Page 6 of Bounced Into Love

“When did I have the chance? He’s been brooding over her for weeks and finally managed to locate his balls tonight so he could do something about it.”

“Mark!” the blonde hissed, elbowing him again. “Stop, or else Jaxson’s going to think you haven’t forgiven him for the whole black eye thing.”

Black eye thing?My head swirled as the couple bantered back and forth until Jaxson interrupted to ask, “Do you mind if I take my break early and head over to the diner down the street with Kiara?”

“Not at all. Go ahead.”

“In fact,” his wife added with a big smile. “Since Mark and I will be here until close, you’re more than welcome to take the rest of the night off if you’d like.”

“Talk about making him an offer he can’t refuse,” Mark mumbled.

I felt like I was missing an inside joke, but one thing was clear. Jaxson’s relationship with his boss was definitely worlds apart from mine with Mr. Crenshaw.

Chapter 5

Jaxson

Iprobably shouldn’t have taken advantage of Ariana’s soft heart and pregnancy hormones, but I wasn’t about to lose my chance at spending extra time with Kiara. At least Mark didn’t look like he minded, so I wasn’t too worried about any blowback from skipping out on the rest of my shift. There was also the fact that I’d recently made changes to how the bouncers were scheduled. Knowing they wouldn’t be short-handed while I was gone made it possible for me to leave without feeling too much guilt.

Looking around the diner, I figured I should explain to Kiara why I hadn’t taken her somewhere else now that I had the rest of the night off. “I know this place isn’t fancy, but I want as much time as you’re willing to give me. At least here, I don’t have to worry about closing time since they’re open twenty-four seven.”

Kiara bumped her shoulder against me and smiled. “I happen to love old-school diners, so this is perfect for me.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone call this place perfect, but maybe it’ll mean a better tip for me if the pretty lady thinks it is. So what can I get ya’?” The waitress punctuated her question with a snap of gum she was chewing. In her pale blue uniform and white apron, with her hair pulled up in a bun at the back of her head, she looked like she’d just walked off the set of an old sitcom.

Kiara’s eyes widened, and she bit her bottom lip like she was trying to hold back a giggle as I answered, “Coffee for me. Black.”

“Tea for me, decaf if you have it. With plenty of cream and sugar.” The waitress had just turned on her heel to head off and grab our drinks when Kiara changed her mind. “No, wait! I’ll take regular tea instead.” She offered me a shy smile. “I think I could use the jolt from the caffeine.”

I liked the sound of that because it meant she was planning to stay up late. With me. But I didn’t want to make her lose sleep if she needed it. “Am I messing up your schedule for tomorrow? Do you have any early morning plans?”

“Nope. You aren’t messing anything up,” she reassured me. “I probably shouldn’t admit it to you, but my life is pretty boring. The only exciting thing I had planned for the weekend was my trip to Ice with my coworkers.”

“Lucky me,” I murmured.

She tilted her head to the side and propped it up on her hand with her elbow on the table. “How is me being the most boring girl in the world lucky for you?”

I rubbed a lock of her hair between my fingers, enjoying the softness while I took the first step towards talking about some of the baggage she’d asked me to share. “Because after the life I led back in Vegas, boring sounds perfect to me.”

“You two sure do like to toss around the perfects.” Our waitress set our drinks on the table, pulled out her notepad, and tapped her pen against it. “Just don’t be expecting perfection from any of the food on the menu, although the Belgian waffle with vanilla ice cream and strawberries comes awfully close.”

“Any chance I could get that with whipped cream, too?” When the waitress nodded, Kiara snapped her menu shut and handed it to her. “Sold!”

“What about you, hon?”

“I’ll take a Western omelet with hash browns, rye toast, and a side of bacon,” I grunted as Kiara collapsed against my side in a fit of giggles. She barely had herself back under control when the waitress walked away, shaking her head. “What’s so funny?”

“Her”—Kiara jerked her head in the direction the waitress had just gone—“calling a huge guy like you”—then she gestured up and down my body with her hand—“hon. It’s just too funny.”

“You got a problem with my size?” I groused, shifting in my seat.

“Problem?” She shook her head, and her cheeks turned that pretty shade of red again. I had the feeling I’d enjoy getting a glimpse at what she was thinking at that moment. And I’d take even more pleasure in making whatever it was come true. “Nope, that’s not the word I’d use for your body. At all.”

“What would you call it then?”

“Perfect,” she sighed.

“More perfect than a Belgian waffle with vanilla ice cream and strawberries?” I teased, thinking about the hungry expression on her face when she’d placed her order. I wanted to feast on her with the same ravenousness, and I was determined to see that same look aimed my way.

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