Elodie held Molly’s hand as they left the clinic.
“Do you really think you’ll be okay to work your shift tonight? Monday’s are our busiest shifts, and after getting news like that—”
Molly put her hand up to stop Elodie.
“El, I’m fine. Trust me. The doctor said just to keep an eye on my diet, plus I have to start some kind of food journal now to log what I’m eating. I can work tonight, and if we don’t get to Tiny’s ASAP then we’re both going to be late.”
“Aye aye, Captain.”
Chapter 44
Tiny’s was already extremely busy when the girls walked in, five minutes late. Tiny was standing behind the cash register, finishing with a customer’s payment.
“I’d get mad at you gals for not bein’ on time, but it’s too busy in here for a lecture. Get your aprons on, we already have another group coming in right now.”
Molly whipped around the counter and grabbed her apron from the clothes hook. She looked to where the new group was seated in a corner booth at the far end of the bar. Taking out five menus for the customers, she looked up to do a double-take.
You bastard.
Xander and his friends from the gym were being welcomed by the hostess, and were already the loudest group in the restaurant. Molly had acknowledged long before this day that she had the spine of a jellyfish when it came to confrontation, but something in her clicked the minute she spotted Xander.
At the same time Molly saw Xander, Elodie saw him too.
“Mol, do you want me to wait on them? I can do it. No one is at the bar for drinks right now, anyway.”
Pulling her skirt up a little higher and her shirt a little lower, Molly grabbed the menus and strutted over to the table.
“I’ve got this, El.”
Xander was loudest of all and when Molly approached the table. He was laughing at what appeared to be the punch line of his own joke.
“And she was like ‘Yeah well if you don’t do that, then how am I supposed to—‘uh…”
Molly cleared her throat and smiled, looking around the table at each of the guys. Xander, caught off guard, tried to finish his joke but found himself tongue-tied at the sight of his waitress.
Molly put one hand on her hip and held out her notepad with the other.
“Are you boys ready to order or should I come back in a few minutes?”
Every one of Xander’s friends looked to him for an answer.
Not such an alpha male now, are you?
“I think we’re okay to food now, Miss ... order I mean. Yeah, we’re good to order our food now. Guys?”
Xander’s friends looked rather perplexed by his stammering. Usually he was the cool witty one—always quick with a clever comeback.
“Okay, I guess I’ll start. I’d like the #2 burger combo, but with onion rings instead of fries.”
Xander didn’t take his eyes off of the menu, afraid to look at Molly while he was ordering.
The rest of the group then told her what they wanted and Molly ran through her list one more time to make sure she didn’t miss anything.
“... and last but not least, a #2 burger combo with onion rings, no fries. Did I miss anything?”
Molly hadn’t taken her eyes off of Xander.
Look at me you coward.
“I think that’s everything,” Johnny replied, after seeing that Xander wasn’t going to respond. Xander handed his menu to Molly, accidentally grazing her hand with his.
“Sorry,” he blurted out.
That’s the least you could apologize for.
Molly walked back behind the counter and pinned the order up for the cooks. Elodie was working the bar, giggling at what she just saw.
“Hey, Mol, this guy wants to buy you a drink! I told him you don’t like liquor so he said a Virgin Mary would do the trick.“
Elodie pointed at an older gentleman with a mullet sitting on a stool, a toothless grin plastered on his face.
Molly skipped over to the bar and took the drink from Elodie.
“A Virgin Mary? Just for me? How fitting.”
Molly winked at Elodie.
“Cheers, friends. To new beginnings and happy endings.”
Elodie winked back.
Chapter 45
“Come on guys, do we have to go to this bar? There’s a better place down the road with way hotter waitresses and cheaper drinks. Johnny?”
Since they first left the gym, Xander had been trying to convince Johnny and the boys to pick anywhere but Tiny’s for their meal.
“Xander, man, you have to try their burgers. I don’t know why you have such a stick up your ass when it comes to this place, but you’re outnumbered here—we’re going.”
Johnny opened up the door and gave Xander a little push through.
“Hi, boys, table for five?”
A blonde, bubbly hostess was standing behind a podium. Xander nodded, looking behind him at Johnny to shoot him a look of disapproval.
“Right this way then! A booth alright?”
The hostess waited for them to sit and then handed out their menus.
“Alright! So your hostess for tonight will be—”
Please don’t say Molly. Actually, would that be the worst thing in the world? Shit.
“… Molly! She’ll be over shortly for your orders. Can I start you folks off with anything to drink?”
Everyone except Xander ordered beer.
“What, you’re really not drinking because T told you not to? Damn, Xander, you’ve gone soft.”
Xander emptied his water and slammed it down on the table.
“I’m not drinking beer because I don’t fuckin’ want to, Riley. Got a problem with it?”
Riley threw his hands up like he was being arrested.
“Whoa, whoa, man I’m just joking.”
Riley looked over to the bar and nudged Johnny.
“Hey, isn’t that the chick you’re hookin’ up with over there at the bar?”
Johnny nodded his head and grinned.
“Sure is. I’m takin’ her out tomorrow night for a little Johnny Boy special.”
Riley high-fived Johnny, followed by everyone else but Xander.
“Isn’t she a little ... weird? Even for you, Johnny? She wears mostly black and she has so many bracelets on her wrist I don’t know how she doesn’t cut your dick when she’s givin’ you a handy.”
Johnny punched Riley hard on the upper arm.
“Ah and she likes it rough, too? Maybe a little chokey-chokey? She looks like the type who gets off on that kinda thing. Maybe I could take her for a spin after you’re done?”
Johnny grabbed Riley’s arm as he was going to take a drink.
“That’s enough, Riley. You’re takin’ it too far. Elodie’s a good chick and I plan on keepin’ her around for a bit okay? You’re not gettin’ anywhere near her.”
Riley laughed it off and half-heartedly apologized.
Whoa, Johnny’s really into this girl. He’s had a girlfriend before but I never thought he was the gentlemanly type.
Xander was taken aback by Johnny defending Elodie. He was happy that his friend was learning to be more respectful toward women, but now his reaction was making him think more about what his own relationship with Molly could be like. It was possible if this was any indication of how Johnny felt about it. I mean, if Johnny can be in a relationship and still train, I could too. Plus, he could back me up if T got upset.
Johnny was still evidently unimpressed. He kept his eyes on Elodie, avoiding any eye contact with Riley and the rest of the boys who’d been egging him on.
Maybe I should lighten the mood, for Johnny’s sake at least.
Xander tried his best to retell one of his father’s favorite dirty jokes. The sound of a woman clearing her throat stopped Xander just as he was about to deliver the punch line.
Molly.
The booth they were sitting in was rather low, and Xander was at such a height that his eyes were looking directly at
Molly’s breasts.
You idiot, you are NOT getting a boner right now.
Xander saw Molly’s mouth moving, but as he looked from her feet up to her head, it seemed like everything but his own thoughts were muted.
Johnny kicked Xander’s shin under the table. He looked at Xander and nudging his head toward Molly, he told him under his breath to order. Xander quickly scanned the menu, gripping it tightly enough that the paper was crinkling under his fingers.
Xander stumbled through his order, trying hard not to think of what Molly looked like the last time he saw her. Rolling around in his bed, her hair in his hands and the feel of her grinding on top of him.
She’s acting like she doesn’t even know me. Cold and sarcastic even. This isn’t the Molly I remember, but I did push her away for a second time.
“... did I miss anything?”
Xander saw that everyone had returned their menus, and Molly was waiting for his. As he was giving it back, he felt his hand touch Molly’s. Like he had been electrocuted, Xander pulled his hand back quickly onto the table.
“Sorry.”
Molly rolled her eyes at Xander and walked away from the table.
Great, I bet she thinks I’m a fucking creep now, too. A creep and an asshole, a solid combination.
“What’d you apologize for there, Champ? The disappointing time you gave her at your place?”
Xander shook his head subtly back and forth, hoping Johnny would catch on that he didn’t want the other guys to know about Molly and him.
Don’t do it, Johnny.
“Did I tell you guys that I saw Molly coming out of Xander’s earlier on? Well, more like running away. She was pretty upset and even gave me the finger on her way down the driveway. What’d you do to that poor girl, Xan? I’ve been meanin’ to ask.”
Xander was now the one doing the kicking.
“Ouch!” Riley looked down at his leg and back up at Xander. “What was that for man?”
“Pass it along to Johnny if you want to,” Xander said as he shot Johnny a frigid look.
“Okay, so now that you’ve kicked me, you owe me one. Let’s see ...”
Riley licked his lips and Xander followed where his friend’s predatory eyes were looking—straight at Molly behind the register.
“Tread carefully, Riley,” Xander warned.
“Alright, alright. Just tell me then, are they shaped more like mountain peaks or are they more round and firm, like little beach balls?” Riley was rubbing his chest in circles, rolling his eyes to the back of his head.
“I’m wondering ...”
Not you too, Tanner.
“What does that pretty little face look like when she’s ... y’know,” Tanner said as he made an ‘o’ with his mouth.
Xander stood, bumping the table on his way up and spilling a few of their beers.
“I’m out. I didn’t want to come here in the first place and now you guys are just being asshats. See you at the gym tomorrow. Johnny, you can pay for my burger.”
Chapter 46
“What has you so worked up, my dear?”
Winnie was sitting in her rocking chair, watching Xander as he paced the length of the house.
“Nothing, Win. I don’t want to worry you with my problems. I should make some breakfast. You hungry?”
Winnie had a motherly instinct when it came to Xander, but during her years as his housemaid she had learned when to let things be.
“I’d love some eggs and toast. Turn on the kettle too and I’ll make myself a cuppa tea. Thank you, love.”
Xander burned the first four eggs and about half of a loaf of bread by the time Winnie strolled into the kitchen.
“It smells like a fire’s burning in here, Xander. Why don’t you let me do this and you can go for a little walk around the yard? I’ll call you when it’s ready.”
Winnie took the spatula from Xander’s hand and put on her apron.
The air was cool—the clouds in the sky masked the intense heat that Xander had grown accustomed to. He crossed his arms to keep himself warm as he walked the paths of the old garden grounds.
Why hasn’t she shown up yet? I thought she’d be here by now, knocking on my door to tell me how wrong it was for me to show up at her work like that.
Xander had been visualizing all morning the scenario that would play out if Molly showed up at his door.
She would slap me for sure. I’d deserve it too.
From the hillside, Xander could see the bottom of his driveway, still every sound he heard coming from the street below made his heart skip a beat.
The flowers growing in his garden had mostly dried in the Texan heat, but Xander decided he would make a bouquet for Molly, just in case.
He foraged for any flowers that still had a tinge of color left, or at the very least weren’t completely shriveled up. Thorns scraped his bare legs and arms as he trudged through the bushes in search of something to fill the sad, mostly wilted flowers he had gathered so far.
The sound of a car pulling into his driveway interrupted Xander’s concentration. He hurriedly emerged from the bushes with dirt on his face and cuts across his knees. The car coming into the driveway was one that had already begun turning around.
Wrong address.
Xander finally admitted to himself that Molly wasn’t coming. He threw the flowers to the ground, stomping them into the ground underneath his bare feet.
She’s probably at work, or having a day off with Elodie. Why would she waste any more of her time on me? If only I knew where she was, and what she was doing.
His thoughts racing, Xander couldn’t fathom thinking that Molly was somewhere out there pretending that he didn’t exist, or worse, on a date with another guy.
The way she looked at me at the bar, it was like she could see right through me. She was enjoying that I was sweating, that I was the one who stood to lose something. I don’t want to lose her though. I don’t to want to lose any of this. Am I going crazy?
Xander never fully understood what his friends meant when they talked about being crazy over a girl. He saw Johnny through his last breakup. He would ruminate on thoughts of his ex to the point that Xander became worried he would have a mental breakdown. He always chalked it up to Johnny’s extreme attachment issues, ignoring the very real fact that it could happen to him some day under the right circumstances, with the right girl.
“Xander! Breakfast is ready!” Winnie yelled from the open kitchen window. “And your phone—it’s been ringing nonstop!”
Who’s calling me this early?
Xander rubbed his hands onto his shorts and made his way through the garden to the house. Winnie took Xander’s phone out of her apron and handed it to him.
“I wasn’t trying to be nosy, but Tommy has been calling and texting you on that messenger thing. I think it’s important.”
Eight missed calls and four text messages? That’s a little overkill, T.
“Okay, I’m going to call him back real quick, then I’ll be there for breakfast. Thanks, Win.”
Xander gave Winnie a kiss on the cheek and went to his bedroom to phone Tommy.
Tommy picked up right away.
“Xander, Jesus H. Christ, I’ve been trying to get a hold of you. Where have you been? Didn’t I tell you to have your phone glued to your hip in case something big comes up?”
Xander stood in front of his mirror, looking at the mess he had made of himself.
“Sorry, it’s been a bit of a rough morning to say the least. I was out in the garden helping Winnie and—”
“I believe you kid. Spare me all the gory details. I’ve got something over here that’ll brighten your day and maybe light a fire under your ass later at training. The Street G guys will be sitting front row at your fight tonight. I know it’s soon, but I think you’re ready.”
Ready? What the hell is he talking about, ready?
Xander wanted to tell Tommy that it was way too soon, that the scouts can’t possibly show up tonig
ht and expect a top notch performance, but he froze, unable to say anything.
“I’ll take it that you’re too excited for words. Gear up, Xander. I’ll see you here shortly.”
What am I going to do? I can’t do this, I’m not even close to ready. I’ll just have to call in sick. Can I do that?
“Xander, honey, your breakfast is getting cold. What’s gotten into you? I know a boy with something on his mind when I see one. Come on now, tell me what’s wrong.”
Winnie walked right into Xander’s room and sat on a chair facing the window. She usually knocked and never entered without Xander’s permission.
They say, you get bolder with age. Apparently it’s true, at least in her case.
“I can’t talk about it, Winnie. I haven’t sorted out my own thoughts yet, so I can’t go spillin’ them to just anyone who asks.”
Xander heard how sharp his words sounded as they rolled off his tongue, but he was too stressed out to try and watch his mouth.
“I see. Well, a little breakfast never hurt anyone. Come on in when you’re ready.”
Winnie left the room, picking up a pile of Xander’s dirty laundry on the way.
“You don’t have to do that, Win, I can when I come back from the gym ... or maybe tomorrow. Actually ...”
Winnie laughed, “It’s alright, dearest. This is what makes me happy, and there’s no sense in fightin’ it.”
Xander sat on the edge of his bed with his head between his knees.
I’m screwed. They’ll never sign me on like this. I’m not nearly as strong as I was when they first wanted me, and all of the fights I’ve won have been because Tommy has been setting me up with amateurs. Even though he won’t admit it, he’s got some kind of a morale-boosting trick up his sleeve or something.
Xander jolted upright. Trick he’s got up his sleeve!
Flashing through memories in quick succession, Xander tried to remember where he had heard that phrase recently and why they had said it.
It was that new dude at the gym, the one with the massive arms. Mickey. I asked him about his training regimen because I’d never seen someone who was able to keep such a huge body mass and be as quick on their feet as he is. He said, “Ah, I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve. Juicin’ helps me bulk and trainin’ helps me stay agile.”
A Baby for the Beast Page 13
