whipping upwards in shock.

I found myself staring directly at Grey, his face on the other side of the window.

He must have been watching—his expression was hard, his jaw clenched, his lips tight. His eyes swept my face, his gaze furious as it settled on Roger’s drunken leer.

“Roger,” Grey warned. His voice was low and threatening.

“Oh, hey, Grey.” Roger smiled innocently at his employee, completely casual, like he hadn’t just slapped my ass. I could feel my face burning red. Roger chuckled and began to whistle, stumbling past me on his way to the front.

I let out a shaky sigh of relief once the heavy man was out of my space.

Grey was looking at me now. Hesitantly, I lifted my eyes to him. I didn’t know what to expect, how I should feel, how I should act. His blue eyes were beautiful, but his expression was impossible to read. A frown curved his lips.

“You okay?” He spoke like he regretted having to ask the question.

I couldn’t answer him with my voice; I nodded my head instead.

“Okay.” He bent back down over his work.

The encounter shook me. I hid out in the waitress area until Charlie came, telling her the whole story, speaking in a hushed voice so Roger couldn’t hear me.

“I’ll break his fucking hand if he does that again.” She promised me, surprisingly vehement. No stranger to the lewd behaviour of men.

We finished our work and counted out our tips without any further incidents, though Roger chose a premium spot at the tables to watch us. I hadn’t realized our boss was such a creep. I was thankful he stayed away from work as much as he did.

Grey ignored me the rest of the night; he didn’t even look my way again. He obviously didn’t want to give me the wrong impression, to have me think his feelings changed just because he’d stepped in on my behalf. That’s what his continued silence and utter indifference spoke to me anyway.

And that was fine with me. I couldn’t have cared less. I was better off.

CHAPTER 19

The week dragged by. School was a joke at this point in the year; I only went for an excuse to get out of the house. I wasn’t brave enough to hang out at Charlie’s. Not when the guys spent most of their time there. Zack and Alex probably thought I was a big joke, and I couldn’t stand to imagine what Grey thought of me. I actually cracked my books at home; I was so desperate for a diversion.

On our last day of regular classes, the morning dawned bright and warm, clear blue skies forecasting the start of a brewing hot, perfect summer day. I threw on some shorts and a tank top and put my hair up in a ponytail. My mood was lightened considerably by the promise of summer freedom in the air.

One week of exams to plod through, and I was done. Then I was finally free.

We had to clean out our lockers that day. It was almost fun, all the kids running amuck in the hallway, chucking out assignments and lessons and tests toiled over, feeling freer and lighter with each trip to the trash bin.

I was going through my binders, flipping through page after page of doodled looseleaf, looking for anything that may be worth keeping. A sudden presence caught my attention and there was Brad, the cowboy from the restaurant, smiling warmly at me, his hand on the hip of his tight Wrangler jeans.

I found myself smiling back. Brad was cute; I’m sure all the cowgirls went crazy for him. The sleeves of his blue button-down shirt were pushed up to reveal his arms, dark brown with farmer’s tan and thick with muscle. Away from his cowboy friends, he looked less ordinary; I noticed the warm hazel of his unique amber eyes and the slight blond tinge to his reddish hair I hadn’t seen when he blended into the others.

“Hey, Brad.” I greeted him in surprise. “Come to take back your tip?”

“No, nothing like that.” Brad laughed, his smile revealing two dimples set in his wide apple cheeks. He shook his head. “It’s a shame, you know. We’ve gone to the same school for nearly twelve years, and we’ve never really talked until now.”

“Well,” I shrugged and gave him a smile. “Better late than never, right?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Brad cleared his throat. “Are you going to pre-grad tonight?”

“The party? No, I hadn’t planned on it. I have to work.” And there was no way I was going to a class party alone, without any friends. I doubted very, very much that Riley would be gracing the party with his perfect self, and who knew what the other boys were up to.

“That’s too bad. I wanted to take you.”

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