She scoffed. “Um...no.”
“No worries, Al. If embarrassment is what you seek, you’ve come to the right place.” I winked as I flipped on the blinker, turning in to the parking lot of Moe’s.
“What is this place?” Her nose was scrunched as she looked around in disgust.
“It’s not much to look at, but trust me, the food is fantastic. This is just what you need to cure that hangover.”
Moe’s was a hole in the wall located off a back road just outside of campus. The building was small and old. There was probably more paint chipped off the wood exterior than not. But, the inside was clean and the service top notch. It was the best place I’d found since moving to LA for when I was in the mood for some good southern cooking.
I glanced over to Alex as we approached the sagging steps and had to laugh at her upturned nose and pinched lips. “This place is really old, Colt...You sure it’s sanitary?”
“Think of it as vintage, like a fine wine, aged to perfection.”
She rolled her eyes as I opened the door, and with a hand on her lower back, ushered her inside. “After you.”
“Colton...it’s been a few days,” Sally, our waitress, purred before realizing Alex was with me. “And you brought a friend.” She eyed her up and down, giving Alexis an obviously fake smile. This would be fun.
“Hey, Sal,” I said, wrapping my arm around Allie’s shoulders and pulling her close. “This is my best friend, Alexis. She’s staying with me for the summer.”
“Oh, how nice...”
I fought hard not to laugh at the pained expressions on both girls’ faces as they shook hands. At the way Allie rubbed hers against the side of her shirt like she was wiping off something dirty afterward.
There was an awkward moment of silence before Sally remembered herself, grabbed our menus, and began leading us to a table. While taking our drink orders, she kept a hand on my shoulder, clearly trying to send Alex a message. By the tight lips and narrowed eyes homed in on me from across the table, I’d say that it was being received. Loud and clear.
“You had sex with her, didn’t you?” Alex leaned across the table and hissed as soon as we were left alone.
I bit back a smile as I set my menu on the table. “No,” I answered briefly and truthfully. I hadn’t realized Sally was working today, or most likely I wouldn’t have brought Allie here. She’s usually off on Saturdays and Sundays, and I really was trying to make up for last night. But luck must’ve been on my side because the venom in Alex’s tone just confirmed that Finn was right. She was jealous. I just had to feed that jealousy enough to make her as desperate for me as I was for her.
Alexis scoffed. “Yeah, okay,” she muttered.
“I didn’t.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Reaching out across the table, I took her hand, relishing in the slight flush of her cheeks at the contact. “I’ve never lied to you before, Alexis Mack. Why would I lie about this? I have no reason to...”
She shrugged, pulling her hand away and lowering her shades to cover her eyes, which were beginning to water. “You did something...”
I nodded just as Sally walked up behind Alex. She licked her lips, drinking me in. Clearly, she’d heard the end of that conversation and was doing all she could to confirm that suspicion. “What can I get for you, Colton?”
“Ladies first,” I answered, directing her attention to the woman seething across from me. I wanted to make her jealous. I didn’t, however, have any desire to make her hate me.
Sally nodded, reluctantly turning to face Alex. “Do you know what you want?” She wasn’t exactly rude, but her tone lacked any warmth.
My girl cleared her throat. “Bring us a few hamburger steaks and mashed potatoes with gravy.” Allie reached out, snatching the menu from my hand and shoving them both toward Sally, effectively dismissing her.
I felt my eyes widen as our waitress stormed off. This time, I couldn’t help but laugh at the pissing match before me.
“What’s so funny, Colt?” She was pissed.
I shook my head, still laughing. “Nothing, Al.”
“I don’t like her.”
“I can see that. Any particular reason?”
She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her ample chest. “I just think she’s rude, don’t you?”
Pressing my lips together, I shook my head slightly. “She’s not usually, no.”
Allie shrugged. “It’s a girl thing, Colt. You wouldn’t understand...” She turned her head to glare in the direction Sally just went. “She was doing it on the sly.”
I had to bite the insides of my cheeks to keep from laughing again because nothing that just went down with these two women was anything but blatantly obvious. I nodded my head in agreement, realizing the need to tread lightly. I wasn’t about to risk turning that anger in my direction with words. My mouth had a way of getting me into trouble.
“So...” Allie drew out after a quiet moment, drumming her nails on the wood table.
“Yes?”
“You were saying?”
My brow quirked in question. “About?” I knew exactly what she was fishing for, but to be honest, it felt really fucking good to watch her squirm a little.
Alexis sighed. “Finish telling me what happened with waitress girl back there.” She tilted her head back, waving her hand in the air toward the kitchen area.
“Does it matter?”
“Call me curious.”
Shit. This felt like a trap. “She, uh...” Al looked at me expectantly as I glanced around the room to be sure that Sally was nowhere in sight and that the handful of other customers weren’t listening in. “She suckedmydick,” I mumbled.
I watched her throat move as she swallowed hard, nodding her head. “You seem to really like blowjobs...” she observed loudly.
“Show me a man who doesn’t,” I challenged.
Alex cleared her throat, shifting in her seat. “Did you two date?”
“I don’t date.”
“Like at all?” Alexis asked, bewildered as if she didn’t already know. As if I hadn’t told her this countless times before.
“Like at all,” I echoed.
Alex huffed, looking simultaneously confused and impressed. “So, girls just suck your dick expecting nothing in return?” she asked at the exact moment that Sally approached our table to deliver our lunch.
Our plates were set down in front of us with a little more force than necessary. Sally moved to walk off but thought better of it. Placing both hands on the table in front of Alex, she leaned in close. “Some girls simply enjoy pleasing a man. It doesn’t always have to be about getting something in return.”
“Oh, I’m aware...Where I’m from, we call those girls sluts.”
ALEXIS