Page 3 of Stonewall

So very tired.

“Order up,” Zeb, the cook, yelled, bringing me out of my head. Zeb always yelled. He was around seventy, bald, cranky, and hard of hearing. But I loved him anyway. Zeb was one of the only things I liked about this place. He looked out for me in his own way, and I appreciated that having so little of that growing up.

I grabbed the food order of burgers and fries and took them to Goose and Teller, two members of the Fire Dragons MC, and watchdogs for Flex. But, of course, I’m sure they never told him how they tried to have sex with me constantly, never missing an opportunity to hit on me.

I quickly put the plates in front of the men and backed away before they could get handsy. That’s when I notice him sitting in the corner.

Shit, he was hot. And when his green eyes met mine, I saw something, a knowing or understanding; I’m not sure which, but it made me uncomfortable like he saw inside my head. I must be imagining things caused by lack of sleep. I took a breath and put on my work face, and went to take his order. His eyes were watching me the whole time.

He was even more handsome up close. He looked to be in his mid-late twenties, with light blond hair, short and neat with a slight curl, clean -shaven, deep green eyes, thin but kissable lips, and his nose had a bump in the middle like it had been broken at some point. He looked tall but sitting down; I couldn’t tell; lean but muscular body I could tell was covered in tattoos under that black Henley and blue jeans, and when he smiled, there was a slight gap between his two front teeth that shouldn’t look as sexy as it did.

And I had no doubt he was a biker; it was written all over him. I grew up living in a clubhouse so that I could spot one a mile away. I didn’t need a cut to identify one.

That cooled my interest, not that I was in a position to act on anything. But, this man was the first guy I had felt any attraction to in a very long time.

I apologized for his wait and saw his jaw tighten when his eyes moved over my face and down my arms, making me want to put my hands there to cover what I knew he saw. When the bruises were still fresh, it was harder to cover with makeup. I needed to get away from this man; his eyes saw too much. I took his order, trying to hide myself from those penetrating eyes and too-knowing smile.

I mumbled I would be right back and hurried away from his table toward the bar. I stood at the bar, taking a minute to breathe.

What the hell was that?And who was he?

I gave his order to Blair, the bleach blonde fifty-year-old bartender, who thought she was still twenty and dressed and acted like it. The only way to get along with Blair was to let her have all the male attention; if you went out of your way to attract a man she wanted, Blair would make your shift as unpleasant as possible.

Which meant I never had a problem with Blair. The last thing I needed was another asshole in my life.

“Here you go, Brooke,” Blair said in her raspy voice that gave proof of her two-pack-a-day cigarette habit.

“Thanks, Blair,” I replied, picking up the beer.

“He’s a hot piece,” Blair remarked, licking her upper lip while her eyes ate up the stranger in the corner.

I gave an indifferent shrug. “I suppose I hadn’t noticed,” I lied, returning to his table and sitting the mug in front of him. “Anything else I can get you?”

Instead of answering the question, he gave one of his own. “Can I ask your name?” I glanced behind me to make sure Goose and Teller weren’t listening and were busy. Each had a woman on their lap.

“Why do you want to know my name?”

“Why not? If you don’t tell me, then I will just call you crystal eyes,” he declared with a teasing smile.

Why did his words and that smile make my stomach flutter?

“Brooke,” I told him, surprising myself that I gave him my name. I never wore a nametag here; most everyone knew me.

“Brooke, I like it. It fits you. I’m Lenny. How long have you worked here?”

“Look, Lenny, I’m not trying to be a bitch, but why the questions?” My gut said there was more to Lenny being here than just that beer sitting in front of him.

“No reason. I’m in the area on a job and just looking for conversation.”

“Uh, huh, I think I get it. I’m not crawling into bed with you if that’s what you want,” I said angrily. Feeling hurt for some reason that he thought I was easy. I shouldn’t be feeling anything. I didn’t know him.

His eyes widened. “Whoa, back up, Brooke. I don’t make a habit of sleeping with women I just met. I was only curious how long you worked here because this place and you don’t match,” he retorted somewhat defensively.

“Hey Brooke, get your ass over here!” Goose yelled from his table. I looked over my shoulder to see him and Teller watching us. Hell and damnation, they would run to Flex and tell him I was hitting on Lenny.

I saw Lenny’s eyes had narrowed as he looked at the men and looked as if he might say something. “I need to get back to work,” I told him, turning on my heel to go see what Goose wanted. I heard Lenny say, “See you tomorrow, crystal eyes.” I stiffened my back at hearing his words, but part of me was glad he would be back.

“What did that fucker want? He hit on you?” Goose snarled. I almost laughed out loud at the fake concern from Goose, like he gave a shit about me.

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