Obsession: Loving An Alpha Male (6 page)

“Or he’s a stalker,” I said, rolling my eyes.

Joy waved me off. “But Steven proved that wasn’t the case when he came out from the back. Right on time, I might add. Look, stop trying to figure out ways to downplay what’s happening. This is your moment, I think, so relax and see where this goes.”

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, “Let fate decide, huh?”

She nodded. “Yup, let fate decide.”

I screwed up my face. “You know fate has a messed up sense of humor, right?”

She laughed. “Don’t I know it, but for some reason fate led you here, to this city. It led you to the apartment across the hall from me, it led you and I to meet, and I think it will lead you while you’re sitting at PNC Park with your hero so he can also save you from all the hurt and pain that tries to devour you every day.”

We clinked our glasses, took the shot, slammed our glasses down, and burst out laughing.

I really do love this girl
.

Saturday I spent my day doing laundry and cleaning my apartment. Typically, I do it on my days off, but this Sunday, tomorrow, I plan on being with Josh at the Pirates game so I didn’t want to miss my opportunity to get some work done.

When I arrived at Finn’s that night, it was already packed. I made my way straight through to the back to see what tables Milo was placing me tonight. Looking around at the already drunk and horny men, I figured tonight would probably be eventful.

“It’s about time you got here,” Milo barked loudly.

Milo was a middle–aged guy who had been at Finn’s I think since it opened in the 90’s. He always gave us girls a hard time, but I knew deep down if anyone messed with his girls here, or if we needed him, he would be there. He was like our papa bear, and that’s what we called him. Milo was a tall man with a white beard and hair that reminded me of the bikers I ran into a few times working in Tennessee. He was tough and no nonsense and loyal to a fault. He was the complete opposite of Mr. Creepy.

I smiled at him, even though I was five minutes early and said, “I’m sorry, Papa Bear, I got here as fast as I could.”

“Yeah, yeah, I need you working tables sixteen to twenty, Sweetness.”

He’d been calling me Sweetness since the first day I interviewed with him. I’m not sweet when it comes to doing my job, and I don’t let people bully me. Shocking I know. I could be assertive if I needed to so I could get paid, but he said to me one day, when I asked why he calls me Sweetness, that it was the way I smiled that made me sweet. I was sweet to the core and the reason why I got the tips I did from the patrons was they knew how sweet I was.

I didn’t correct him and tell him that I actually sometimes get crap from patrons. I knew however, if I said that to him, he’d probably have Ivan, our head bouncer, bounce people around in here until I did get treated fairly. It’s just the way Papa Bear was.

I quickly made my way to the back lounge the workers call home, put my stuff in my locker and made my way to the floor to make some money.

Three hours later, I was summoned to a table by one of the other waiters in the place, Adrian. He told me that some asshole was demanding I come and serve their table. I figured I knew who the asshole was. He was a regular here, and for some reason he would always ask for me or Rose, another waitress with dark long hair, big boobs and a good size ass. Rose was busy working on the other side of the room, so she probably couldn’t accommodate, which was why Adrian was looking for me. My tables were close to Adrian’s, so I swapped him for one of my tables that had four hot girls sitting and waiting to flirt with a hot waiter like Adrian.

Our attire at Finn’s consisted of black bottoms and a form fitting t–shirt with Finn’s written across the top in white letters. Joy cut a deep V in my shirt so my perky perfect tits, her words not mine, were on display. I wore a pair of shorts and had my favorite pair of black combat boots on my feet.

I walked over and smiled as soon as I got close to the table. Aaron made eye contact with me and grinned.

“There’s my girl. Jay, please meet the future Mrs. Aaron Kaminski.”

I smiled and was about to say something when my eyes fell on the one person I didn’t think I would see until tomorrow. Seeing him rake his eyes over me and watching his blue eyes turn dark, made me feel self–conscious. That was until I saw those dimples grace his face. I smiled back, and he moved toward me and pulled me into his arms.

I tensed at first, but as he squeezed me, almost possessive like, I couldn’t help but relax in his arms. He then pulled back but not without kissing me on my cheek. Of course I blushed.

“Hey, hey! Take your hands off my future wife.”

I looked at Aaron and rolled my eyes. “You better not say that too loud before Rose hears you.”

Aaron had been trying to get Rose to go out with him for months now. Rose, who just graduated from law school and was currently studying for the bar exam, to me was a perfect package with beauty and brains. Most guys think just because she worked here and showed off her rack that she was a ditz. But the girl was a handful and had no problem putting any man that was disrespectful or unwanted in his place. She was not afraid to say what was on her mind, or who she said it to. She and Joy were my idols.

Aaron grinned at me and shrugged. “Maybe if I make her jealous, she would say yes.”

I laughed. “Um, then you don’t know Rose very well, do you?” I looked around the table, and my eyes fell back on Josh. I said, “I thought you would keep better company.”

He laughed and nodded. “You would think, right. This is what happens when I’m left to my own devices. Maybe you can save me from being with them tomorrow if you come early to tailgate.”

“You asked her out? How do you two know each other?” I heard Michael lean in and ask.

As I mentioned before, I knew Aaron very well, and he was almost never without his partners in crime, Michael Day and Derek Slater. I noticed Josh didn’t answer Michael. He kept his eyes glued solely on me.

I got myself together and smiled at everyone. “What can I get you guys tonight? Your usual?”

“Of course, Sweetness,” Aaron answered, using my nickname, which made Josh’s eyebrows raise in shock and questioningly. “We need shots all around, then two pitchers of brew to start,” Aaron called out. The guys nodded their approvals.

“Can you also bring two glasses of white wine? Your best brand, of course.”

I turned to find two gorgeous girls with the tightest dresses that seemed to be rolled on their bodies walk up to the table. One of them moved up close to Josh and smiled.

I stepped back, clearly out matched and took note of her order. What wasn’t lost on me were all the frowns that came from the guys.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Aaron barked.

The woman didn’t address him. She looked over at me with such disdain on her face.

She said to me, “That’s all,” and swooshed me away with her hands.

I sighed; yup, it was definitely going to be that kind of night. I looked at Josh, who was actually scowling at her. He leaned closer to her and said something that changed that pretty face from her frown to shock. He then turned to face me and gave me another sweet smile.

“Can you make my shot a double?”

I smiled back. “Of course.”

I went to place the orders with Joy, and she smiled at me.

“Aaron got you roped up over there serving him again?”

I shrugged. “Well, you know how he is. I’m sure he would rather have Rose. But he and his boys tip very well, so I’m cool with it.”

She poured the pitchers then looked over at the table and asked, “So um, what’s up with that guy that couldn’t take his eyes off you?” I stared at her as if she had a third eye. That made her laugh, and she shook her head. “Yeah, I saw the way he was looking at you from here and how he keeps stealing glances of you while you stand in front of me.”

I quickly looked over at the table and found Josh’s eyes planted right on me. I thought that since he got caught, he would turn away, but he didn’t, except when the black haired girl that spoke rude to me started talking to him.

I looked back at Joy, and she was watching me.

I sighed and leaned into her. “That’s the guy I told you about.”

It was her turn to look at me as if I had a third eye.

She asked, “What? Are you saying that’s your date on Sunday?” I nodded. She looked back at the table then back at me. “Girl, you’re crazy. If Mr. Can’t–Take–His–Eyes–Off–You over there asked me to meet him in a deserted building somewhere in someone’s cornfields in the middle of the night buck naked in fifty below zero, I would.”

I shook my head. “You’re crazy, do you know that?”

“Yes, and so are you. It’s a good thing I talked some sense into you.” She shook her head and continued filling my order.

I brought the two pitchers, with Adrian’s help, and the shots to Aaron’s table. I placed the two wine glasses in front of the girls and the shots around to the guys, ending with the double shot in front of Josh.

He leaned into me and said, “Thanks, baby.”

I couldn’t help the huge grin that rose on my face, as well as the huge blush.

“You’re welcome.”

I tried to concentrate on passing out the empty glasses for the beer and not to the intense stare I was getting from Josh.

“Sweetness, that rowdy ass table of yours in the corner is calling for you,” one of the other waitresses told me as she walked by.

I nodded and then turned to the guys. “Enjoy your drinks, and I’ll be back to check on you.” I smiled quickly and walked away from another one of Josh’s questioning looks.

The night was winding down, and I was wrapping up my tables. I was exhausted. I had been on my feet running for hours and I had to fight off a few wandering hands that kept finding themselves on my butt.

I tried not to pay attention to Josh and his friends, but it was so hard not to. They were loud and having a great time with each other. The drinks kept being ordered as well as food. I was actually getting a little envious of the women around the table, especially the black haired girl. As the night progressed, she made it obvious at the table that Josh was hers, and she flirted with him the whole night. I couldn’t tell Josh’s reaction to her. He seemed to treat all the women at the table the same. But I did notice one thing, he saved his genuine smiles for me.

It never went unnoticed by me how he looked at me or touched me as I got close to him. I wanted to stop what I was doing and talk to him. I wanted to feel him hug me again, and God, I wanted to know what was behind the look he gave me that managed to always make me weak in the knees.

I didn’t see much of the guys after that. Milo switched me to the storage room, checking his bottle stock so he could place his orders for the month, so Rose took over my table. Unfortunately, when I came back to the floor, Aaron’s table was empty.

After we closed, Rose caught up with me and gave me my tips from my tables she worked, including Aaron’s table. I was surprised at the amount of money I made, but I really shouldn’t have been. As I said before, Aaron and his friends tipped very well.

I split my tips with Rose, cashed out and made my way to the door.

“See you Monday, Milo.”

Milo looked at me from wiping the counters. “You have a ride home, Sweetness?”

“I’m going to catch the bus home.”

“Uh no you’re not, get a ride with Ivan, Sweetness, you got me?”

I hated asking anyone for anything, but you didn’t go against Milo. If I got on a bus anyway, he’d be at my apartment cussing me out and then would make sure I had a ride home every night just so I wouldn’t take the bus.

So I nodded. “Yes, I got you. Have a good night.”

He grunted his goodbye, which made me laugh. It also gave me such a warm feeling. I’ve never had someone that cared about me that much and didn’t want anything in return. Milo just cared because of the kind of person he was. He was like the dad I never had, and I felt so blessed to have him.

I know it sounds crazy that I’m not afraid to go home by myself at night. I mean, I feel safe enough that I don’t get paranoid someone’s going to be waiting for me. I’m confident that I’m safe… it’s just when I start to have a nightmare that I panic and start to second guess everything. I let the fear and despair take over, and it takes a long time before I convince myself I’m safe. It wasn’t like that all the time, I will point out. When I first left New Jersey and I was on my own, I used to be so afraid to fall asleep.

I was so scared I used to only find jobs that had nightshifts because I usually slept through the day instead of at night. I gradually got to the point I was comfortable to at least fall asleep, but it took close to a year. I’ve definitely come a long way, and even though I have nightmares and sometimes can’t sleep after them, at least I’m free.

I smiled and walked out of the bar with the intent on getting a ride from Ivan when it seemed someone else was waiting for me.

I shook my head and smiled. “What are you still doing here?”

Josh, who was sitting on the hood of his car stood and walked towards me.

“I was waiting for you actually.”

“For me. Why?”

Josh put his hands in the front pockets of his jeans and shrugged. It was that moment where I got a glimpse of shyness from this seemingly hard man.

“Well, you disappeared on me, and I never got a chance to talk to you. So I hung around and waited until you got off to see if I could at least give you a ride home.”

I was stunned. He waited until I got off just to give me a ride home? So I did what any woman would do in this situation, I blushed. Okay well, I did what I would normally do in this situation.

He smiled at me. “I hope I’m not being too much like a stalker.”

I laughed and shook my head. “No, you’re not. I’m just surprised that’s all. I thought, you know, you’d be with someone else right about now.”

Josh’s forehead creased as he moved a little closer to me.

“The only someone I want to be with right about now is standing in front of me.”

Well, I’ll be damned.

I swallowed because, hell, that’s all I could bring myself to do.

“Hey, Sweetness, Milo said you needed a ride.”

Josh and I turned around and found Ivan coming through the bar door. Ivan looked at Josh up and down frowning then his face broke into a very large and very rare smile.

“Oh hell nah, Coop, is that you?”

I turned to look at Josh, and a huge smile was on his face as well.

“Unfucking believable,” Josh said.

I moved out of the way as the two men embraced in a man hug and hard slaps on the back.

“When did you get in town? I thought you were overseas,” Ivan said.

“I’ve been back for a while now. I didn’t know you were here, or I would have called you. How’ve you been? Have you spoken to Malcolm?” Josh asked.

Ivan nodded. “No actually, I haven’t. How is the family, especially your mom and sister?”

Josh finally looked at me and the confusion etched on my face. He smiled at me and pointed to Ivan.

“Ivan and my brother served in the military together. Ivan used to come home with my brother for the holidays for my mother’s cooking and to hit on my sister.”

Ivan laughed and nodded, “Yeah, your sister and mom are hot.”

“Uh–huh. Watch that shit. You may be bigger, but I’ll still kick your ass.”

Ivan laughed again, and I was completely floored.

You have to understand Ivan to know that this was a rare occurrence. Ivan was about six–six and three forty, just putting it lightly. He was probably more than that. He was a big white guy with tattoos running up his arms and neck. He was as mean as they came and people have learned the hard way not to mess with Ivan, much less threaten him, jokingly or not. So to see him laugh at Josh when Josh threatened him was crazy.

Ivan shook his head and said, “So do you still need that ride, Sweetness, or is this clown taking you home?”

Josh looked at me. “Well, I’ve asked to take her home, but she hasn’t said yes or no.”

Both of them watched me expectantly, but I was still stuck on the “I’ll kick your ass” comment.

Finally, I shook out of my trance and said, “Oh yes, um, sure, if it’s not out of your way.”

Josh just smiled at me. “No, it’s not out of my way.”

He looked at Ivan as he reached for my hand. “Hey, call Malc. I’m sure he would love to hear from you.”

“I’ll do that and take care of Sweetness.” Ivan looked solemnly over at me.

Josh brought my hand up to his mouth and kissed it. I couldn’t move. The tingle from his lips started running from my hand up my arm to my body, and I instinctively shivered.

Did I tell you he was
hot
?

Without moving his gaze from mine he said to Ivan, “You know I will.”

I heard Ivan chuckle then say, “Yeah, I know you will.”

We said our goodbyes, and Josh folded me inside his black two–door GTO. As he drove down E. Carson, we were quiet. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking about, but my mind was going a mile a minute. I directed him to my street. That took him every bit of ten minutes to get to.

As he pulled up in front of the apartment, I said, “Thanks for giving me a ride.”

Josh looked over at me. “I had my own selfish reasons on doing it, but it was my pleasure.”

We both remained quiet for a minute before Josh asked, “Question, why do they call you Sweetness at work?”

I smiled. “Actually, Milo, my boss, the white bearded biker looking guy working behind the bar,” I watched as Josh nodded and then I continued, “Well, he says that I ooze sweetness. He started calling me that right after I interviewed for my job, and it, well, kinda stuck. Now even the regulars at Finn’s call me Sweetness.” I tilted my head. “Why do you call me Sweets?”

Josh frowned. “Did I call you Sweets?”

I nodded. “Yes, just the other day you did.”

“Huh.” He looked confused for a minute then he smiled. “Actually, I didn’t think you caught that. I guess it’s for the same reason then. It seems to fit you.”

I frowned slightly. “Well, I’m not always sweet.”

Josh gave me a crooked grin. “That’s good to know. I love a woman with a little spice to her.”

Josh reached for my hand and laced is fingers with mine. The air changed in the car at that moment as Josh leaned in closer to me. He looked in my eyes, then to my lips.

“Maybe one day you can show me the spicy side of you.”

My heart beat rose in anticipation. He was going to kiss me. Finally, he was going to place his heavenly lips on…
Ohhhhh, Goddddd
!

I closed my eyes as the most incredible sweetest sensation caressed my body that started from my lips. Josh kissed softly, his tongue entering my mouth but only caressed me ever so lightly just as his hand caressed my cheek. The kiss didn’t last long, but the effects of it I knew I would feel forever. I had never been kissed like that before, and it was doing all kinds of things to my insides.

When he pulled back, he smiled softly at me and brushed his thumb along my lips. I started to feel uncomfortable and conscious under his heavy gaze. I broke the trance and smiled shyly.

I said, “Josh, you make me nervous when you stare at me like that.”

“Why?”

I shrugged and laughed slightly. “Because I’m wondering what you’re thinking when you look at me the way you do.”

Josh leaned back against his door and said, “You should ask me. I’d be happy to tell you. As a matter of fact, would you like to know what I’m thinking now?”

I shook my head frantically. “I don’t think I could handle that right now,” I admitted, which made the car fill with his rich sounding laugh.

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” He grew silent, and he took my hand and squeezed. “Come on, let’s get you inside.”

He walked me to my apartment door and asked me if I wanted to make sure the coast was clear inside. I wanted to say yes, but I knew if I got him inside I probably wouldn’t let him leave. I was still feeling the effects of his kiss, so I told him no thank you.

“Let me see your phone,” he said to me.

I pulled my phone out and handed it to him.

“Can you say please?”

He smirked at me and took the phone. I watched him maneuver through my phone and then handed it back to me.

“My phone number is in there. Please call me if you ever take another nose dive on the track, or anywhere else, and you need someone to help you up and tie your shoes.”

I laughed again and pushed him in the shoulder.

“Yeah, okay,” I said as I took the phone back and opened my door.

“Text me when you’re on your way to the stadium tomorrow.”

I turned back around, stunned. “You still want me to go with you to the game tomorrow?”

He frowned and moved closer to me. “Hell yes! Why would that change?”

Uh, I don’t know. Maybe because I’m not sexy like that black-haired girl is,
I thought to myself.

“I thought that maybe you…” I started, but he gave me his signature frown, and I stopped talking.

He then said to me, “Look, Sweets, there’s no way I’m letting you back out of our date tomorrow. Get some sleep tonight, and I’ll see you at the stadium.”

He leaned into me and placed a chaste kiss on my lips. He backed away slowly, eyes still on my lips. I bit the bottom one, and I could have sworn I saw him stumble a little.

“Go inside, Sweets, we’ll talk tomorrow,” he said, his voice hard and grainy.

I nodded. “Okay… Good night Josh, and thanks again for the ride.”

“You’re welcome. Good night.”