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“Nah, we aged like fine wine,” I tease.
That makes a blush blossom on her cheeks. “Anyhow, what can I get for Mr….” she lowers her voice, “Horsecock?” She wiggles her brows and runs her tongue over her teeth.
The old nickname makes me cringe. I clear my throat when I catch Swayze watching us with an arched brow. I hope she didn’t hear that. “I’ll take a medium-well burger with a side of fries.”
She scratches my order down, batting her lashes at me. I wish she would stop. Not in front of Swayze. “And what to drink? I know you’ve got to be as thirsty as a bear in this heat wave.” She rests her tits on the counter, chewing on the end of her pen, which looks as if it’s taken one too many licks but keeps on kicking.
“What about a root beer float,” I add, trying not to focus on the weird things she’s doing with her mouth. “For old time’s sake.”
She gives me a wink. “I’ll put extra whipped cream on top.”
When Emily retreats, Swayze plops her pad down in front of me before leaning on the counter, replicating Emily’s stance. Propping her head in her hands, she observes Emily flirting with the cook.
“Horsecock, huh?” Comes from my Zair-Bear’s lips, and I want to cover her mouth and erase that nickname from her brain. Then she makes it worse. “More like Whalecock if you ask me.”
I tense at the reminder of what she walked in on last night. The mere thought of her staring at me with her arousal-coated fingers in her mouth and calling me Daddy sets off an inferno in me.
“Swayze Marie Solace!” I growl in a low tone so no one else can hear. She needs to stop. It’s only making our moral dilemma worse. And what are these women doing? With all the animal references, I feel like I’m at a fucked up zoo.
She pays no mind to the severity of the highly inappropriate predicament she’s putting me in. Nope. Instead, she picks up her pad with a shrug and smirk on her pretty pouty lips. “Oooo, now we use my full name. It looks like I’m getting under your skin.”
What the fuck am I going to do about this? Who is this girl standing in front of me? What the fuck did Mer do to her? It doesn’t matter. This is on me. I need to take responsibility for everything, even the way she’s reacting to me. This has to be a punishment for leaving. Whatever the punishment is, I deserve it. Guilt slams into me like a Mac truck. I’ll have to swallow this bitter pill I created.
Luckily my food is brought out without any penis references, and I’m able to eat my burger in peace. I drink half my float before growing tired of it and push my leftover fries around in the plastic wicker basket with its paper lining the bottom. Swayze doesn’t throw any more crude comments my way, but I do watch as she clears tables. When she catches me staring, she takes that as a cue to flaunt her ass which I have to force myself to look away from.
I finish my food and decide it’s probably safer to camp out in the car. The employees begin exiting the building a while later, signaling closing time. I begin worrying when the lights are turned off, and Emily is locking the front door. The blood in my veins runs cold. Where is Swayze? Has someone from my past taken her?
I exit the Mer’s station wagon and grab Emily’s elbow before she walks away. She gasps, slapping her hand over her mouth. I’m an idiot. Apparently, prison life has erased all of my common sense.
“I’m sorry, Emily, I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
Before I can ask about Swayze, she turns on the charm. “Did you want to go home with me tonight, Horsecock? You could’ve told me before when—”
I raise my hands, waving them in front of me. “No, no, sorry, Emily. I’m looking for Swayze. She’s my daughter. Do you know where she went?” I tamper down the panic in my voice.
“I had no idea that was your daughter.” Her penciled-in eyebrow arches at me skeptically. There’s a long pause before she purses her lips. “You know, if you like those younger girls, you could’ve just said so. You didn’t have to make up some fake daughter scenario.” She scoffs, shrinking away from me. “She took the back exit. Good luck with that one. She’s an absolute demon.” She walks away with her shoulder back and chin up.
I don’t even try to correct her. I don’t have time for her hurt feelings. My daughter is more important right now.
What has she gotten herself into?
Chapter Seven
Swayze
I say my goodbyes to the night shift waitresses, Emily and Carmen, completely ignoring Caleb. He’s the cook and has been trying to get in my pants for months. He’s my dad’s age, but he doesn’t look like he cares about personal hygiene with the tartar buildup on his teeth or the pimple that seems to be growing two heads between his caterpillar eyebrows. Except for the icky come-ons, he’s nice for the most part.
“Are you good, Doll Baby?” Caleb asks as he gets into his Kia, which is parked around the back of the diner.
I hold up the trash. “Yep, I’ll be out of here in no time. Pulled the short straw.”
“Seems like it. Be safe. Watch out for those cat burgers,” he jokes, closing his driver’s door.
He’s got the dad jokes. I shake my head, giggling inwardly on my way to the dumpster. Boxes labeled with tomatoes and buns are stacked on the side of the diner. I knock one over as I get on my tiptoes to open the lid wide enough to throw in the trash bag before it closes on me. A loud bang sounds when the plastic covering slams against the metal.
Something black zips between my legs, and I scream, “Eeeeek!” I dance on my toes, expecting a few mice to follow. A stray cat rounds the end of the alleyway, settling my racing heart. It must’ve been hiding in the turned-over box.
“You get spooked easily,” the slimy snake states, slinking from the shadows.
