Red: Little Italy 6 P.M.
I had never even heard of a place called Little Italy, but if she wanted to go there, then so be it. I had my GPS. As long as I had that, I could find any place.
Me: See you there, gorgeous.
Red: I’m rolling my eyes.
I laughed.
I didn’t doubt for one second she was rolling her eyes at me, and I loved it. She had a way of making me smile about the smallest of things.
I showered after having been on the yacht for a good part of the day and dressed for my outing with Shannon. Putting the restaurant’s address into my GPS, I was happy to see she kept us in town for the evening.
I got to the restaurant before her, but instead of a valet out front to park my car, I had to drive around the packed lot until I found a space to squeeze my car into.
I didn’t go inside. Instead, I waited on the side of the entrance for her to get there. Even though it wasn’t a date and I hadn’t picked her up, I still felt like it was rude to go in and have a seat before she got there.
She pulled up in an older Toyota, the bumper plastered with bumper stickers and tape across the back window. The car was blue and rusty, and seeing as how she had her window down, I assumed there was no air conditioning. It was fall, but we were in South Carolina, and the night was exceptionally warm.
She pulled into a parking spot close to my car, which I’d recently gotten back from the shop. She had chosen the restaurant. Anywhere I would have chosen would have parked our cars for us.
She didn’t see me when she started toward the building, and I didn’t do anything to draw attention to myself. Watching her without her knowing she was being watched was intriguing. She repeatedly smoothed down her clothes and tugged her shirt down as if she couldn’t cover herself enough. Little did she know she looked amazing.
The dark leggings she was wearing molded to her long, thick legs, and when she dropped her keys and had to turn and bend over to get them, I wanted to take a bite out of her luscious ass. It was wide and round, perfect for grabbing when I fucked her from behind.
The light top she wore was thin and caught the breeze while she walked. It kept slipping down, the plunging neckline allowing me a peek of her cleavage when the wind caught it. Her hair was down, red waves sliding across her flushed cheek. Using a finger, she pulled at a strand stuck to her glossed lips. They shined under the parking lot lights like beacons calling me to kiss her.
She paused at the sidewalk and took a deep breath. She was nervous, and it was fucking adorable. I moved from my spot and caught her attention just as she stepped onto the sidewalk outside the restaurant entrance.
“Oh, hey,” she said. “I didn’t see you there.”
“You look hot.”
It was the truth.
Her brows tilted down. “Wow. Really? Way to make a girl swoon there, Matthew.”
She moved away from me and started to open the door to the Italian restaurant she’d decided on. It wasn’t Bellacino’s, my favorite five-star Italian place, but it was food.
Reaching out, I pressed my palm on the glass door, keeping her from pulling it open.
“That was a compliment.”
“If you say so.” She shrugged.
She confused me. Most girls would have blushed and taken the compliment and ran with it.
Not Shannon.
She kept me on my toes.
I needed to up my game for this girl.
Pulling the door open for her, I moved to the side to let her in. “Ladies first.”
She grinned at me and shook her head before entering the restaurant.
I fell in behind her, my eyes taking in her thighs and ass as she walked.
“Table for two?” the hostess asked, her eyes moving over me.
She smiled at me and ran her fingers through her long blond hair. Shannon didn’t miss the girl’s actions, but instead of getting upset, she chuckled and rolled her eyes.
“Yes, please.”
The hostess grabbed two menus and turned away from us. “Follow me.”
The restaurant was packed with families eating dinner and large groups. It was nothing like the regular places I frequented for dinner. The expensive places where I usually ate had secluded tables and soft music. Arranged lighting with a relaxed ambiance and a breeze off the water cutting through the open doors.
This was a blue-collar family restaurant. The lighting was cheap and dangling over each table, and instead of soft mood music, there was the clinking of silverware on plates, mumbled conversations mixing together to make a long hum, and the sound of crying babies.
It was the least romantic place I had ever been.
Not that I was going for romance.
I wasn’t.
I was going to have sex, and if I had to eat cold pasta and drink cheap wine to do it, then so be it.
I followed Shannon and the hostess, my eyes taking in the cut-rate place settings and tacky Italian décor. Fake plants covered in dust hung from the light fixtures, and a wall of lattice, also covered in dusty fake greenery, separated parts of the restaurant.
I could see what they were going for, but I had actually been to Italy, and they weren’t even close.
“I hope you find something here you like,” the hostess said as she stopped in front of our table.
I slid into the only secluded booth in the back and smiled up at her since it was obvious she was talking to me.
“Thank you,” I said.
“Seriously.” She grinned. “Anything you want in this restaurant we’ll make sure you get.”
She was offering herself to me.
Right in front of Shannon.
We weren’t on a date, but the little blond hostess didn’t know that.
Before I could open my mouth to respond, Shannon cut me off.
“He gets it. You’re available. He can have you if he wants you. We’ll be sure to pencil you in on the menu next to the fish and crab rolls,” she deadpanned.
I burst into laughter, and the hostess’ eyes went large and round.
She backed away with an awkward smile and turned around.
“Poor girl,” I said. “Her face was priceless.”
Shannon giggled behind her hand, and it was nice to see a genuine reaction from her.
“But for real, that doesn’t get annoying?” she asked.
“What?”
She looked at me like I was stupid. “Women throwing themselves at you like that.”
I chuckled, leaning back in the booth and taking in the area around me. “No. What man in his right mind would be annoyed by that?”
It was nice to be honest with her. It was different, but then again, so was she, so it made sense.
“I guess you have me there.”
She picked up her menu, and her eyes traveled over the items.
“So what’s good here?” I asked, picking up my own menu.
Her eyes peeked over the top of the tri-folded laminated listing of foods, and I could see the smile in them. “You mean other than little miss blond hostess?”
I snickered. “Yes. Other than little miss blond hostess.”
“Try the stuffed chicken parmesan. It’s delicious.”
Our waiter came soon after to put in our drink and appetizer order, and once we were alone again, I got straight to the point.
“So tell me something about yourself,” I said.
Strangely, I wanted to know more about her.
She was mysterious and shuttered, and I knew getting to know her a bit would be like trying to jump a fifty-foot wall, but I had to at least break the ice.
“What do you want to know?”
Leaning forward, I tapped my chin and grinned as I thought of something to ask. Going straight for the personal stuff would scare her off, so I went for something easy.
“Have you always lived in Charleston?”
“No. I was born at the hospital here, but I was raised in Somersby. I moved here a few years ago for work.�
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I nodded.
Made sense.
Somersby was a much smaller town, and there wasn’t anything there. Jonathan and Curtis had grown up there, as well, and their father still owned the lake house where they used to live. On occasion, we would go out there for the weekend and throw a party, but we had since grown away from the lake and now lived along the coastal waters.
“What about you?’ she asked.
“Born and raised. Grew up in Mount Pleasant.”
“So you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth then?”
I chuckled. “Something like that.”
My family had money. I had money. I wasn’t going to deny it. I didn’t need to.
“Okay, my turn. What do you do for fun?”
She started to tell me, but the waiter returned with our drinks and appetizers. He took our order and left us with a plate of stuffed mushrooms, which were surprisingly good.
She ate.
Not like most girls I was around who nibbled at their salads and pretended to be full.
No.
Shannon devoured her stuffed mushrooms without shame, and I found myself comfortable enough to enjoy my food, as well.
“So you never answered.”
“Okay. What was the question again?”
“What do you do for fun?”
She paused with her fork at her mouth. A chunk of cheesy mushroom dangling from the tip.
“Nothing exciting really. Sometimes I go out with friends. We used to do game nights on Wednesdays before Lilly met Devin but not so much now. Mostly, I work.” She shook her head and chuckled. “I know. I’m a wild woman. I’m super interesting.”
Her sarcasm was thick.
“You are.”
She looked at me as if I were full of shit, but I meant it.
Sure, she didn’t live a wild party life, but there was so much more to her than what she showed me. Most women I knew were as deep as a puddle, but I believed Shannon had an ocean’s worth of depth behind her eyes.
“I can only imagine the things you do for fun,” she said, taking her bite and covering her mouth to chew.
I laughed.
“Yeah. I tend to stay as busy as possible.”
“Do you work?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Kind of. My family and I own a lot of property and businesses around here. I mostly just have to show my face, and the work does itself.”
Her eyes were large as she listened to me.
“I couldn’t imagine not having to work. I would go nuts without something to do.”
“I find things to do. I travel a ton.”
And I did.
I had been all over the world. It was a beautiful thing.
“Lucky,” she said, grinning over her glass of sweet tea.
“Maybe I’ll take you one day. If you could go anywhere, where would you go?”
She set her glass down and wiped her mouth with her napkin.
“That’s a hard one. I guess if I could go anywhere, it would be Hawaii. I heard a tribe there worships plus-size women. I would love to be worshipped.” She laughed.
My eyes dipped to her chest, taking in her luscious form. She had large breasts and a smaller waist. And I knew under the table, she was hiding thick thighs and a wide, round ass that could take a pounding. She had no idea how hot she was.
“No need to go that far. I’ll worship you here in Charleston. No problem.”
Her throat bobbed up and down as she swallowed her food. She paused, her eyes moving over my face.
“Do you have a file of sexual comebacks tucked away in that brain of yours? You can literally turn anything I say into something sexual.” She chuckled.
She hadn’t even blinked at my flirting.
“It’s a gift.” I chuckled, leaning back in my seat.
“I’ll say. I bet most women love it.”
“Most, but not you. You’re not falling for any of it, are you?”
She grinned. “Not even a little bit. I’m not dumb. I know you probably say everything you’re saying to me to every woman you come across. I think I’ll know when you say something genuine.”
I examined her face.
Her smile.
Her knowing eyes.
I liked her.
And what was worse … I was having fun.
“What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?” I asked, needing to know if she had a wild side she could let loose.
She snorted. “You mean besides what I’m doing with you right here and now? Nothing. I always wanted to do something extreme. Like maybe a piercing or a tattoo, but I’m not that crazy. I wish I could be more like that, but it’s as if I was born an old lady or something. Sorry to tell you … I’m boring.”
“You should let loose more. You’re only young once.”
She shrugged. “Yeah. Maybe one day I’ll get a tattoo and dye my hair purple.”
“Now that would be a shame.”
“But you just said I should be crazy.”
“Yeah, you should, but dying your hair would be a crime. People pay good money for beautiful red locks like that.” I pointed at her head. “I love your hair.”
And I did.
It was long and auburn, and sometimes when the light hit it the right way, it looked fire red. It was gorgeous, and I couldn’t wait to wrap it around my hand and tug on it.
Her cheeks turned pink, and she looked away.
“Thank you.”
“Maybe we’ll go to the piercing place on our next outing.”
She laughed. “Yeah. Oookay.”
Our night followed that pattern. Asking each other questions and getting to know one another. Our food came. We ate. We drank. And I had a real conversation with a real person. One who made me genuinely laugh.
As the night went on, I found myself thinking less about sex and more about the things I could do to bring her out of her shell and put a smile on her face. Because if I were to say one genuine thing to Shannon, other the fact that I loved her hair, it was that her smile had a way of making the dim restaurant around us a lot brighter.
We were about to order dessert when her cell phone lit up. She looked at the phone as if she was unfamiliar with the number and then accepted the call.
“Excuse me,” she said, holding up a finger.
She chatted on the phone with the other person, and I watched as her happy smile dropped and her face paled.
“Okay. I’m on my way,” she said into the phone.
“Something wrong?” I asked after she hung up the call.
“Yes. I have to go. Lilly’s in the hospital. Something terrible happened to her.” She tossed her things in her purse before digging out her wallet and tossing a fifty-dollar bill on the table—as if I would let her pay for her food. “I’m so sorry I have to run. We’ll set something up soon.”
And before I could even respond or tell her to keep her money, she stormed out, leaving me at the table.
TEN
SHANNON
I DIDN’T HAVE TIME TO THINK again until I left the hospital. It was a flurry of running from one room to another, looking for Lilly’s exact location. Stairs and elevators were taken, and my feet were killing me since I my uncomfortable shoes were not suitable for running or walking. It took nearly forty-five minutes, but thanks to a nurse who was actually willing to do her job, I found her in the intensive care unit after she’d been transported to the hospital by ambulance.
After fighting my way inside, because I wasn’t technically family, and seeing exactly how she was doing, there were phone calls and arrangements to be made for her mother, who was vacationing in New York, to get her back to South Carolina. And on top of all that was the debilitating stress and anxiety of knowing my best friend was in a coma.
Once again, I was face to face with the destruction of man. Lilly had been beaten nearly to death by a group of men. She was protecting Devin’s little sister, keeping her from being raped. It was just like Lilly to play
the hero, and I was thankful Jenny, Devin’s sister, had a protector. I never did, and the consequences left me burned and broken beyond repair. But at the same time, seeing my best friend wounded was killing me.
Internal bleeding and swelling on her brain. That was what being the hero got her.
The doctor filled me and Devin in, and the floor beneath my feet seemed to jerk and shake with every word he said.
“I think if we can get the swelling around her brain down, I’ll feel a lot better about her prognosis. Right now, it’s hard to say. She could wake up at any time, or she could be in this comatose state for a while longer. There’s no way to know until the swelling goes down. We have her on some antibiotics to fight any infection and pain medication to keep her comfortable. I’ll know more as soon as the rest of the test results come in.”
Seeing her in the hospital bed, her face swollen so terribly she wasn’t recognizable and machines pushing oxygen into her lungs, was too much. It was like a memo from God—a reminder of what men were capable of. Seeing her that way made me wonder what I was doing with Matthew.
Devin stood to the side while I held Lilly’s delicate hand and cried over her. Memories mixed with reality floated around my brain, giving me a severe bout of motion sickness. Whispering encouraging words and promises I knew she couldn’t hear, I patted her hand, letting the tears slide over my cheeks.
I stayed by her side as much as I could, but I had to leave when it was time to go to work. I was covering both of our shifts for Mrs. Franklin, but I kept my phone glued to my fingers in case there were any updates. If I didn’t hear anything for a few hours, I would call the hospital to check on her. So much, in fact, the nurses at the front desk were becoming familiar with my voice.
Once I closed the doors for the day, I’d go home, shower, and head right back to the hospital.
Matthew had texted a few times, but I ignored him.
I couldn’t think about him and the bizarre situation I’d gotten myself into at the moment. Not when all the reasons I decided to stay away from men were slammed in my face again. It was like reliving my terrible prom night except much worse because it was my best friend.
Hot & Heavy (Chubby Girl Chronicles Book 2) Page 9
