Page 29 of Screamer
I jump to my feet and grab her arm, ignoring the way she struggles against my hold. “Wait a sec,” I demand, my eyes darting to the man who entered and back again. “Do you know him?”
She frantically shakes her head. “N-no. He, uh, reminds me of someone, that’s all.”
“Okay.” I try to urge her back into her chair, but she stands firm. “Can I at least get our food to go?” I ask.
“I don’t care. I just have to get out of here.”
“Okay, okay. Then we’ll get out of here.” We move through the diner to the front counter. “Hey, Kate,” I say. “Can you make our orders to go?”
“Sure thing, Ben.”
Roxie tips her head back and arches a brow. “Ben?”
I smirk. “What? Did you really think Screamer is my real name?”
“Well, no, of course not. I know it’s a road name.”
“Look, not many people can get away with calling me Ben,” I admit. “Not since…”
“Not since what?” she prompts, seemingly having forgotten the man who scared her.
“Nothing.” I don’t want to talk about Ally, about my parents.
Just then Kate sets a bag of food on the counter. I pay the tab, and we walk outside to the truck.
“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” Roxie says as she puts her seatbelt on.
I choke on the sip of milkshake I’m taking. “W-what?” I sputter.
She rolls her eyes. “Not like that.”
“I’m afraid you’re gonna have to clarify because now all I can think about is us showing each other our naughty parts.”
“Naughty parts? What are you, eight?” she asks, then takes a sip of her milkshake.
“Eight inches, yeah.”
It’s her turn to choke, and it takes several minutes for her to gain her composure. “Jesus, are you always this way?”
“Does it matter? You seem to have forgotten whatever it was that spooked you.”
Instantly, her good mood vanishes, and she becomes rigid in the passenger seat. “I’d like to go home now.”
“What about your proposition?”
“Dammit, Screamer, be serious. I’m done joking around.”
“So am I, sweetheart. So am I.”
CHAPTER 15
ROXIE
He lost that right the second he tried to break me.
“Rememberwhen I said not all men are the same?”
Screamer and I are sitting at a picnic table at the park. It’s mid-day, so the place is empty, leaving us to talk about whatever we want with no distractions. I’m not entirely certain this is a good idea, but I refuse to let my fear win out.
