I had spent all afternoon trying not to think about Monk, and I had failed miserably.
Jinx had kept his distance from me and was pretty good at acting like he was just hanging out at the club for the hell of it. He had walked past my office a few times, and when I was out front, I could feel his eyes on me, but whenever I looked at him, he was talking to one of the girls or looking at his phone.
If this is what it was going to be like at the club with having someone watch me, I was going to be fine with it.
Now Monk being in my house? I wasn’t too sure about that.
The car in front of me moved, and I thrust a twenty out the window at the cashier. “Keep the change,” I grunted.
“Uh, I can’t do that, ma’am.”
They told me that every time I told them to keep the change. “Which car is yours?” I asked.
The cashier looked at me funny but nodded to the white Honda to the side. “Uh, that one.” He returned my change, and I set it in the seat next to me.
He handed me my food and drinks. I pulled far enough forward to let the car behind me get to the window, shifted into park, grabbed the change from my seat, and hopped out. I tried the driver’s door of the Honda, and it opened. After I dropped the money on the seat, I closed the door.
“Thank you!” I heard called from the window.
I jogged back over to my car, and Jinx was pulled up next to my passenger door.
“What was that about?” he asked over the roar of his engine.
I shrugged and got back in my car. I had worked fast food for five years before landing a job at Skinz and working my way up to managing the place. I knew personally what it felt like to break your back for minimum wage and not be able to pay your bills. Were five bucks going to change that guy's life? Probably not, but it was at least a little extra.
I drove back to my house with Jinx’s headlight in my rearview. As much as I said that I hated it, it was nice to know that Jinx was behind me.
My mind had bounced back and forth from thinking about Monk and the fact that someone was trying to kill me.
At least, it seemed like they had tried to kill me.
I had gone into the security room to see who could have gotten into my office after I took the pills, but there were just so many people back and forth in front of my office that there wasn’t a way to tell. My choice to not have cameras in my office was now coming back to bite me in the ass.
I pulled into my driveway and Jinx followed me.
My familiar house sat in the distance with the front porch and lower-level lights on. It was strange coming home to the place lit up.
I pulled right into the garage and ignored the shadowed figure who had been sitting on a rocker by the front door. I pressed the button to close the garage door and just sat in my car.
Monk was waiting for me on the porch, and I didn’t know how to feel about that.
Before yesterday, the man hadn’t really crossed my mind. Of course, I knew of him, but he didn’t take up space in my mind. Now, he had taken up permanent residence.
Jinx’s taillight flickered at the end of the driveway when I stepped out of the garage, and Monk stood at the top of the steps with his arms folded over his chest. He was wearing a cobalt blue hoodie with the hood over his head, and his feet were bare.
“I was starting to wonder if I needed to come check on you,” he called softly.
I held up the bag of fast food. “I brought dinner.”
And I looked like a fool. I felt like Baby from Dirty Dancing when she walked up to Johnny and told him she carried a watermelon.
“Surprising.”
I rolled my eyes and climbed the front steps. “I know. I surprised myself too when I ordered it.” I thrust the bag into his chest. “I wouldn’t get used to it. I blame my exhaustion for thinking about you.”
He grabbed the bag and looked inside. “You’re exhausted?” he mumbled. He pulled out a waffle fry and popped it into his mouth.
“No.” Why was it so hard for me to admit when I was tired? Jesus. I even annoyed myself that time.
Monk pushed off the porch and moved to open the front door. “I’ll run a bath for you when you’re done eating.”
With a flick of my hand at him, I walked inside because I didn’t have it in me to argue with him. If that was what he wanted to do, then I wasn’t going to put up a fuss.
I moved into the kitchen and dropped my purse on the counter. His wallet was sitting to the left, and it felt oddly right to see his things in my house.
Monk set the bag of food on the table and sat. He pulled everything out of the bag.
“I got you the same thing I got. Sorry.”
He shrugged and unwrapped his burger. “I’m not picky when it comes to food, babe. As long as I can choke it down, I’m fine.”
I sat at the opposite end of the table and sighed. “I need my food to taste good.” I grabbed my burger and unwrapped it. On top of being exhausted, I was also starving. By the time I had realized what time it was at the club, I just finished my work and headed home. That might have been a little bit too long.
“You get everything done that you needed to?” Monk asked. He moved to the fridge and pulled out the ketchup. “You want anything to drink?” he asked.
“Fuck,” I grunted. “Our drinks are out in the car.” How had I forgotten to grab them?
He set the ketchup on the table and motioned for me to stay. “I’ll grab them.”
He was out and back in the house in ten seconds.
“Did you teleport?” I laughed.
Monk set a cup in front of me. “They’re both the same, right?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yeah. You’re gonna have to get used to eating the same thing as me until I figure out what you like to eat.” I cringed and tried not to think about the fact that it sounded like I was going to try with him.
I wasn’t.
I couldn’t.
My heart and head couldn’t do that again.
He sat and grabbed two straws out of the bag. “Like I said, babe. I can eat whatever you do. Don’t stress yourself over me.”
I grabbed a straw from him and stabbed it into the lid. “I did get everything done today, to answer your first question before you ran to get the drinks.”
He nodded and squirted a huge pile of ketchup onto his plate. “Good deal. I was getting ready to give you and call to see when you would be clocking out for the day.”
“Normally, I would have stayed until close, but when I almost faceplanted on my desk, I figured it was time to call it a day.”
Monk chuckled and swiped a fry through his mound of ketchup. “Well, all you have to do now is eat your food, soak in the tub, and then pass out.”
“I might combine soaking in the tub and passing out.”
Monk shook his head. “You looking to add drowning to your exciting past couple of days?”
I shrugged and took a bite of my burger. If I did fall asleep in the tub, it wouldn’t be the first time. I normally woke up when the water turned ice cold anyway. I was able to recline enough to where I didn’t slide under the water. I just laid there like a beached whale ‘til I woke up.
Monk finished his food before I did and cleaned up his trash. “I’ll get the tub going.”
I waved my hand at him. “I can do that myself, Monk,” I called.