“Oh, my God,” she whispers, covering her face with her hands.
Laughing, I pull her hands away from her face. “Okay, baby, I’ll stop.” Bringing one of her hands to my mouth and kissing it, I mutter, “Scout’s honor,” while holding up two fingers.
“I doubt you were ever a boy scout.” She rolls her eyes before looking over her shoulder and backing onto the street.
When we arrive at the restaurant, the place is packed, like it normally is on Saturday morning. You can tell by the crowd that most of the patrons were up late partying. Almost everyone has on sweats, and half are wearing sunglasses and holding coffee cups in their grasp, praying it cures the hangover they are suffering from. Placing my hand against Ellie’s lower back, I move us through the small restaurant to the back, where there is a free table for two, sitting close to the counter where you can watch the three cooks on the grill.
“Jax,” Jones, the owner and my friend, calls from behind the counter, where he’s stationed flipping eggs. Jones and I went to school together. He played football with me; his short, stocky build ruled the field every time he stepped onto the turf. He was our secret weapon. Hell, he still is.
“How’s it going, man?” I ask, pulling out Ellie’s chair for her to sit before taking my seat across from her, which gives me a view of the whole place.
“Can’t complain too much.” He smiles.
“You know you owe me ten on the Giants game, right?” I remind him, watching as he shakes his head, grinning.
“You’re really gonna make me pay up?” he asks, pointing at himself.
“Fuck yeah, you would’ve had my ass behind that grill if I lost.”
“You’re right.” He smiles. “You want coffee?”
“Yeah, two,” I tell him, watching as he signals for one of the busboys to bring us two coffees.
“How’s Sylvia?” I inquire, talking about his wife.
“Good, she’ll be in soon. Who’s your friend?” he asks, dipping his head towards Ellie, who is looking over the menu while simultaneously trying to hide behind it.
“This is my girlfriend Ellie,” I announce, watching a few heads in the room swivel my way as she hisses, “Jax,” while kicking me under the table.
“Baby, this is Jones, the owner,” I say, ignoring the look in her eyes that promises retribution.
“Nice to meet you,” she says, plastering a smile on her face.
“You too, beautiful.” He smiles then laughs as Ellie tries to kick me again, narrowly missing my junk.
“I told you you’d be the first to know if I had a girlfriend,” I remind her.
“I’m too hung over and haven’t had enough coffee to even contemplate how the hell I ended up in this situation,” she murmurs, taking another sip from her mug.
“Fate, baby…this is fate,” I tell her seriously, wondering how crazy she would think I am if I told her about the Boom.
“Jax?” Pulling my eyes from Ellie, I groan, seeing Felicia walking toward our table. Felicia has been one of my regular hookups for the last year. Unlike what my family thinks, I don’t sleep around with just anyone. Most of the women I’m with are people who don’t have time for relationships or just don’t want one. Which was perfect for me—that was, until Ellie. “You haven’t been returning my calls,” she says with a fake pout while crossing her arms under her chest.
“I’m off the market,” I tell her with a shrug, hoping she gets the point and moves along. She’s a nice woman, who is very intelligent when it comes to books, but common sense, not so much.
“I saw Mellissa at the nail salon and she told me you two were back together, but I honestly didn’t believe her,” she mutters as my teeth grit and Ellie’s body grows stiff in front of me, her fingers wrapped around her coffee cup turning white.
“I’m not with Mellissa,” I growl, annoyed that I fucking have to call her and make clear the status of our relationship. That being we don’t fucking have one.