My Grumpy Old Bear - Jayda Marx Page 0,4
And yours is?”
“Noah.”
“I love that name. So, Noah, would you do me the honor of going out with me tonight? We can just get to know each other. I’ll help you forget all about that selfish bastard.”
I should have said no. My heart was aching and it was a terrible time to try and connect with another person, but the prospect of forgetting about Brooks and the pain he’d caused me was too enticing to ignore. Part of me wanted to agree to the date out of pure spite, so I did. “Okay.” I scribbled my name and number on a napkin and handed it to Kevin. “I get off at 5:30.”
“I’ll call you then.” He smiled and squeezed my hand before dropping it.
I scrambled inside without looking back. I couldn’t bear to see Brooks, especially if he was wearing a satisfied expression over getting rid of me. I hoped to god he never came back here. I couldn’t see him everyday. I sure as hell couldn’t wait on him, especially now. I found Jess behind the counter gathering baskets onto a tray.
“Hey Jess, can I ask you for a huge favor?”
My friend’s pretty brown eyes pinched up in concern. “Of course. What is it?”
“Can you take my outside tables? I’ll switch you for all of yours inside. You can even keep the tips.”
Jess peeked around me to the area outside. “Wait, isn’t that your crush out there? Why don’t you want to wait on him? You’re always ecstatic when he comes in.”
My heart sank even further. “He doesn’t want me, Jess,” I replied quietly. “He just basically told me to stay away from him.”
My friend gasped. “I’ll kill him.” Jess was a tiny lady, but she had a massive personality. Her temper was as fiery as the red hair she kept piled on top of her head in a messy bun.
“No you won’t,” I sighed. “He’s allowed to not like me, even if it hurts.”
She set down her tray and wrapped me in a tight hug. For a little thing, she could give a good squeeze. “I’m so sorry, babe. Of course I’ll take your tables. Do you need to go home?”
I smiled at her thoughtfulness. “Nah, it’s crazy here; I’m not gonna leave you alone. Besides, I think I need to keep my mind busy right now.”
“I understand.” She gave me a sad smile. “I’m here for you, okay? If you need anything, just let me know.”
“Thanks, Jess.”
I busied myself with food orders and drink refills, trying to rid my mind of a certain sexy storm cloud.
*****
Brooks
I glared at the man sitting at the table next to me once Noah disappeared. “You’re a slimy son of a bitch, you know that?”
He sneered at me. “Hey, you had your chance with him and you pissed it away.”
“And you were right there to take advantage of him when he’s hurting, weren’t you? Do you get off on preying on vulnerable young men?”
“I didn’t take advantage of anyone. I asked him out and he said yes. He had the option of saying no.”
Technically he was right, but I was still pissed off. “You don’t know anything about him.”
“What should I know?”
Did the guy actually think I was going to help him? “That he’s too good for you.”
Kevin scoffed. “And he’s not too good for you?”
“Of course he fucking is! That’s why I let him go, you arrogant fuck!” ‘Fuck’ was my favorite word when I got mad. It had a good mouthfeel and packed a punch. Kevin was undeterred by any of my words, though. He simply huffed a laugh and went back to perusing his menu.
I stewed in my chair, waiting for Noah to come back. He surely hated me now, with good reason, but I needed to warn him to stay away from Douche McFuckface over there. I didn’t want the sweet man getting hurt. After several minutes of plotting Kevin’s untimely death, I saw a figure emerge from the café. But it wasn’t Noah. I recognized the girl as Jess, Noah’s friend that he talked about sometimes. Over the past month, Noah had told me many little tidbits about his life and his friends, and I’d memorized every one. And then I told him we weren’t friends.
I did it with the best intentions, but I couldn’t help but think I went about it the wrong way. Especially when Jess shot me an evil glare from across the patio. She was obviously out here to take over Noah’s tables,