Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 36564 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36564 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
She had Tito make me a burger and fries while I went back to the bathroom and did a little better job getting more of the suntan oil off my skin. I still felt like I stank, but I thought I smelled better than before I started. Progress!
When I came out of the bathroom, Elena was setting my plate down on the counter, pulling me up a chair. “Come. Sit.” She smiled as she set a chocolate milkshake beside my plate.
“A milkshake too?” I couldn’t help my smile. Of all the things I’d discovered after leaving the camp, Elena had just put in front of me my three favorites. Cheeseburgers, French fries, and ice cream. Any ice cream.
“Of course. Ice cream makes everything better.” Her smile was so beautiful. The thing about Elena was her kindness. There wasn’t a mean bone in her body. She was like everyone’s mother. She knew her customers and their families. Those of us she employed? Well, she treated us like family.
There were only a couple of us. Tito, Marge, and Elena could easily run the place without me and Caroline, but I needed the job and Caroline was a people person. She was at her happiest during the lunch rush. I wasn’t even sure she got paid. Or, rather, that she kept the pay Elena gave her. Caroline had told me her father was the doctor for a club called Salvation's Bane. If all the men and women in the clubs around the area were like the ones I'd met at Tito’s, then I had no idea why MCs had such a bad rap.
Most of the time, I was pretty sure Caroline bought new clothing or food items for a homeless camp close to us. The people I’d met at Tito’s had opened my eyes to so many things. Not the least of which was true compassion. Not submissive compassion either. These people weren’t trying to gain anything, or get on someone’s good side. They didn’t care if people liked them or not. They did what they thought was right and treated people the way they wanted to be treated.
“Ice cream does make everything better.” I grinned as I dug into the burger and fries.
“Is everything all right, chica?” Elena asked her question in a tender, caring voice. I could see the worry in her eyes.
“Sí, Elena. I’m lo lamento for being late. I promise to get a watch as soon as I can. I can probably get a kid’s one for ten bucks or so. That’s all I need. Right?” I hated that I sounded so unsure about something so simple. I also made a point to answer her with the few words of Spanish I’d remembered. Not trying to get on her good side or anything. I genuinely wanted to learn the language. I found that stress sometimes forced me to learn quicker than I normally would have. So I used at least some Spanish when I spoke to Elena or Tito, even when I was struggling with the current situation. Owning a watch was such a small thing, but I’d never owned one. Or anything else for that matter. In the camp, no one really owned anything. Well, other than the Divine One. I grinned as I dredged a crispy, golden fry through some ketchup and popped it in my mouth.
“There she is.” Tito popped his head around the corner from the back, taking his place behind the counter where Elena had me eating. It wasn’t the first time she’d done it, but it always took me by surprise.
I started to reply to Tito when the judge from the bikini contest followed him into the main part of the diner, moving to a seat next to me. I sucked in a breath… and nearly choked on a French fry.
“Easy, girl.” His gruff voice went straight to my insides and heated them. What was wrong with me? I’d never had these impulses before. Quite the opposite. I’d been doing everything I could since I’d turned sixteen to not be noticed by the men in the camp. Especially the Divine One. Now, for some reason, I really, really wanted this guy to notice me. I was also more than a little nervous of him. I might be simple and ignorant of life on the outside and how people truly interacted with each other, but I knew enough to know this was a man who would chew me up and spit me out. He was the type of man the Divine One would seek to make an ally because, otherwise, he’d be a threat.
“Sorry,” I choked out. I coughed a couple of times. A glass of water was held under my nose and I took it gratefully. A few seconds later, I was fine. Elena rubbed and patted my back gently, like she might a child after they got something down the wrong way.