Never Let Me Forget (Summer of First Kisses Book 2)

by Michelle Pennington

  “That would drive me crazy. I mean, my parents give me money every once in a while, but only for necessities. I…well, I don’t like not having control over what I need and how I get my money. That’s why I’ve been working since I was fifteen.”

  I sighed, thinking of how amazing it would be to get paid for doing a job. “Yeah. Maybe I should get a job where I can work nights.”

  “There are always openings for waitresses at the restaurant where I work. You could work a few nights a week. Since it’s a seafood place, the bills are all high and the tips are great.”

  “Maybe.”

  Dante sat up as if he meant business. “Really. You should. And it’s a great way to meet people.”

  Scrunching my nose up, I tried to figure out why he thought that was an inducement. “Not for me.”

  “Sure it is. I bet that you’d have so many guys hitting on you that within a week, you’d finally believe me about how hot you are.”

  “Oh, so that’s it. You’re just worried about your guilty conscience.”

  “Yes. I am. Let me prove it to you.”

  “It wouldn’t prove anything. No one would look twice at me and they’d all just wish they’d gotten on of the other waitresses.”

  “No way. It’s more likely I’d have to crack some heads.” He looked a little hopeful about that, which made me laugh.

  “There is no way that seeing me in those short cutoffs they wear and watching me be completely clueless would convince anyone that I was hot.”

  Dante leaned close and stared straight into my eyes. I’d never noticed before how piercing they were, or how they sparkled when he was excited about something. “Okay, let’s make a bet. If a guy leaves you his number, asks for yours, or asks you out, I win.”

  “What would I get if they don’t?”

  He grinned and shrugged. “Whatever you want.”

  “Confident, huh? Okay. I just want a first kiss so I can move on. Maybe Piper was right and I’m putting way too much pressure on myself to find the right person when what I need to do is figure out what I want I like. So, if no one asks me out, I’m going to need a plan B to make that happen. If I win, you make sure I get my first kiss.”

  “If it’s such a big deal to you, I could just kiss you now. It’s not that big a deal.”

  Frowning, I pushed back on his chest. “That’s just it. I want it to be a big deal.”

  He took the clue and put some distancing between us. “Who says it wouldn’t be?”

  My face flamed. Must be time for more sunscreen for me too. I reached for the bottle and started putting more on. “There have to be feelings and attraction involved. It would just be awkward if we kissed.

  “You never know.” He looked down as he brushed sand off my towel, his expression pensive. When he looked up again, his tone had lightened. “Okay, so your first kiss has to mean something. But you have to start somewhere, you know? Why don’t you come down tomorrow and put in an application? I’ll introduce you to Betsy, the manager. She loves me so if I recommend you, you’ll definitely get the job.”

  “I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

  Dante grinned. “You can’t wimp out now. We have a bet.”

  “We never shook on it.”

  He grabbed my hand, gripping my hand with his. The strength and shape of his palm and fingers were so different from mine and his skin was softer than I expected. Strange how I’d never before even noticed Dante’s hands, but after he’d put sunscreen on my back and touched my waist underwater and sealed our bet with a handshake, that had changed. I needed to redirect my attention.

  “Madison, if you’re going to swim some more, you need to do it now. We need to get you home in time to meet your mom.”

  She didn’t need any more encouragement. As she dashed out into the water, I started to get up and follow her, but Dante stopped me. “Don’t forget about your back.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t you want sunscreen on your back? It’s already looking a little pink.”

  I’d been about to say, “Heck no!” but that made me pause. “I guess you’d better. Really quick though.” I couldn’t handle another drawn-out sunscreen session.

  He was quicker this time, but just as thorough. Just when I thought he was done, Dante’s finger followed the trail of my spine, brushing along it with a feather-light touch. As chill bumps and tingles erupted along my skin, racing over my shoulders and down my arms, and alarming suspicion hit me. I spun around, glaring at him. “You aren’t by any chance flirting with me, are you?”

  Grinning, with no hint of shame, he shrugged. “No.”

  “You are! Why? I know you like to ensnare every girl who gets within your orbit, but you’ve never tried it with your friends before.”

  “I just thought you could use some cheering up.”

  Embarrassed, because it had been working, and oddly hurt for reasons I didn’t want to examine, I pressed my lips together and fought to control myself before speaking. “Well, don’t bother wasting your talents on me.”

  He held his hands up in a gesture of surrender but didn’t argue. “Relax, Sadie.”

  “Relax? Go captivate that one girl…Brittany. Aren’t you two, like, a thing?”

  “Brittany? He laughed. “No, no. We’re just friends.”

  “Oh, right.”

  Realizing that I hadn’t been paying attention to Madison, I rushed into the water, both to find her and to get away from him. He followed me though.

  “Seriously. Brittany’s mom asked mine if I could introduce her to some people and make friends since they just moved here. She’s going to be a senior next year, so she’s younger than us, but I thought she could have someone to hang out with over the summer before school started. But that’s as far as it goes.”

  Having located Madison, perfectly safe in the shallows, I stopped and examined his expression. He looked like he was telling the truth, but Dante was a master at looking innocent and charming. “Okay. You’re not interested in Brittany. You’re just friends with the gorgeous, red-headed new girl you’re hanging out with.”

  His smile was more dazzling than the glint of sunlight off the water. “Exactly. Glad we got that settled. And while we’re at it, I am also not interested in Lori at the restaurant.”

  “What about Angie or Beth or Maryanne?”

  “Ooh, I don’t think I know them, but I wouldn’t mind an invitation.”

  “Sorry, Cassanova, but I made them up.”

  He reached back with his right hand and splashed water into my face. “Now who’s flirting?”

  Reaching up, I wiped the saltwater out of my eyes. “You. Still you. I was teasing. There’s a difference.”

  “Not much of one.” He winked at me then, and I would have come up with a good response—a killer one—if Madison hadn’t come up then to show me a sand dollar she’d found.

  Dante stayed with us until we were ready to leave. Or rather, until I was ready to leave and managed to drag Madison away with me. He helped me gather my stuff and then carried my bag back to my car.

  As I got into the car and started it, I left the door open to let out some of the hot air and blasted the air conditioner on high while Madison got in and got buckled. Dante leaned on my open door and looked down at me with glinting eyes. “I go to work at four. You should come in around that time too so it won’t be busy yet and I can introduce you to the manager.”

  Now that it was starting to feel like a real thing and not just an idea, my stomach fluttered with nerves. “Four o’clock. Got it. What should I wear?”

  “Probably not what you have on now, unfortunately.”

  There he went again. Flirting. “Cut it out. Something casual or something dressy?”

  “For the The Captain’s Kitchen? I can guarantee that if you wear something fancy, Mack is not going to hire you.”

  Since I was familiar with the laid-back, beach vibe there, I believed him. “Ok. Any other tips?”

  “Yeah. Be
confident. See you in a bit.”

  Be confident? That was his advice? He might as well tell me to be thin or cool for all the chance I had of being confident “I’ll try. But when I screw this up, we’re going to have to think of something else.”

  “Don’t worry, babe. Have some faith in me.”

  “Don’t call me babe.”

  “Did I do that? Weird. I’ll see you later.”

  But whatever he’d said, I’d seen the gleam of mischief in his eyes. Ugh. Why did I have to friends with Dante the girl-slayer?

  Chapter Five

  When I got to Captain’s at 4:15, I was composed, barely, but not confident. I’d never interviewed for a job before since all I’d ever done was babysit. My parents had always wanted me to focus on my schoolwork even though we had never had much money. But I could do this.

  At least, that’s what I’d been telling myself for the last two and a half hours.

  Confident. Be confident.

  I’d chosen white shorts and a blue and white striped t-shirt to wear with brown sandals. My dark hair was back in a high ponytail that swished around my shoulders, and I had taken a long time over my makeup. I looked about as good as I was going to look, but it didn’t matter. I was still so nervous my palms slipped off the door handle because they were coated with sweat. Sighing, I wiped my palms on my shorts and tried again.

  When I stepped in, the restaurant was calm and quiet with a people seated at a few tables, cheerful waitresses buzzing around like bees, and a pretty, smiling hostess waiting in her station near the door. But as soon as she asked me how many were in my party, I completely froze. I didn’t know if I was supposed to say I wanted to apply for a job or ask for Dante. Playing it safe, I said, “Dante told me to come by because you have some openings for waitresses.”

  “Oh, sure. Let me go find Mack for you.” She turned to go but threw a smile back over her shoulder. “I’ll tell Dante you’re here too.”

  “Thanks.”

  I waited anxiously, looking around every few seconds hoping to see Dante coming toward me, but in the end, it was a big man who looked like a mountain whose peak was rimmed with sparse grey hair striding toward me. His pace and expression hinted that he didn’t have the time or inclination to mess with interruptions like me. I felt a wave of heat rise up neck and flush over my face.

  “Are you Dante’s girl?”

  No, I wasn’t. Except that for these particular circumstances, I was. “Yes. My name is Sadie Davenport.”

  “Well, come on in the back and we’ll talk.”

  I followed him past an intricate network of empty tables, past waitress stations and an open door to the kitchen. I peered through curiously when I heard a sharp clang of metal and a burst of laughter, but Mack strode on without pause. We walked through a door at the back that led into a narrow hallway crammed with shelves of toilet paper, napkins, and giant containers of condiments and spices, then finally into a small, dingy office with fluorescent lights. Mack was so big that he took up most of the space in the room, so I got to add claustrophobia into my mix of discomfort. He gestured for me to sit in one of two chairs in front of his desk that looked like they’d been pulled out of the front of the restaurant. When I sat down, I knew why. They were crazy wobbly.

  Clenching my teeth, I prayed that the rickety chair wouldn’t break beneath my weight. That would have finished me off. Dante would have had to come and carry my sobbing, blubbery mass out to his car and take me home. Spending the summer babysitting for free suddenly didn’t sound so bad.

  Mack gathered a stack of paperwork and stirred through the mess on his desk till he found a pen. “I have to have your application on file so go ahead and fill one out. While you’re at it, fill out all the new employee papers as well. I have to go sign off on a delivery, but when I get back, we can go over the menu and figure out your schedule. You can start training tomorrow, but before you go home, you should go to the kitchen and pick out a few things to eat.” He stood up from his chair but paused before leaving. “That sound okay to you?”

  Realizing that an answer was required of me, I managed to say, “Yes. Great.”

  He nodded and left. I guess I was hired.

  For a while, I worked on filling out the paperwork, the whole time wondering why they needed my birthday and address in so many places. My hand was just starting to cramp when the door opened again. Expecting to see Mack, I braced myself for his intimidating presence but relaxed as soon as I saw it was Dante.

  “How’d it go?” His smile glinted confidently at me.

  “Does anyone else get hired that easily?”

  He laughed. “Only when I recommend them.” When I raised an eyebrow at him, he shrugged. “Or when Mack has fired two people for not showing up for work. When I was telling him about you, he just asked if you’d get here on time for your shifts. I assured him you were reliable and responsible.”

  “Huh.” Exactly the way any girl wants to hear herself described by a hot guy. “Thanks.”

  “You done with all that yet?”

  I looked through the papers and nodded. “I think so. Though I don’t know my car’s license plate number.”

  Dante took the clipboard and tossed it back on the desk. “Eh. Who cares about that? Come on. I’ll take you to the kitchen and introduce you to some people.”

  The perfectionist, rule-following part of me cringed at leaving that last part blank, but Dante was a force of nature so I tossed my pen down too and followed him.

  It was exciting to be allowed back into the kitchen. I hoped my eyes didn’t look as wide as they felt as I looked around. There were giant commercial coolers, rows of gleaming, stainless steel tables and counters, a gas grill next to a flat top stove and three giant deep fryers. There were three cooks, a tall guy with stooped shoulders, an older woman with round, pink cheeks, and a thin ponytail, and a short guy who looked like he belonged more in an MMA cage than a kitchen.

  “This is Sadie, everyone. Mack just hired her. You know what that means.”

  The woman smiled and handed me a menu. “My name is Tyra, sweetie. Go ahead and pick something to try. Mack likes the wait staff to taste everything so they can answer questions.”

  “Yeah, pick anything you want,” the burly dude said. “But pick the fisherman’s platter so we can get most of it out of the way.”

  “That’s Anthony,” Dante said, leaning sideways on the counter in front of us and taking the menu from my limp hands. “And he’s right. It’s the best place to start.”

  “Whatever you guys say.”

  “Fisherman’s Coronary, coming up.” The tall guy said, moving toward a prep station with dozens of compartments all covered in metal lids.

  “Don’t worry,” Dante said, “Calvin likes to joke, but he’s a good cook.”

  “I heard that,” Calvin said as he dredged several fillets in some kind of seasoned breading.

  “What do you want to drink?” Dante asked.

  “I’m fine,” I assured him.

  He chuckled. “Trust me. You’re going to need something to wash all this down.”

  “Oh. Water is fine.” I watched as Calvin dropped the fish in the deep fryer right as Anthony did the same with a whole bunch of smaller things I hadn’t identified yet. “With lemon.

  Dante nodded and rubbed his hand on my shoulder as he left. Why was I so aware of him every time he casually touched me now? Seriously, I could feel the shape of his fingers from where my skin still tingled.

  “So, you and Dante?” Tyra asked, her penciled on eyebrows lifting in interest as she set a bowl of coleslaw in front of me.

  “Me and Dante what?”

  “You know. Are you together? Because things are going to get entertaining around here if you are.”

  “No. We’re just friends.”

  “Too bad,” Calvin said. “You look like a nice one.”

  “That’s because I am.”

  Calvin looked up from the boiling oil and snapped a pair of tongs in
the air. “Too bad Dante doesn’t go for the nice ones.”

  “Well, it’s about time he did,” Tyra said.

  Anthony pulled up the basket of fish fillets, which were now perfectly golden. “Don’t give up—Sadie, right? Boys his age are usually idiots, but sometimes they surprise you.”

  Tyra got a giant white plate off a big stack and used a pair of tongs to put the fish and whatever Calvin had been frying on my plate. “And sometimes they just stay idiots.”

  She put the plate down in front of me and I stared down at the enormous pile of fried seafood. But I was too distracted to pay attention to it. “Um, you guys are all mixed up. I don’t want Dante. Not like that.”

  The three of them just looked back at me for a second. “Well, good for you,” Tyra said.

  “Dante said she was smart.” Calvin used the towel hanging from his apron to wipe up a few drops of oil from the counter.

  But something about their tone made me think they didn’t believe me. “Really.”

  “Really what?” Dante asked, setting a giant glass of ice water with three lemon wedges in front of me.”

  My face felt as hot as Tyra’s looked. “I told them we’re just friends, that I’m not interested in you, and they don’t seem to believe me.”

  He grinned, a shameless, woman-charmer smile. “Are you sure you even believe it.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You’re so annoying.” Completely done with the whole conversation, I picked up the smallest fried lump on the plate and took a bite. It was mushy and oozy and…weird.”

  Desperate to get it out of my mouth, I looked around desperately until I found a trashcan. Running over, I spit it out then dashed over for a drink of water.

  “I guess you don’t like fried oysters,” Dante said, his tone carefully matter-of-fact.

  I glared at him. It was his fault I’d eaten it. Everything was his fault. “I don’t like you either at the moment.”

  Not at all worried about my anger, he reached for a giant fried shrimp and held it close to my mouth. “Try this next and then we’ll be friends again.”

  Did he expect me to eat it from his fingers? No way. I snatched it away. “No problem. I’ll eat shrimp all day long.”