My blush was amazing, but I didn’t have it with me. It was still sitting on the vanity in my bedroom in Palo Alto, next to all the other expensive products I’d left behind.
Sandra smirked.
“What?” I said.
“Oh, just something tells me it will be a little out of my price range,” she said, standing up.
“Out of both our price ranges now,” I said, laughing.
The funny thing was, no one had ever complimented my rosy cheeks when I had all that expensive makeup. It took a real man and he’s real big, delicious cock to put a real glow on my cheeks!
“My turn to use the ladies room,” Sandra said. “If the waitress comes, order me the fish tacos?”
“For sure,” I replied.
I reached into my bag and pulled out my phone to busy myself. I was nervous to be left on my own at the bar. I had no idea where Kane was. I hadn’t seen him before our little rendezvous, and I hadn’t set eyes on him since.
I kept glancing around, hoping to find him. Where was he? He couldn’t do what he’d just done and then disappear. What if I needed a top up?
My stomach did a flip as I thought of what I’d say if I saw him again. Was he there, somewhere, watching me right at that very moment? The place was too busy to find him.
I was still in shock. I couldn’t believe what we’d done. It was the naughtiest, most delicious, craziest thing I’d ever done. I was sure the girls who’d been waiting outside the washroom would recognize me.
Before I knew it, Sandra was sitting back down next to me. Clearly she hadn’t had as eventful a trip as mine!
“Did you order yet?” she asked.
“Nope. She hasn’t been by.”
“I’m so starving.”
“You and me both,” I said, shoving another piece of calamari into my mouth.
“So tell me more about you, Meadow. Tell me about this girl from Palo Alto who just appeared in Pismo Beach last night. What’s your story, you know, from before the cheating ex-husband?”
The last thing I wanted was to talk more about myself. I wanted to avoid any conversation that would lead me to nervously blurting out what I had just done.
Who I had just done.
What would she think of me?
How would I explain myself?
Oh you know, I’m just the girl from Palo Alto who arrived less than twenty-four hours ago and fucked the first guy she met in the bar bathroom. Oh, and he’s the guy who caused a big scene with me last night and again this morning.
Yeah, I’m totally normal.
Even worse, what if I admitted it to her and she wasn't surprised?
What if she wasn’t even shocked because that’s what Kane does with all the women who come to Pismo Beach?
Yup, that’s Kane for you. Always quick to show new women the back of the bathroom door. He for sure didn’t hesitate when he lead me back there. Best fuck of my life.
I’d be mortified to find out I was just one of many girls. I didn’t want her to tell me anything I wasn’t ready to hear.
“Enough about me,” I said. “Let’s talk about you. I feel like all day all we’ve talked about is me and my problems. I know nothing about you. Did you grow up here?”
I hoped to God she would take the bait.
“Yup. Pismo Beach, born and raised,” Sandra said, but she was interrupted when the waitress came by.
Sandra ordered the fish tacos. I went for the bacon mushroom burger with fries.
Sandra continued talking.
“Even my parents grew up here. I’m a true beach bum. It’s in my blood. I know there’s a whole world out there, but I like it here. I’m really close with my family and a lot of the friends I grew up with are still here. Speaking of which, there’s Kane and Paul.”
She got excited and waved her hand to get their attention. I froze, instantly feeling a rush of blood as my whole face went red.
“I know you and Kane haven’t quite hit it off yet,” she said, putting her hand on my leg, “but I feel like you guys have just gotten off on the wrong foot. I swear, he’s a good guy.”
“Maybe hanging out in a group will eliminate some of the tension,” I said nervously.
“Plus, you have to meet Paul. He’s the very best. You might recognize him, he was bartending last night. He’s so sweet and so hot. Obviously Kane is attractive too, but he’s a lost cause. I bet you’ll really like Paul.”
She got up and waved at them.
“Hey guys! Come join us!”
I didn’t dare look up. I couldn’t. All I could do was take deep breaths and try not to lose my shit.
CHAPTER 24
SANDRA
The boys accepted my invitation to join me and Meadow. As they made their way over, I looked around for a table we could move to. It would make talking easier, rather than being lined along the bar.
“Oh, there’s a table. Let’s move there. Grab our drinks,” I said to Meadow as I grabbed both of our purses.
I made sure to catch the waitress's eye so she knew we were moving.
“Did you guys just get here?” I asked Kane and Paul as I gave them each a hug.
“No,” Paul said. “We’ve been in the back talking beer with Jason.”
“Paul, I’m not sure you’ve properly met Meadow yet. This is Meadow. Meadow, this is Paul,” I said, smiling as they shook hands.
“For sure, how’s it going, Meadow? It’s too bad your first time at the brewery turned out to be such a disaster.”
We all looked at Kane. It was a tense moment and I felt I had to say something to diffuse the situation.
“Look,” I said to Kane and Meadow. “I know you two have had a few misunderstandings.”
I paused for a second so I could judge their response. They seemed calm.
“But you’re both good people and I know you’d get along. Think you can forget everything that’s happened and just be friends?” I said, looking back and forth at each of them.
“Sure,” Kane said as he took a sip of his beer.
“Yup,” Meadow said, running her fingers along the bottom of her wine glass and pointedly avoiding eye contact with Kane.
“Great. So we can move on and change the subject.”
They both nodded and I got the distinct impression there was more going on than I was aware of. I guessed it would take some time for them to warm up to each other and I tried to think of something we could talk about.
“So, we finally hired a new waitress at the café today,” I said.
Both the guys knew how stressed I’d been about being short staffed.
“Finally. You must be relieved. Who is it? Do we know her?” Paul asked.
“You’re looking at her,” I said, gesturing to Meadow.
Meadow averted her eyes and took a sip of her wine.
“Oh cool,” Paul said. “Congratulations. When do you start?”
“She already started today.”
“No kidding!”
“The second she walked into the café and asked about the Help Wanted sign, I tossed her an apron and she got to work. Her timing was perfect. I was up to my eyeballs in messy tables, customers waiting to pay, new customers waiting to be seated. She literally saved the day.”
“You’re working here now?” Kane asked Meadow.
“She sure is. She’s got zero waitressing experience though. She’s actually never worked a day in her life. I was so desperate I didn’t care. Plus, I could tell she’s a good girl, so I took a chance on her.”
I rubbed Meadow’s shoulder affectionately as I spoke.
“She killed it. She’s a natural. We make an awesome team, right Meadow?”
“Yup,” Meadow said shyly.
“We worked our butts off and as soon as we were finished, we came here. What about you two?”
“Yeah, we had a really productive day. Kane and I make a pretty awesome team too,” Paul said, hitting Kane’s shoulder playfully.
Kane looked at Paul’s hand on hi
s shoulder and Paul quickly removed it. We all laughed. Kane had never been the overly affectionate type, and Paul knew it.
“How was your first day on the job, Meadow?” Paul said.
“I was pretty nervous at first, but Sandra is a great teacher. I’m excited for my second shift tomorrow. I know I’ll get the hang of it soon,” Meadow said.
Before she could say more, the waitress came by with our food. She put my fish tacos in front of me and the Guinness stew in front of Paul.
“And two bacon mushroom burgers with fries,” she said as she placed them down in front of Kane and Meadow. They looked up at each other.
“See. I knew you two would have things in common,” I said with a smirk as I picked up a taco.
Meadow looked down at her burger but I caught her stealing a glance at Kane. There was definitely something going on between them, something more than the fighting they’d seemed to be doing since laying eyes on each other.
“Oh so get this,” I said. “Meadow only started today, but already she experienced grumpy old man Mathers.”
“Oh snap, that’s quite the initiation. Did he take it easy on you?” Paul said.
“I’m guessing that’s the guy who wouldn’t look at me while I served him?” Meadow said.
“Yup. I didn’t notice him come in, otherwise I wouldn’t have let you go over. That man is peculiar to say the least. He’s a regular. Orders the exact same thing every day.”
“One poached egg, two pieces of brown toast, no butter, home fries with extra fried onions and a package of strawberry jam,” Paul said.
We laughed.
“Before he got the job at the brewery, Paul had your job,” I said to Meadow.
“Is that so?” she said, turning to Paul.
“Anyway,” I continued. “Mr. Mathers expects that the moment he walks through the door, the kitchen starts his order, and the server meets him at his spot with a coffee, water and a copy of the daily paper.”
Meadow laughed. “That explains a lot. I literally stood there and asked him three times if he’d like coffee. He wouldn’t move his arms off the table for me to put a menu in front of him. I thought he was deaf.”
“Oh man, you poor girl,” Paul said as he wrapped his arm around Meadow’s shoulder.
Paul’s an inveterate flirt. He can’t see a pretty girl without putting a hand on her.
“He can be such a stubborn jerk if he doesn’t know you,” he continued, leaning closer to Meadow. “Once he realizes you’re there to stay, and you get his order right every single time, he’ll warm up.”
Kane cleared his throat. He’d been his usual quiet self until then. “So, you’re here to stay?”
Meadow looked up at him and I could tell she was blushing. “Well, I guess so. I mean, I don’t have a place yet, I’m just staying at a motel.”
“Oh my God,” I said. “I can’t believe I didn’t ask about that. I mean, I knew you were new in town, but I just assumed you had a place. So you’re on the hunt for an apartment? I can help you look. I love apartment hunting.”
Paul leaned in on her again, this time letting his hand slide slightly further down her arm from her shoulder.
“A buddy of mine has a rental unit on the top floor of his place. It’s got a beautiful view. I’m pretty sure he said it’s empty. I’ll give him a call tomorrow. Give me your number and I’ll let you know what he says.”
Paul handed Meadow his phone for her to put in her info. I looked at Kane and rolled my eyes.
Kane didn’t look back at me. He got up from the table a little hurriedly and went to the bar.
I watched as Meadow gave her contact info to Paul. I knew the moment I saw her that Paul would be all over her.
CHAPTER 25
MEADOW
I pretended I didn’t notice Kane leaving the table as I finished typing my number into Paul’s phone. I hit save and handed it back to him.
“That’s really nice of you, Paul,” I said with a smile and a gentle hand on his arm.
“No problem. This town is so small that places don’t even get advertised. Usually people just find them through word of mouth, so it’s good to have an in.”
I casually looked over my shoulder as Sandra and Paul got to talking about the guy who owned the apartment. I scanned the bar, trying to find Kane. I couldn’t be obvious. The last thing I wanted was for Paul and Sandra to pick up on anything.
I spotted him leaning against the bar, talking to the hot female waitress. A flash of jealousy flowed through me. I quickly turned back to the table, took the last sip from my wine, and put the empty glass down.
“I don’t know about you two, but I’m about ready for another round,” I said with a forced smile.
“Great idea,” Sandra said.
“Yeah, I’m ready too. I don’t mean to judge, but I can’t believe you two are in the best local brewery in California, and you’re drinking wine,” Paul said.
“I know, I know,” Sandra started. “I love beer too. But today’s a breakthrough day for Meadow and wine, so I had to join her in celebrating.”
Paul turned to me curiously.
“A breakthrough day with wine? What does that mean?”
I felt embarrassed that Sandra had brought up that information. She hadn’t meant to overshare, but the whole thing was pretty personal and I wasn’t about to get into my husband’s affair with Paul. I acted fast to come up with another story.
“Oh, you know how it goes. One night of overdoing it and it’s hard to even look at the stuff again,” I said, laughing like I was embarrassed about it.
“Oh, don’t I know it. I still have to pass when the guys have whisky on poker night,” Paul said.
Sandra and I made eye contact and she gave me a friendly wink. I could tell my secret was safe with her.
I really felt lucky I’d run into her so quickly after arriving in town. Since the moment I met her, she’d been friendly and welcoming. She was doing an amazing job at making me feel included. If it wasn’t for her, I might not even be staying.
“All that being said, you do have a point,” Sandra said to Paul. “Did I hear there are some new beers on tap? Maybe I’ll do a flight.”
Paul jumped on the opportunity. He started listing off the options to Sandra. I was going to stick with wine, so I casually tuned them out. I started to wonder why Kane wasn’t back with us yet. I tried hard to keep myself from looking back at the bar to see if he was still standing there with the sexy waitress.
Why had he just gotten up and left the table like that?
Was it because I said I was staying in Pismo Beach?
Did my staying really make him that upset?
I started to suspect his type really was out of town women. He was probably mad to find out I wasn’t leaving. I guessed he really meant what he said that morning when he told me I should just go back to where I came from. I was mortified that I just let him fuck me in the bathroom like that.
Had I just become another notch on the back of the bathroom door for him?
As my mind raced, I watched Sandra and Paul talking and laughing with each other. It reminded me that there was so much more to Pismo Beach than Kane. In that moment, I decided not to let Kane bully me out of town.
I was going to focus on the positives.
I’d made new friends, gotten a new job, and already had a potential apartment lined up. I wasn’t going to fight with Kane anymore. Surely the town was big enough for the both of us.
Suddenly, I was snapped out of my thoughts by Sandra roaring with laughter.
“Wait, what are you guys talking about? What did I just miss?”
“You didn’t hear the joke? Tell it again, Paul,” Sandra said, wiping tears from her eyes.
“A bear walks into a bar.”
“Oh no,” I said.
“Wait, it’s funny,” Sandra assured me.
“The bartender asks what he wants?” Paul continued. “The bear says, I’ll have a gin … and tonic.”
“The bartender says, sure, but I have to ask, what’s with the large pause?”
Paul started laughing as he got ready for the punchline.
“The bear holds up his paws and says, Oh, I was born with these.”
I burst out laughing. It was so stupid, but it was cute. Just my type of joke. The voice Paul made and the way he waved his hands around made it even funnier.
Paul wasn’t just funny, he was adorable too.
“Oh, Paul, you’re too much,” I said, laughing and grabbing his hands to pull them back down.
CHAPTER 26
KANE
The waitress, Lianna, put our conversation on hold so she could take someone’s order. I turned around just in time to catch Meadow reaching for Paul’s hands. I watched as they laughed and she tried to pull his hands down. He struggled to get away and put them back in the air. They were having a lot of fun without me.
I wondered why he was flailing his hands like an idiot, then Meadow’s eyes caught mine. I quickly turned back around. I’d seen enough.
They seemed to be hitting it off, which was fine by me. It was probably for the best. Paul could have her. Actually, I hoped he’d take her. He was charming and she looked like she was into it.
If they kept getting along, it would take her attention off me.
I was still coming to terms with the fact she was moving to town permanently. The last thing I needed was a clingy girl hanging around my neck. I was frustrated with myself. On the same day I finally freed myself of female drama, I just had to go and fuck the first piece of ass that caught my eye.
I didn’t know what I was thinking, taking her in the bathroom like that. It was like my most primal instincts took over. There was a chemical reaction the moment she ran into me. I needed to have her right there and then. There was no stopping myself.
As much as I regretted getting messed up with another woman, I couldn’t ignore that the sex was amazing. It was like my body knew it before my mind did. It had been years since I felt that sort of sexual chemistry. The pleasure of Meadow’s body was intoxicating.
She and I struggled to get along, sparks flew every time we were within striking distance of each other, but there was no denying the physical attraction.
I made a promise to myself not to let it happen again. It was a one time thing, nothing more.
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