Free Wasted by Suzannah Daniels Page B

grin broke across my face. “I actually
love having breakfast for dinner.”
    He pointed at me. “Seven o’clock.”
    “ Should I bring Hawk? You
know, in case of a fire?”
    “ Hell, no. I don’t want his
ugly mug at our dinner party.”
    I nodded. “Seven o’clock then.”
     
    ***
     
    My meeting lasted longer than I anticipated.
It was nearly six-thirty by the time I made it back to our
apartment. I quickly showered and pulled on a red sundress. After
applying makeup, I looked at my reflection in the mirror and
pressed my lips together to smooth my ruby lipstick.
    Once I opened the bedroom door, the smell of
bacon teased my nostrils.
    As I came to the end of the hallway, I saw
him in the kitchen, shirtless. His jeans rode low on his hips.
    “ Shit!” He grabbed the
handle of the skillet, and using a spatula, dumped a pile of
scrambled eggs on each of two plates waiting on the bar.
    When he glanced up, he noticed me and
beamed. “Okay, so the eggs might be a little overdone, but I did
manage to cook without setting the kitchen on fire.”
    “ I’m impressed.”
    He barked out a laugh. “Well, don’t be. You
haven’t tasted them yet.”
    He put a couple of slices of bacon on each
plate and pushed them across the bar in front of the stools.
    His long legs strode to the opposite side of
the bar, and he pulled my chair out for me. “Have a seat. What
would you like to drink? Milk? Juice?”
    “ Juice.”
    “ Oh, shit. I forgot the
toast. Do you want toast?”
    “ No, this is fine.” I
watched him as he went back to the kitchen to pour juice. “Are you
over your hangover?”
    “ Yeah, pretty much.” He
loaded two slices of bread in the toaster. “Toast’ll be done in a
sec.” He set a glass of juice down in front of me. When the toast
popped up, he slathered butter and jelly on them and put one on
each of our plates.
    “ Thank you.”
    He walked back around the bar and sat down
beside me.
    I tasted the eggs. “This is good.”
    “ It won’t do much more than
chase away the hunger pains, but…I wanted to do something to let
you know that I appreciate what you did last night. You’re a good
roommate, Lexi. I’m going to miss you when you get your own
place.”
    “ We’ll still see each other
at work.”
    “ I know, but it won’t be
the same.”
    We ate in silence a few moments.
    “ You look very beautiful,”
he complimented as he rubbed his hand across his bare chest. “I
guess I’m a little underdressed. Maybe I should go put on a
shirt.”
    “ No.”
    He choked on his food and took a long swig
of juice. The corner of his mouth tilted upward. “Why, Lexi. If I
didn’t know any better, I’d think you liked looking at my
chest.”
    My faced burned, and I concentrated on the
bacon in my hands. I could feel his gaze scorch my flesh. I tried
to think of something to say, but I’d pretty much been busted.
    “ It’s okay,” he whispered,
tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “I like looking at your
chest, too.”
    My eyes flew to his face, and I didn’t know
whether to slap him or hug him.
    “ I’s just messing with ya.”
His eyes were alight with mischief. “Sort of.”
    Unable to come up with a response, I stuffed
the bacon in my mouth.
    “ So,” he drawled out,
clearly looking to change the topic of conversation as we finished
our meal, “we both have Friday night off. Why don’t we invite
Seren, Cade, and Hawk over?”
    “ I have to work
Friday.”
    “ You do?” He cleared away
our plates and put them in the sink.
    I followed him into the kitchen, rinsed
them, and loaded the dishwasher. “Yeah.”
    “ Are you working with
Daniel, the bartender on the other shift?”
    “ No, I’m going to wait
tables.”
    “ Wait tables?
Why?”
    “ I just wanted to try it.
Spanky said it would be okay.” I leaned back against the
counter.
    “ But you’d make a lot more
money bartending.”
    “ It’s just a temporary
thing.”
    “ Alrighty then. If that’s
what you