Page 16 of Drawn To You (Paloma's Edge 1)

“How about you guys?” She tapped her pen on her notepad.

“Three orders of chicken tenders. One with tostones. Extra crispy. One with two baked potatoes. And I’d like my order with cheese fries,” Rylan said.

“You girls wanna eat anything?” Joel asked them.

“We’ll share with you,” one of them answered.

With a nod of his head, Joel agreed and Bri attended to another table. The girl with the belly-button piercing switched places with one of her friends and was next to me. Rylan and Joel smirked at me.

She leaned into me and her hot breath smelled of tequila. I reeled because I was beginning to taste it. I liked a good scotch once in a while. And I hadn’t had scotch in weeks. Anything else didn’t mingle right with my taste buds.

“How’s my favorite quarterback?” She tried to sound sultry.

Her friends giggled. “I am actually a linebacker,” I told her in a low tone. “But I am doing good. And you?” I didn’t want it to look like I was playing her in front of her friends, but from Rylan and Joel’s expressions, they at least knew that I wasn’t interested.

She whispered in my ear, “You’d make my night if you’d come upstairs with me.”

Rylan was talking to another girl and Joel sent me a questioning look.

“No thanks,” I told her instead of “Never gonna happen.”

She pulled away from me and sat back down in her own seat. “You told me he wasn’t seeing anyone,” she said to Joel, who shrugged his shoulders. And then she turned back to me, flinging her jet-black hair around. “What? You think you’re too good for me?” She flicked her gray eyes to my scar.

I heaved in a breath and tried to be civil. “I told you last night that I am not dating right now. It has nothing to do with you.”

“But you were working then. That’s why I thought you said that.” Scowling, her voice rose. “And who said I am looking to date?” she asked with absurdity.

Everyone at the table was

looking at us now, including some folks from the other tables.

“I never led you to believe that I wanted to smash.”

The girl slammed her hand on the table and gripped her glass. Joel smoothly reached from across the table and took it from her. Most of the sweet drink sloshed on her skimpy dress.

Grimacing, Joel dared her to make another move. One of her friends handed her purse to her, with an expression that said, “Don’t cock-block me or you’re out of friends.” She huffed out her frustration and walked away. “If any of you girls pull that stunt, no one guy from here will go near you,” he cautioned, and returned to his seat right after I did.

A guard headed to our table and he got ahold of the girl’s arm and escorted her out. Nearby customers returned to their conversations, but one table shot us reproving glances.

Bri came to our table with their dishes and my beverage.

Joel took two of the plates from Brianna and placed them on the table. “That catty shit is only allowed in the bedroom,” he added and winked at Bri. Rylan hit him on the side of his head.

“You’re incorrigible, Joel,” Bri said.

“Not if the right woman puts me in my place.”

Her hands made an abortive gesture and he gave her a look that said “your loss.” He sprinkled some Adobo onto his chicken tenders and tostones. Then he plopped three tostones into his mouth.

“Flag me if you need anything else.”

“Thanks, Bri,” I said.

Rylan freed himself from the girls sitting on either side of him. He started on his meal. “Tell me,” he said after he swallowed a smile bite of his baked potato, “who’s that girl with Cassidy over there?”

I whipped around to see Cassidy sitting at the counter with Beth, who looked edible in a black top with loose sleeves and a slit in each of them. Her neckline was covered, but the back of her shirt was cut out in a heart shape, which bared her flawlessly smooth back. The end of the heart shape swirled to show the curve of her lower back. The front of my jeans tightened. Her fire engine red jeans fit her snugly. She had on those black heels on from earlier today.

Beth had curled her hair so it framed her face. She wore red lip gloss, with no makeup on. The contrast in her styled hair and attire with her practically naked face was killing me. Her blue eyes met mine. Her cheeks tinged a rosy red and she turned away.

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