Unexpected
Authors: Sarah G.
Unexpected
By
Sarah G.
Lotus
Blossom is an imprint of Parker Publishing Inc
Copyright ©
2011 by Sarah G.
Published by
Parker Publishing Inc
12523
Limonite Avenue, Suite #440-176
Mira Loma,
California 91752
www.parker-publishing.com
All rights
reserved. This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States
of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written
permission of the publisher.
This book is
a work of fiction. Characters, names, locations, events and incidents (in
either a contemporary and/or historical setting) are products of the author’s
imagination and are being used in an imaginative manner as a part of this work
of fiction. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, settings, or
persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ISBN: 978-1-60043-127-2
(ebook)
First
Edition
Manufactured
in the United States of America
Cover Design
by Parker Publishing Inc
I would like to dedicate this story
to all my fellow k-pop fan girls who not only love their idols and show their
support by buying their music, attending their concerts (no matter how near or
far they have to travel ^^), but above all else give their all toward
supporting and promoting k-pop worldwide. This book is also dedicated to all
the people who encouraged and reviewed and kept me going when I thought I would
never be able to finish an entire novel on my own. K-Pop Fighting!
I would like to thank Lisa Green
for pushing me to finish. Parker Publishing for taking a chance on my little
homemade, unedited manuscript, and all the ladies at the Valent Chamber.
“He’s here again!”
Rachael’s stage-whisper was more of a
holler as Noel arrived for her shift at the diner in the small locals’ casino
in Las Vegas. Looking at her friend and co-worker with curiosity and Noel
asked, “Who’s here?”
Grabbing her arm, Rachael yanked Noel
over to the small round window in the door of the employee’s locker room and
pointed a finger. “Him over there!” she exclaimed breathlessly.
Following the direction of her finger,
Noel spotted a head of dark hair bent over a bowl of soup and shrugged. “I just
see a guy eating." Noel shrugged, commenting blandly, “And he looks
Asian.”
Exasperated, Rachael turned to Noel.
“Why are you being this way?”
“What way?”
Gesturing wildly up and down,
bright red curls flying, she said, “
This
way, like you’re too cool
for your shirt or something.”
Slowly becoming exasperated, Noel
turned to her crazy co-worker. “Well, how do you want me to act? I mean he’s
cute from what I can see of him, but it’s not like cute guys avoid this place
all the time, right?”
Rachael sniffed. “Not all the
time, and definitely not one like
him
.”
“Well, have you talked to him?”
The other woman shook her head
slowly. “I just took his order and barely got the words out. I’m not like you
when it comes to man candy. I didn’t know what else to say besides ‘will that be
Coke or Pepsi’?”
It seemed odd that someone as
vivacious as Rachael Hughes could be tongue-tied around the opposite
sex--especially if they happened to be good-looking—but there it was. Normally,
she was the classic waitress from diners world-wide—sans the heavy makeup and
beehive hair-do—never forgetting a regular’s preference for over-easy or
poached and always ready with a sassy comeback to mild attempts at flirtation
by some of the older patrons.
Turning back toward her locker,
Noel grabbed her apron and order pad, preparing for yet another adventure in
serving coffee and hamburgers to the casino’s often colorful denizens. Glancing
at Rachael, she paused noticing the odd expression on her friend’s face.
“What?”
“
You
do it!”
Utterly confused now, Noel just
stared back at her.
“You go and talk to him for me!
You’re great at getting people to talk!”
Noel raised her hands in a
no
way
gesture. “Uh uh. No way. I might be good at getting people to
talk, but sometimes I wish I was better at getting them to shut up.”
“Oh please, please, please!”
Rachael pleaded, her green eyes twinkling. “I’ll even trade a weekend with you.
Please…”
Letting out a sigh, Noel gave in,
even without the added incentive of having a rare weekend free. “Fine I’ll chat
him up a little, just stop with the goofy pretty-please face okay.” With a
triumphant smile, Rachael pushed her friend out of the locker room.
The Aloha Room was located inside
of one of the small Downtown Las Vegas casinos and hadn’t changed its
kitschy-pseudo-South-Pacific-style décor since the glory days of the Rat Pack
and the owner had absolutely no intentions of ever doing so. The Formica
tables, vinyl-upholstered booths and fake Tiki statues had seen a lot of life,
but there was something comforting about a place that had no pretensions other
than serving great food on the cheap and staying open twenty-four hours. True
to form, the employees wore gaudy Hawaiian shirts and khakis as their uniform.
The female employees also wore huge fake plumes or hibiscus flowers in their
hair, while the males wore cheap plastic leis.
Before she sought out her target,
Noel made her rounds, refilled drinks, took food orders and of course, heard
some of the best tall-tales this side of the Pecos. There was just something
about Sin City that brought out the semi-literary in a lot of people,
especially in this place off the Strip. The diner wasn’t glamorous, but the
food was good and there was always coffee and pie for the night crawlers.
Walking towards the man in the
corner booth, Noel’s stomach began to mysteriously flutter. A little confused
by her body’s reaction to a man she had yet to see up close and personal, she
mentally shook herself.
He’s just a nice-looking guy, she
said to herself. He might be married or gay or both.
“Hello sir, can I get you anything
else?”
The dark-haired head rose, and
Noel’s heart somersaulted in her chest. She swallowed nervously, her mouth
having dried up like the Nevada desert.
The eyes that met hers were a
sparkling fawn with a bright hazel iris ringing the outside, held court in a
face that could only be described as drop-dead-fucking-
gorgeous
. A long
straight nose, a full pouty mouth that was practically screaming
kiss
me
, and strong arrogant chin made up the remainder of his fine-boned and
flawless features. He had the kind of golden, smooth skin no amount of money
could ever buy. His was pure genetics.
His hair was a few inches long and
styled in something akin to a faux hawk, but instead of looking like a million
such guys, the hottie sitting at the table and staring at her took her breath
away. No wonder poor Rachael went mute.
Closing the mouth she knew was
hanging slightly agape, Noel focused her eyes on her pad. “Is there anything
else you need,” she asked politely, a touch of huskiness that was due to having
dredged up some saliva.
He smiled, revealing two of the
cutest twin dimples on both cheeks and Noel was a total goner. Dimples on a man
were just icing on a very sexy cake.
“I would like some dessert,” he
said in heavily accented English.
Noel began rattling off the
dessert choices, all the while trying not to fall to her knees and pledge
undying love to the yummy specimen of maleness in front of her. “Would you like
a slice of butter pound cake, cherry pie, or chocolate ice cream?”
He smiled again, and his teeth
were so white and straight he could easily have been a toothpaste model. “I
would like something chocolate,” he replied with a wink.
Oh, I’d like give you something
chocolate alright,
came the wicked thought as she imagined herself
spread out naked on the table dressed in whipped cream and a cherry on top.
“We also have chocolate mousse, German
chocolate, Black Forest, Devil’s Food or chocolate fudge cake. There’s also
chocolate and chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, and I think we have
chocolate cream and French Silk pie too.”
“Which one is your favorite,” he
asked, his eyes practically swallowing her whole.
“I like the chocolate cream pie,”
Noel replied.
“Then that is what I will have…”
his eyes flicked to the name tag she wore on her left breast, “Noel.” He
finished sexily.
Oh my god, her name had never
sounded so like aural sex from any man’s lips and for a moment she’d forgotten
how to even spell pie.
“One slice of chocolate cream pie
coming up,” and she quickly turned to put in his order, feeling his eyes
practically caressing her backside.
God, she’s perfect
, Kai Park thought to himself as he
watched the pretty black waitress walk away. His body began to stir in a way it
hadn’t in a very long time. His eyes grazed over her ample curves, and his
breath began to quicken when his mind began to imagine his hands roaming over
the creamy expanse of warm brown skin.
As his pants grew uncomfortably
tight, Kai mentally chided himself
Get a hold of yourself, you don’t
know anything about her
, but he definitely wanted to know more.
Kai knew he had to calm himself
down and fast if he didn’t want to embarrass himself further. He had almost
gotten his desire under control when he saw her approach him with pie in hand.
With each step she took, her full hips rolled, and immediately Kai thought of
sinking himself between those warm brown thighs. He bit back a groan as he felt
himself begin to rise again. Somewhat awkwardly he shifted in the booth trying
to curb his increasing arousal. When she got to the table, she sat the dessert
down in front of him and asked in a voice that he would never forget, “Anything
else I can get for you, sir?”
His mind instantly answered
her;
yes
you spread out naked across this table.
The moment the innocuous question
passed Noel’s lips, she got the sense that his mind was right next to hers—in the
gutter. The predatory smile that crossed his face only confirmed her
suspicions. There was absolutely nothing she could say while waiting for him to
dismiss her and start eating. Instead, she found herself entranced by his
all-too knowing gaze.
“I’ll take over from here, okay.”
Rachael’s voice cut into her thoughts and she looked over to see Rachael
standing next to her with a curious expression on her face. “Thanks for helping
me out.”
Noel felt like a total dork,
ogling a customer like some fangirl. Putting on her best professional waitress
demeanor, she grinned at her co-worker. “No problem. I’ve got coffee and a
breakfast special over on table two.” Without further ado, she headed to the
counter to wait for the order. Hidden behind the glass display that held
plastic models of the diner’s dessert choices that were so old, the blueberries
on the faux blueberry pie looked as if they were sprouting mold, Noel chanced a
quick glance at Mr. Gorgeous Pie Guy.
The pie was everything the
waitress—Noel—had said it was. The only problem was that it wasn’t served atop
a naked, dark-skinned goddess and he wasn’t using his mouth to eat it off of
her. Kai shifted in the booth for the hundredth time, trying to keep an eye on
her, while also being polite to the waitress who’d replaced her. Granted the
replacement was cute, with bouncy red curls, pale skin, and freckles, but she
did absolutely
nothing
for him.
Kai savored her name in his
mind—Noel. It was ironic that she’d have such a holy name when he wanted to do
such unholy things to her and he had no idea why she stirred him so. Even from
where he was sitting he could detect the faintest trace of her scent—a heady
combination of coffee and something flowery. No matter where he was in the
world, he’d always know her by that unique fragrance.
Finishing his dessert, he wiped
his mouth with the thin paper napkin, tossed a few dollars on the table to
cover the bill (plus a nice tip for Noel), and gazed hungrily in her direction.
He stood up, angled his lean body so that his semi-hard erection wasn’t quite
so noticeable and walked out of the diner. He’d be back.
The moment her mysterious admirer
exited the restaurant, Noel felt the lack of his presence. There was something about
him that commanded attention, outside of his looks. Rachael kept giving her
weird looks, but thankfully said nothing as she handed over the tip the man had
left.
Wow, he left a fifty-dollar
bill. He can come back anytime.
There was little time to contemplate
the tip or anything else that night. The diner was having one of its busy
spells with a group of seniors from the casino’s bingo room. Some were regulars
and Noel stopped to chat with them as they ordered. By the time her shift was
over, she was exhausted, but not too exhausted to wonder about
him.
Noel headed to the locker room,
more than ready to call it a night. She needed bed in the worst way, and a long
hot shower—not in that order. The shower would be far better if a certain Asian
guy with a taste for chocolate cream pie was scrubbing her back.
He
really was a beautiful man, she thought, conjuring the image of thick dark
hair, gold skin, and polychromatic eyes. He was the kind of man who belonged in
GQ or on stage somewhere. How someone who looked like him wound up in her diner
was anyone’s guess, but she hoped he would show up again soon. More than likely
he wouldn’t and with a resolute sigh, Noel grabbed her things and headed for
home.
Noel awoke the next morning,
stared up at the plain white popcorn ceiling, her body still tingling from
having dreamt of the sexy customer. She didn’t know where to put her new
obsession, since few men had ever made such an instant and lasting impression
on her. She reluctantly rose from her bed and from the hottest fantasy she’d
had in ages.
It wasn’t as if anything exciting
hadn’t happened in her life, but as she took a look around her plain apartment
with its white walls devoid of even a dollar-store reproduction of classic art
and plain beige carpet that showed every stain, Noel realized that perhaps she
just existed rather than being a participant. There was little furniture
outside of the bed, a side table, and a dresser, all made of dark mahogany.
She’d brought it from her aunt’s house when she’d moved from Chicago to Nevada
five years ago. She’d been so proud of herself then, moving away from
everything familiar, starting up a new life in one of the most exciting cities
in the world. She sighed, wondering where the hell that sense of possibility had
gone.