Page 8 of Betrayal & New Beginnings

I whirled around and came face-to-face withWade.Hewas so close and smelled so good.Ijust stared at him dumbly.ThenIrealized he was waiting for me to say something, butIcouldn’t remember what he asked.

“Uh…what?”Iasked.

He turned his head and stared in the direction of the guys at the bar. “Theguys at the end of the bar.Arethey bothering you?”

“Oh, uh, n-no,”Istuttered.

Get it together, girl.

“They, uh, asked for my number, butHankput them in their place,”Isaid with a small smile. “Evenif he hadn’t,I’veworked in bars long enough.Iknow how to take care of myself.”

He nodded, but then turned back to the men, and his eyes narrowed a bit.Hestayed close to me, andIfound myself needing to break the tension currently rolling through his body.

“ThoughIdidn’t realize theAirForcehad similar uniforms to theArmy,”ItoldWade.

“What do you mean?”Helooked back at me with furrowed brows.

“Their uniforms,”Isaid, nodding over in their direction. “Theylook a lot likeJack’s, butIthoughtDobbingtonwas anAirForcebase,”Iexplained.

He nodded in understanding.

“Dobbington is the 22ndAirForceheadquarters, but it’s also home toNavyoperations support,ArmyReserve,MarineReserve, andGeorgiaNationalGuard,” he said.

“Oh wow,Ihad no idea.”Ilooked up at him and smiled. “Thanksfor the lesson.”

Wade andIstayed busy at the bar and didn’t chat much for the next two hours, butIfound myself drawn to him.EachtimeIcaught his gaze, he was always looking right at me.WhenIglanced over at him,Icould have swornIcaught him looking at my ass.

When he leaned over the bar, chatting with a customer, his arms stretched out as he grabbed the edge of the bar,Itook a moment to fully soak him in.

God, when his arms flexed like that,Iswore something in me just tingled.Icontinued to stare at him for a few more beats while pretending to rinse the same glassIhad been rinsing for several minutes now, butIjust couldn’t turn away.Evenhis butt looked great in those jeans.Helooked like sex on a stick, asKatiewould say.Hestraightened and turned toward me.Ilooked away before we could make eye contact, knowing if we did my face would be multiple shades of red.

I was wiping down the counter and about to take some empty plates to the back whenWadecame up next to me.God, he smelled so good.Hisscent of musk, bourbon, and the great outdoors were intoxicating.Whenhe neared my body buzzed with need and excitement.

“Go ahead and closeout, andI’lltake it from here,” he rumbled, startling me out of my deep and inappropriate thoughts.

“Oh…umm…are you sure?”Iasked and looked around at several people still at the bar. “We’restill pretty busyIdon’t mind staying for a bit.”Asflustered asIwas being around him,Ifound myself wanting to stay and keep working next to him just a little longer.

“No,I’mgood.Goahead,” he said, though his face seemed strained as though he wasn’t sure if he wanted me to go or not.ButIwasn’t going to force my company on him just becauseIhad this irrational urge to stay.

“Okay.I’mgoing hiking withRuthieso thanks,”Itold him.

I closed myself out from the register and finished cleaning up my portion of the bar.ThenIwent to the back to grab my purse and phone and sawBethsitting in the breakroom.

“Hey,Ellie,” she said smiling. “Boss-man treating you okay?He’schattier with you than he is with the rest of us, but that’s not always a good thing with a boss.”

“Really?”Iasked, becauseIwould not classifyWadeas chatty, andItold her that. “Itmight be because of my brother.”

She looked at me with a confused face.Ichuckled and told her thatWadehad served with my brother, which was howIfound the job.Iadded thatIwas staying at his place upstairs until he came back from overseas.

“Ahhh, okay.Thatmakes more sense.”Shenodded and continued to drink her water. “Hehardly ever says much unless it’s toTammy, but she’s got a way of making anyone talk, and he andSamjust usually grunt at each other like some weird bro code.”

I laughed because it was so true.

“But he’s cute, don’t you think?” she asked.

I wasn’t sure how to answer that.Idefinitely found him attractive, but he was the boss.Werewe supposed to say that about the boss?Plus,Ididn’t need to be thinking about a man like that.Thelast timeIdid that, it was a disaster.Idecided to just ignore my lustful thoughts toward my boss and focus on me.

“I guess, if you like that sort of look,”Isaid toBethwhile shrugging, hoping my indifference would play down the reality of my thoughts.

---