Page 5 of The Depraved Prince
“That guy was kind of creepy,” I say as I sweep the floor.
“And hot,” Leah mutters through a cheeky grin.
Hayes and I turn to Leah with the same confused look.
“Don’t judge me.” Leah rolls her eyes.
“Judging,” Hayes and I reply, synchronized with a laugh.
After we finished cleaning, Hayes walks us both to our cars. After he walked Leah to hers, he followed me to mine.
The humid Texas air blows through my hair, and I push the loose strands out of my eyes with my hand.
“Goodnight, Hayes. I’ll see you next time we’re on shift together.”
“Yup. Goodnight, babes. I can’t wait to tell the boyfriend about how I got to clean up vomit after the group of college students came in drunk.”
“Yeah…that wasn’t fun.” I grit my teeth as I get into my car quickly, and Hayes closes the door, biting his tongue. I watch him enter his car, and then he zooms out of the parking lot.
I turn on the air conditioning, take out the tight ponytail from my head, and drive to my house, which is about a twelve-minute drive away from the coffee shop. The entire time I drive, the blonde man’s interaction lingers. Leah was right about his looks. He’s very handsome. He’s got that mysterious, intriguing look about him. Yet, there was a dark aura he carried—it was almost tangible.
Even though it was a short and distinguished encounter, the way he was staring at me made me cringe and grip my steering wheel tighter.
Once I get home, I pull the door open, knowing my dad is still awake, sitting in the same spot on the couch as he always does, watching TV in the living room. I close the front door and lock it. He always leaves it open for me around this time. I hang up my purse and keys in the entryway and approach the kitchen, where my dinner plate awaits me in the fridge.
Grabbing it and placing it in the microwave, I heat it for about a minute before taking it to my room to eat. It’s the same uneventful routine I’ve come to love. I walk by the living room and turn off the TV when I realize my dad has fallen asleep, waiting for me. I gently shake his shoulder to wake him up.
“Go to bed, Dad. I’m home.”
He raises his head from the couch cushion, and his snores abruptly stop. With sleepy red eyes, he groggily nods his head.
“Mija, you’re home. How was work?” He yawns while he gets up from the couch and walks to his room.
“Good, Dad. Get to sleep. I’ll be in my room, turning in for the night. I’m tired.”
He nods again and waves his hand over his shoulder as he sleepily drags his feet to his room.
Our all-black male German Shepherd, Cooper, is on my feet as I move towards my room. He kisses my hands, probablytelling me he missed me while I was at work. I give him gentle pets as he follows me.
I set my dinner plate at my desk once I’m in my room, and Cooper lays down next to my window.
Huh?
Now, that was not part of my usual routine with him. Usually, he sits on my bed, giving me the best puppy eyes he can muster at his five years of age, trying to get me to feed him from my plate.
I take off my shoes, turn on the TV in my room, watch my favorite comedy show, and eat the brisket with potato salad. My father is a fantastic cook with a passion for barbecue. I don’t doubt that he has all the barbecue tools in the world. You walk outside on the backyard deck, and you would think he owns his own barbecue business with all of his top-of-the-line cooking machines.
I open my mouth to take a bite of my potato salad but I don’t get to eat it. I jolt in my seat from Cooper’s unexpected change in behavior. The food falls from my fork and back onto the plate when Cooper’s growls roar.
I’m jumpy these days.
I turn to watch his ears shoot up, and he stands looking out my window between the curtains on high alert.
Cooper repeatedly barks. His snarls are indignant. The fur on his back rises like he’s ready to intimidate or attack.
Is there a cat outside? Another dog?
“Cooper, stop it. You’re going to wake up my dad.” I scold him and try to calm him but he doesn’t stop. I roll my eyes, get up from my chair, and get ready to open my curtains to investigate. It’s probably a harmless squirrel.
