“I have to take this,” he grated through a clenched jaw.
Darnell Senior nodded. He knew the score. “Do your thing, my boy. Just be careful. You want me to cover for you?”
“Yeah.” Arnie bent and swiftly kissed the old man’s cheek. “Let Dad know.”
They looked at each other as emotions swirled around them.
“Love you, Granddad.”
He punched buttons on his phone, turned around, and walked away.
“Go for Temple four-nine,” he said into the phone.
The brunch shift Summer covered turned out to be lucrative tip-wise. A party of girlfriend coeds getting ready to head back to college for the new semester commandeered half her station and hung around for an extra hour. They were super cool and tipped with gusto because one of the gals said they’d all waitressed and knew the downside to clogging a table.
Before clocking out, she’d been in the team room stuffing tamales into her mouth when the frazzled daytime hostess ran in, reeking of desperation, and begged her to cover a lunch shift. It was an easy decision. If she earned enough in tips today, then she might theoretically buy herself some downtime—time to spend with Arnie.
She agreed, asked for fifteen minutes to finish eating and freshen up, and then suffered through the hostess’s groveling thanks.
In the ladies’ room, she took her time getting ready and let her thoughts wander.
Telling her lusty lover she’d foregone panties this morning had ended exactly the way she knew it would. Only with an amusing twist.
Instead of driving away, Arnie circled back to the farthest, out-of-the-way corner of the hotel parking area and found a secluded spot. What happened after would make a great script for a porn video.
The red-hot lust burning in Arnie’s eyes got her trembling in no time. Apparently, bare pussy hidden underneath a flouncy skirt ignited her man’s crude side. He made her lie back in an awkward front seat way and spread her legs for a thorough inspection. With narration.
With her shaking fingers holding the skirt out of the way, he made her watch what he did to her body. Holy hotness. She came. And came. It got messy. He laughed. She blushed.
When the time came to don her undies, he grinned and spent an inordinate amount of time making sure the cotton crotch covered her adequately.
Men! Sheesh! She giggled at her reflection and smirked.
Then she remembered how he asked for her phone and made a production out of entering his cell number. He was tied up with family business, but she was to call him when work was over. They had tentative plans for dinner and a movie.
Before heading out onto the floor, she stashed her purse in a locker and tied on an apron. Just a few more hours and they’d be together again. The thought was exhilarating. She was falling in love with the handsome, sexy sun god.
A snap decision was made, one she vowed not to overthink. As soon as she had five minutes, she was going to research what was available in the New York City job market and check out college transfer options. She was close to nailing down her degree requirements, but with part-time as her only option, she still had more to do.
Was she being foolish? Capricious? Summer didn’t think so. Yeah, the Arnie situation was extraordinarily weird, but it was also completely perfect at the same time. She wasn’t married to California, and let’s face it, making big life decisions was what people her age did.
In the spring, she’d turn twenty-five—old enough to know what she wanted—and right now, she wanted to keep exploring the chemistry between her and the man turning life upside down.
If she was afraid of change or fearful of the challenges ahead, now was the time to speak up.
When she detected no naysaying or a doomsday Debbie moaning warnings in her head, her mind was made up.
Arnie was her future.
As she stepped into the busy flow of waitress and busboy traffic, Summer smiled at everyone she saw. Life was good, and she was excited to see what the fates had in store for her.
In the room of a cheap motel, an old-school alarm clock on the nightstand made a ticking sound when the numbers changed.
Arnie checked his watch. The Mission Impossible-style instructions he’d received were something his extensive training and experience made almost humdrum normal. The second he answered the call and gave his call sign, he stepped through the looking glass into another world.