Nikki returns more quickly than I’d anticipated. It’s a good thing I didn’t order another whiskey to sip while I waited. Sipping would have turned into shooting it and I hate to disrespect good liquor that way. She makes a stop at the bar to talk to Sebastian. She motions toward me across the room and his hard gaze locks on mine in warning. She’s telling someone where she’s going, and who with and he wants me to know that he knows. Smart girl.
My breath catches in my throat as I watch her maneuver her way toward me, blatantly ignoring the men trying to catch her attention as she passes them. I can’t say that I blame them for wanting her to stop and talk to them. Holy shit! I thought she looked great in the Tassels waitressing uniform. That sexy, little black dress has nothing on Nikki in a pair of painted-on jeans with a pink plaid shirt unbuttoned and tied at the waist over a white tank top. Her hair is up in a fat ponytail, her face scrubbed clean of what small traces of makeup she’d been wearing. Even without the eyeliner, sexy dress, and heels, I’ve never seen a woman half as gorgeous as her. And she’s all mine, at least for tonight. Longer if I can figure out how to get her on the same page.
“Hey,” she says quietly, her southern drawl even more pronounced now that she’s in her own clothes. It’s funny how so many women, at least the ones I’ve met, seem to gain confidence the less clothes they put on. It seems that Nikki’s the exact opposite. As she waits for me dressed in a simple outfit, her feet encased in battered cowboy boots, she radiates a combination of shyness and self-assuredness that I find fascinating. Not to mention that she’s sexy as fuck.
“Ready to go?” I ask, sliding out of the booth and rising to stand beside her. Her head tips back to look up at me and her eyes widen.
“Wow,” she breathes, “I knew you were tall, but… geez! How tall are you?”
A deep laugh bursts loose. Of all the things I expected her to say, that was genuinely not it. She doesn’t seem put off by my size though, which surprises me somewhat. Sometimes small women are intimidated by me, and Nikki is smaller than most.
“Last I checked, almost six, six,” I tell her, chuckling again when her eyes widen even more.
“Yep,” she says bobbing her head making her thick ponytail bounce, “that’s stinkin’ tall. Last I checked I was just barely over five foot.”
Not able to stop myself, I open my mouth and let my inner dork out again. “How’s the weather down there?” I ask, mentally rolling my eyes at the cheesiness of the joke. She laughs though, making me feel like maybe it wasn’t such a stupid thing to say after all.
“Well Grayson, since you were just sittin’ down here, why don’t you tell me how the weather is up there?”
She went there! If I knew her better, I’d scoop her up and tell her to find out herself. Fuck it! Why not? If she tells me to put her down, I will, but I don’t lose anything by trying. With a grin on my face and a challenge in my eyes I stoop and lift her by the hips until we’re face to face. Her small hands flail nervously for a second before landing on my shoulders and her fingers curl into the worn cotton of my t-shirt. Her hazel eyes dance with laughter as her lush lips spread in a wide smile and her bubbly giggle is the only sound I hear.
“How about you find out for yourself?” I rasp in a low voice. The feel of her slight weight and soft curves in my hands feel so right and I don’t want to put her down. Not ever.
Her smile stretches bigger, and damn if she doesn’t have the cutest dimples in her cheeks. Her fingers tighten on my shoulders. “It feels perfect up here,” she breathes.
“Then let’s go,” I say with another laugh as I pull her close and head toward the entrance, happier than I should be when she wraps her arms and legs around me and holds on like a little koala, still giggling, as I stride through the crowd. I don’t miss the pissed off looks of several men as I push through the throng of bodies, but I don’t give two shits. She’s mine and I want them all to know it.
Sebastian and Starla are at the bar talking, twin looks of surprise on their faces when they see Nikki clinging to me. Smirking I tip my chin up at them and wink, letting them know I saw them. Let them wonder what’s going on. It’ll be good for them. I hope Starla is prepared to lose Nikki. I’m not going to be able to let her come back here to work for very long. Call me chauvinistic if you want, but as soon as I can stake my claim, I’m going to, and part of that will be keeping my girl away from Dominic and Tassels. As far as I’m concerned, she’s already my girl. Now I just need to figure out if we’re on the same page. It feels like we might be, and for the first time in my life, I’m excited by the prospect of something I’ve spent my entire adult life avoiding. Being part of a couple.
When I can no longer ignore the pointed stare from the middle-aged waitress leaning tiredly against the counter by the register I sigh heavily. My time with Nikki is coming to an end. I like her way too much to try to take things further than this impromptu date. As much as I want to take her home and end the night with her writhing in pleasure beneath me, she deserves better. She didn’t come right out with details, but from the things she did say it wasn’t hard to pick up that she left Alabama because of man troubles. As much as I hate that she went through something bad enough to make her pack up her life and come this far, I’m grateful to whoever screwed her over because it brought her to me; and I’m not going to do anything to fuck this up.
I’ve never met a girl so perfectly suited for me. She makes jokes, likes sports, and is the hottest woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.
“What’s wrong?” She questions my heavy breath, her voice soft with concern.
“Nothing other than I think we’ve finally overstayed our welcome,” I tip my head toward the overworked lady who is still staring at us intently.
“Oh…” she sighs too. “Well, that’s a bummer.”
Pulling my wallet from my pocket I slip a couple of twenties onto the table. It’s more than enough to cover our drinks and dessert as well as leave a generous tip for our waitress.
“I can help with that.” Nikki offers, reaching for her small purse. It’s very distinctive. I’ve never seen one like it. Tooled leather handles atop a brightly colored woven bag in a southwestern print fabric. It suits her.
“No way, doll,” I reach across the tabletop and place my hand over hers, stopping her from reaching inside. “Let me take care of it. Please.”
She freezes for a moment, observing me intently with eyes gone suddenly serious. I wonder what thoughts are running through her mind while she considers my request. With a nod, she slides to the edge of the long seat and rises to her feet.
“Thank you,” she says simply, reaching for my hand and twining her fingers through mine with a squeeze as I stand beside her. Her small palm fits perfectly against mine and I feel another happy grin that I can’t contain.
“You’re welcome, Nikki. I’d like to walk you home if you don’t mind.” Even if she does I’m going to follow and make sure that she gets there safely.
“That would be nice.” With a small wave to the waitress she calls out our thanks and we head out into the pleasant night air.