“Ready to lose?” Christian wrapped his arms around her from behind and Maddie winked at her.
“What makes you think I’m not a world class disc golf champion?” Sam said as she twisted slightly, moving her body away from his and stepping further away with the guise of grabbing a disk from the bag.
He laughed a little as he tried to wrap his arm back around her waist. She quickly tried to dodge the movement, hoping the others couldn’t tell, but he was too strong. He had his right arm around her before she had the chance to move.
At first, she laughed, acting as if it was just a bit of playing. It was. She knew it was. This was Christian, and he was just playing with her. But for some reason it now felt far too intrusive, and she wanted the contact to end. She patted his arm and looked back to give him a smile as she attempted to step away. But then he leaned his head onto her shoulder and tightened his grip.
“You’re mine,” he whispered as he kissed the side of her brow.
There was no way to hide the amount of shock that came across her face at that moment.
“I’m nobody’s,” she whispered back as she tried to step away, but this time his left hand came up across her collar bones, holding her shoulders tightly against his chest.
He chuckled as he whispered in her ear, “I’m talking aboutteams, silly girl. You’re onmyteam.” Then he winked. “You’re funny.”
And then he abruptly released her as he walked off. She stared at the disc in her hand for a moment, trying to figure out what exactly had just happened.
*******
By the time she got home, thanks to Maddie and not half-drunk Christian, she was sore and completely worn out. The soreness was partly from the game, and partly from her constant need to stay vigilant and not allow Christian within a few feet of where she stood. He had somehow managed to wrap his arms around her each time he had gotten close enough and she had hated it.
She groaned when she stepped out of the shower and heard the ding from her phone.
Christian: Had a great time tonight.
Can’t wait for the next one.
Chapter 24 - Sam
For once, Sam was in a good mood when she walked into work the next day. That ended abruptly when Mr. Brimley caught her heading to her section.
“Sam, come see me in the back room after you clock in!” he yelled as he headed toward the storage room.
She dreaded the walk through the kitchen, already knowing what Mason wanted. There was a festival going on downtown, which meant it would be a slow night. On rare occasions, that meant he would send a few of them home. She had made it clear on one of those previous nights that she would stay and help in any manner if it meant getting paid. She hadn't realized that would mean washing the bathrooms and spending far too many hours rolling silverware.
When she saw her normal section hadn’t even been set up, she said a quick prayer that it would be a silverware night and not a bathroom night. When he turned left into the small back storage room, she smiled, remembering she had at least brought her headphones tonight and could listen to music while she worked.
That excitement turned sour when she found Callum standing directly to her right.
“Sam, Mr. Barker here has offered to help with some of the back stock tonight. I told him you could handle it, but he insisted. Please, no more blunders.” Mr. Brimley’s eyes bored into Sam’s, pleading with her not to mess this up. “So, we need the silverware rolled. Our to-go bags aren’t made up either. And we got in a new shipment of menus that need to be placed into the bindings. I need them all organized and put together. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Mr. Brimley, I’m sure–”
“Do the silverware first, okay? People can’t eat our food with their hands,” he said with a smirk as he walked out the door and headed back to the front, leaving her alone and behind a closed door with Callum.
They stood there silently for a moment, each waiting for the other to say something.
Neither budged.
Sam took a deep breath to gather herself, then took off her apron and threw it in the corner. If she was going to be stuck in here with him, she was going to make sure the task was completed as quickly as possible.
She was halfway through rolling her third set of silverware when she realized Callum still hadn't moved from his spot against the wall. Although she couldn’t see him from where she stood, she was certain she hadn’t heard the door open and close. He was most likely standing behind her not doing a damn thing but being a creep, and she made a promise to herself not to be the first to crack. She continued with the task until it became mindless and rote—until she had no clue how many sets of silverware she had rolled.
“You should make sure they’re all facing the same direction.”
“I’m sorry, what?” she asked, tone full of attitude.
“The fork. Every now and then you turn it backward compared to the spoon and knife.” His voice was timid and shy.