chapterone
Quinn
Ican’t take my eyes off of her.
My buddy Blake and I met for drinks and food at a joint outside of Saddle Creek. I wanted to be able to discuss my family’s current situation without tidbits of the conversation showing up on the local gossip board,the Saddle Peek.
My siblings and I just found out that our grandfather—who could die at any moment—stipulated in his will that if we aren’t married at the time of his death, we’ll lose our family ranch.
The ranch I’ve devoted my entire life to. Where I live and work and someday aim to raise kids with the woman I love.
Of course, all my plans and goals in life got thrown out the window when I heard about my grandfather’s will. Since I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the news, the last thing I need is some sweet thing distracting me. And yet, here I am, sitting across from my best friend Blake, at some rundown hole in the wall calledEarl’sEatsabout forty miles outside of town, trying to concentrate on him explaining some legal crap to me. And all I can do is stare at her. The waitress to be exact. The gorgeous waitress across the room.
She’s a tiny little thing. Obviously young too, . But the nonstop curves on her compact body make it known that she is very much an adult.
“Then I could get nekkid and dance around like a chicken. You think that would work?” Blake asks.
I turn to face him. “What the fuck are you even talking about?”
He tosses his arms up. “Exactly. You asked me to meet you here so we could talk without eavesdroppers and yet you’re not listening to me at all. Because all you can do is watch that sweet piece of ass move around the room.”
“Don’t call her that,” I snap. But my voice comes out more like a growl.
Blake’s brows nearly crawl into his hairline. I instantly regret opening my damn mouth. In all our years of friendship, I have never once reacted like that over a woman.
Before I can shrug off my reaction—or better yet, apologize—she’s standing at our table.
“What can I get you boys?” she asks. Her short frame means her tits are pretty much at my eye level while she’s standing next to us. Short, but stacked with curves in all the right places. A little plump and soft in the best possible way. Her golden hair falls down her back in soft waves. And that heart-shaped face of hers—well I’m pretty sure hundreds of years ago men would have written poems about her beauty. Me? I just sit here and stare like I’m an idiot.
She might as well have wings and a halo, her voice is so sweet and pure.
I just stare at her.
I know she's asked a question, but I've evidently lost my mind and can't remember how to talk.
Blake, smirking like a smug son of a bitch, says, “We’ll take a couple of Shiners.” He winks. “And we’ll need a minute to figure out what to order.”
Before she walks away though, she looks at me with her pretty waitress smile. But as soon as our eyes meet, that smile falters. Her throat bobs as she swallows hard.
I know she feels whatever I’ve been feeling since I first laid eyes on her. A zing of recognition that hits me straight in the gut.
But fast on the heels of that is another realization. Now that she’s standing this close to me, I know for sure. She’s way too damn young for me.
“I’ll be right back with your beers,” she says, her gaze lingering on mine for just a moment before she walks away, her steps slower at first, like she’s struggling to break free of the gravitational pull of that moment when our eyes met.
“Dude, that was like watching, I don’t know, grandma porn.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” I ask.
“You know, it's like all intense and hot and shit. But nobody's naked.”
I’m already shaking my head before he even finishes his dumbass sentence. “Okay, that's not a thing and I don't want to ever hear those words come out of your mouth again. Besides, that's not what is happening. She's just … she's very pretty, but she's also very young,” I say as much to remind myself as to declare it to Blake.
Blake is still grinning. “She's not too young if she can work in a bar.”
“People work around that shit all the time. You know that.”
“True. But I’m not gonna get up and go ask to see all their licenses to make sure everything is in order. But I can tell she’s an adult, even if that means she’s a young one.”