Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 42959 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 215(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42959 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 215(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
He couldn’t take his gaze away from her. She was so stunning as she smiled at all the customers, greeting them with kindness. He saw how the regulars adored her, especially the elderly ones. They’d offer her a smile, trying to help her keep up.
She passed him several times without seeing him, and then, when it got slow, she seemed to realize he was there.
Bell stopped in front of him on the opposite side of the counter. “I heard you’d been waiting to be served. How long have you been waiting?” she asked, nibbling on her lip.
He chanced a glance at the time. “Only a couple of minutes.” He’d been there twenty.
“Don’t lie. I’m so sorry. I have no idea what’s going on. It’s so busy, but this is good news. I can’t lose my job.” She placed a hand on his. “Think about what you want, I’ll be right back.”
He hadn’t trusted her. Tank felt like the biggest fucking asshole. Bell couldn’t ever find out that he doubted her.
Sipping at his coffee, he felt a tingle at the back of his neck and frowned. Without giving anything away, he sipped at his coffee and pretended to be eyeing the posters and the horrible décor. He couldn’t see why he felt like someone was watching him, but he knew this feeling well. Tank trusted his intuition.
His gut was telling him someone was at the diner, and he’d trusted his gut so many times. It had never let him down, but he couldn’t see anyone that he’d consider an enemy.
****
Bell was so tired. No, this was more than tired. This went into exhaustion territory.
“My feet hate me right now,” she said, whimpering.
Tank held on to the handles of his bike. “You know, we could make it to your apartment faster if you had a little faith in my riding,” he said.
“They’re death traps,” she said. “I humored you before, but I think it’s better if I keep both feet on the ground.” Bell hated how tempted she was. She shouldn’t even be considering getting on that thing again, but her feet hurt, like, a whole lot.
She did the double shift often. Since losing her other job, she’d been trying to get as many extra shifts as possible, but the work was rarely there. There wasn’t a whole lot of work out there either.
She wanted to cry at her unfair bad luck, but there would be no tears. This was life.
Life sucked sometimes, but at least she was alive.
Bell stopped and looked at the bike. Would it be so bad this once? One bike ride wouldn’t hurt, would it?
“You’re tempted,” he said.
“Stop.”
“Why? Your feet are hurting you. It makes sense to use me, to use this, and to allow your feet to get the rest they need. Would it be so hard to give in?” he asked.
It wouldn’t be so hard.
Her feet hurt so bad.
And she did love the feel of having him in her arms.
“Fine,” she said, hating herself for caving. She was doing this for the good of her feet and the fact she had a double shift tomorrow as well. Not at all because she wanted her arms and legs wrapped around his hard body. “But you have to go real slow. Like, slowly slow.”
“Slowly slow?”
She nodded. “My brain isn’t working right now.”
“I can handle that.” Tank straddled his bike, and she hated to admit that he did look hot doing that. In control. Commanding. Hers?
It was official. Tiredness had affected her ability to think. She was doomed. In a big way.
“Climb on,” he said
“What about a helmet?”
“I didn’t bring one.”
“This is a bad idea. The worst idea I could have had.”
“Bell, I’m not going to go fast. You’ve done this before. I won’t let anything happen to you. Climb on.”
Glancing down the long stretch of road, she couldn’t think of a logical reason as to why she shouldn’t be doing this. “Fine. You’re right,” she said. She shoved her bag to the back.
Bell was grateful that she’d decided to wear jeans. She’d changed into her uniform at the diner, and before leaving, she’d changed back into her jeans.
Holding on to Tank’s shoulder, she swung her leg over the side of the bike. At the same time, her heart raced, and she tried to tell herself she was doing the right thing. In the back of her mind, her grandmother was berating her. Telling her she was being naughty, and that if she’d used her brain back in high school, she wouldn’t be in this mess.
She had used her brain in high school. She’d gotten good grades, but affording college, that had been a laugh. Working one job after another, that had been her life long before she was eighteen.
“Hold on to me,” Tank said.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her face against his back. “Like this?”