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"Becca, guess what?" he said, bouncing up and down with excitement.
"What, Mark?" Becca asked, feeling a sense of warmth wash over me as I looked at the young boy.
"I'm going to kindergarten!" Mark exclaimed, his eyes shining with excitement.
"That's amazing, Mark! I'm so proud of you."
“Okay, big people, we’ll be going,” Steve said, taking Mark’s hand and leading him away. Mark waved at us before following his uncle away.
“It’s getting late, we should be going home too,” I said to Hunter.
“Want me to drop you off?” He asked suggestively.
“Give me a moment to think about that,” I replied.
One-Night Stand
Hunter’s POV
I watched as Becca walked away; her lithe frame encased in a matching two-piece set. We had just spent the whole day running through her books and now I couldn’t wait to get home and have some rest. Or maybe I couldn’t wait to have her to myself.
With Mark away with Steve, I was considering asking her to spend the night, I just couldn’t think of any way to say it without sounding like a prick. And the last thing I wanted to sound like to her was a prick.
I massaged my neck softly, stretching my head back and forth to look around me. It was dark outside, which meant that most of her customers were preparing to leave. I had a few more suggestions about the cafe but today was done and I didn’t want to keep her any longer.
“Give me an hour while the rest of them leave,” Becca said when she walked back to me. She had her bag in her hand, which she dropped on the table, and made her way through that damned passage back to the kitchen.
The place was too damned big for a cafe passage. No one needed that much space to make their way around the cafe and Becca could place some tables there and make some more profit off that. But the last time I had suggested that she’d gotten cold and had shut down the conversation.
I kept staring down at the books, trawling my eyes through them as I tried to find a loophole in the numbers that we could exploit, but it just wasn’t there. Unless something drastic happened, Becca needed serious help.
An hour later, the last patron stepped out and the door clicked closed behind the slight woman. A few minutes later, Becca made it out of the kitchen and nodded at me to start packing.
“Delia,” she called out. And waited while the girl made it out to the cafe.
“Yes, Becca?” The girl asked.
“Pack up the register and make sure it’s safe in my office, lock up when you girls are done,” she said. “I’m leaving,”
She walked over to me and picked up her bag. I got off the chair and made my way out of the cafe, right behind her.
As we walked out of the door and towards the parking lot, Becca turned to me with a smile.
"I really appreciate all of your help today, Hunter. I couldn't have done it without you," she said, a smile of gratitude on her face.
I smiled back at her. "Of course, Becca. You know I'm always happy to help."
Becca paused. "Listen, I was thinking... would you like to go out to dinner with me tonight? I want to thank you for all of your help, and I thought it would be nice to spend some time together outside of the cafe."
I felt my face stretch in a smile, and to think I hadn’t even had to do the work or get called a prick. The night just might end perfectly.
"I would love that, Becca. Thank you for the invitation."
I took her hand and led her over to my car. I’d drop her off tomorrow at the café, but tonight, I planned on taking every advantage that nature dropped in my lap. If she didn’t have her car, she’d be less likely to leave.
As we drove towards the diner, we chatted about our day, swapping stories and laughing together. I talked about my work in the big city, describing some of the interesting projects I had worked on. Becca shared some of the challenges she had faced at the cafe, and I listened with sympathy and understanding.
"I really admire how you've managed to keep going in the face of all these setbacks," I said, my voice tinged with admiration. "You're one tough cookie, Becca."
