Talkin' Trash
Page 14

She drifted closer to me, but not because she was happy about what I said. She moved so that she could lower her voice so that only I could hear what she had to say.
“Laying it on thick, aren’t you?” She snickered so only I could hear.
If she only knew that I meant every goddamn word.
In time, she would.
I was totally in love with the girl and had been since I could remember.
What would she say if I told her that there’d been nobody but her since I’d met her? What would she say if I told her that every single woman that the media said was my latest fling was a lie?
She’d probably call me a liar.
But I wasn’t.
It’d only been her for me and that was something she’d have to come to terms with sooner or later.
But for now, my game was different.
She’d continue to be left in the dark until the perfect time came to make her aware that she was mine and would be for the rest of my life.
But this time, I didn’t want her to think that I didn’t feel every single word that I’d just said.
The woman really was beautiful, no matter what she wore or what she thought she looked like.
“I meant every word,” I told her, lowering my voice. “Now, let’s eat…unless you’re busy.”
“She’s free for a break.” Pru broke into our conversation. “But she only has thirty minutes because that’s all we can spare, so you’ll have to eat fast.”
I winked in her direction. “I can do fast.”
And we all knew exactly what I meant with that innuendo, even McFuckFace who was staring at me like I was a cat turd pulled out of the litter box by his dog.
I grabbed the food just as Conleigh grabbed my hand and led me to the staff break room that was just outside of the ER.
“Before I forget,” I said as I followed, her hand still in mine. “The security guard said that you give him special cookies…please tell me you’re not giving that old man pot brownies or something.”
Conleigh rolled her eyes as she turned to look over her shoulder at me. The move made a wisp of her hair fall out of her bun, and I wanted nothing more than to curl it around her ear, but that would mean letting go of her hand, something that I definitely did not want to do.
She’d remember that her hand was in mine eventually and try to let it go, but until then I’d revel in the fact that she actually took my hand and was not letting go.
“I make him keto cookies,” she said. “He has to have a low carb intake or it messes with his blood sugar. I played around with the recipes until I found one that didn’t taste horrible. I bring them to him once in a while. He seems to like them.”
I grinned. “That’s nice of you. Keto getting so popular has changed a lot of lives.”
She nodded and stopped beside a keypad, poking the 0911 into it before the green light blinked and unlocked for her.
It was when the door closed behind us that she finally let go of my hand.
I felt the loss like she’d taken part of me with her when she went.
“How do you know about keto?” she asked suspiciously.
I shrugged. “Bread’s a no-no when you’re on a fitness routine like I am. So is sweet shit. But keto makes it possible to actually enjoy some food without having to give up all the flavor that you normally would on a low carb diet…that’s not to say that I’m on one, because I’m not. I just like some aspects of it, like the bread substitutions, and the fact that you can eat as much bacon as you want.”
She snorted. “That would be your reasoning. You and bacon.”
I grinned as I walked forward and placed the bag on the table. “Anyway, maybe I shouldn’t tell you that I got us some barbeque from Holt’s and that the baked potato I got us has chili, bacon, and all kinds of other good shit on it?”
Her eyes went wide. “You went to Holt’s? Yes! That place is always so good, but I don’t ever have the patience to stand in line and wait for them to get to me. A thirty-minute wait is ridiculous and annoying, especially when your time is precious. Speaking of, we really only have about twenty minutes. We’re slammed right now, and we’re down two nurses. We’ll need to hurry.”
I started pulling out containers, divvying them up between her and me.
“I didn’t bring us drinks,” I muttered as I realized my mistake. “Shit.”
Conleigh abandoned her recently opened potato with the barbeque sauce practically dripping over the sides and went to the fridge.
“I have some Kool-Aid.” She looked at me with a grin. “I make it at the beginning of the week—which was yesterday—so I have something to drink. Want some?”
The way she held up the pitcher so cutely had my heart thumping weirdly in my chest.
“Uh, yeah,” I said. “I’m already going to have to spend three hours in the gym working this lunch off. What’s one more hour?”
She snickered. “I was headed to the gym today, too. But I was only going to do an hour on the elliptical. I’m always too scared to do the weights because I don’t know what I’m doing.”
An idea formed in my mind, and without thinking, I blurted it out for her to hear.
“Want to go with me?” I asked. “I have an interview tomorrow, but afterward we can go. It’ll be around ten o’clock. I can show you how to do a few exercises, and you won’t have to be embarrassed at all because I can take you to the gym at the center where the team works out. It’ll be abandoned that late in the morning.”
She snorted. “That late?”
I nodded. “That late. The players are usually there early, before six. Some of them go late, after five. During the day it’s a ghost town.”
She pursed her lips. “I guess I could do that…as long as they don’t force me to come work on my second day off, that is.”
I prayed that that wouldn’t happen.
“Good.” I paused. “Would you be interested in going to an MC party tomorrow with me? It’s a birthday celebration for a club member’s son.”
Conleigh scrunched up her nose. “I’m not really good with kids.”
I felt something inside of my chest flip funny. “Me neither but this is going to be a little bit different from what you’re used to. Rome’s son, whose birthday we’re celebrating, lost his battle to leukemia about eight months ago. Tomorrow would’ve been his fifth birthday. To ensure that Rome’s not alone, we decided to throw him a birthday party. We’re going to watch the kid’s favorite movie, eat some of his favorite food, and just celebrate his life.”
Her face fell. “That’s awful…and really sweet.”
It was. It was really, really awful.
“Rome was in a bad way for a while there,” I told her. “But Izzy, his girlfriend, is helping him through it, but he still has his bad days and we think Matias’ birthday might be one of them.”
Conleigh sniffled and wiped away a tear that’d slipped from her eye, then cursed. “Owww.”
I got up and took the pitcher from her and stole two foam cups off the counter before heading back to our seats.
“I eat fast, woman,” I told her as I poured us both cups filled to the very top. “If you don’t eat yours, I will, and I’ll enjoy it, too.”
She snorted and sat down, digging in without another word.
We ate in silence, the only thing that could be heard was our chewing and the way the fork protested when we scooped too much onto them.
I finished in seven minutes. Conleigh took fifteen.
After enjoying a second glass of Kool-Aid while she finished hers, I took the opportunity to just watch her.
Conleigh didn’t beat around the bush. She enjoyed her food and didn’t make any attempt to pretend like she didn’t.
And when she was done, she leaned back in her chair and groaned, patting her belly.
“I can’t finish anymore,” she whined.
She’d eaten merely a quarter of her potato while I’d downed the entire thing.
I smiled and got up, tossing my shit into the trash—all except for my fork.
Conleigh got up and did the same, but instead deposited hers into the fridge so she could eat it later.