I dug my feet into the ground. “Who’s been calling?” I demanded.
She held up her hand and laughed. “It’s just Deacon. No doubt my sister has done something crazy, and he’s a bit out of his depth.”
My muscles relaxed, but just slightly. I ran my fingers through my hair and finally settled on letting her make the call on her own.
“Hey Eagle,” she called, just as I reached for the door to the diner. My hand stayed on the shiny chrome handle, but I turned to look over my shoulder. I noticed the mischievous glint in her eye before she even spoke. “You should never make promises you can’t keep.” Her laughter filled the hot still air, and she turned on her heel, making sure to wiggle that perfectly toned ass at me before she raised her phone to her ear and started talking.
It took a lot to pull that damn diner door open, and not walk back over to her and put her over my knee for being a cheeky fucking bitch.
I walked straight to the counter, the waitress manning the register shifting uncomfortably on her feet as I approached. “May I… uh… help you?” she asked nervously. She was young, probably in her late teens.
“Cheeseburger, fries and soda, times two,” I told her sharply, tossing some cash on the counter and not waiting for the change. Social interactions weren’t my thing. I guess you could say I was socially awkward.
I never used to be but since I’d gotten out of the army, I tried my best to avoid strangers. It started out of fear that I would have an episode while I was around them. My embarrassment got the best of me at times. I knew in my head I shouldn’t be ashamed of my disability, but I guess the stubborn part of my brain refused to look weak in front of anybody.
I made a beeline for Op’s table where he sat with Blizzard and Ham. He looked up, sensing my presence, and raised his eyebrow. “What do you make of mister goody-two-shoes offering to babysit Skylar’s sister?” I asked, straight to the point.
Blizzard didn’t give Optimus any time to answer, sitting forward in the booth. “You think there could be some ulterior motive?” he questioned, his head tilted to the side curiously.
I rolled my shoulders, still feeling the stiff ache from the ride. “Don’t know. Just strange I guess. He doesn’t know Skylar from shit. Would have thought he would have dumped us with the girl, instead of taking her off our hands and making life a little easier.”
I could see Optimus considering my words, and Blizzard nodding thoughtfully.
“He and Chelsea are still close-knit,” Optimus finally said. “And he’s helped us out a few times over the past year or so, and kept his mouth shut on things he could have blabbed about. I guess I thought maybe it was a peace offering.”
He didn’t sound so sure now, a concerning frown creasing his brow.
“Has Skylar noticed anything strange?” Ham questioned, inserting himself into the conversation as he tossed a French fry in his mouth.
I shrugged. “She hasn’t said, she’s just gone to call him since he’s been blowing up her phone for the last fucking half hour. Obviously, can’t handle a fucking seventeen-year-old girl,” I growled, not missing the smirk that appeared on Blizzard’s face. “Don’t fucking look at me like that, asshole.”
“Another one bites the dust.” He laughed as he turned back to his food.
My eyes flicked to Optimus who also had a quiet smirk on his face.
“Fucking Christ,” I murmured, turning away and heading to another table, not about to deal with the smart ass comments from my president and VP.
“Keep me up to date on the situation,” Optimus called after me. Just as I was about to agree, he added, “Oh, and the Deacon shit, too.”
“Fucking bastard,” I hissed under my breath, as their laughter filled the small diner.