Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 36476 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36476 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
What I can picture is Ivan sitting at his normal booth, waiting for me. I run my hand down my hair, making sure it’s smooth before I slip out the swinging door that goes back to the kitchen. I remind myself to smile. Always smile no matter what is going on in life.
It puts everyone at ease. I learned that at a young age. It even worked with Travis and JJ. If I was smiling, they both felt as though things would be fine. When we were kids, at least. Still, the trick tends to work on the rest of the world as well. So I smile no matter what is going on.
I don’t glance Ivan’s way even though I want to. Not yet. I’m trying to play it cool here. The struggle is real because whenever that man is in the room, my eyes tend to naturally gravitate toward him. I grab the plate of pancakes and bacon that is sitting on the window ledge, taking it over to the counter where a young man is sitting.
“Is there anything else I can get you right now?” He’s barely drunk his coffee.
“Nah,” he responds, never taking his attention off the phone in his hand.
“All right, I’ll check back in a little bit.” I turn to grab the coffee pot and cup before I finally let my eyes fall on Ivan. As always, he’s watching me. His phone sits on the table. He pays it no mind. It will sometimes buzz all the way across the table when I’m standing there taking his order, and still he leaves it. His focus always remains on me no matter what.
“Afternoon!” I chirp as I make my way over to him, setting the mug down in front of him. He’s in his normal suit, his black hair such a contrast to his striking blue eyes. They were the second thing to catch me off guard the first time he’d walked into the diner. The first was obviously his size.
“Rae.” He gives me a firm nod.
“Does it hurt to always be so stiff?” I ask. My question makes him sit up even straighter, which I didn’t know was possible.
“No.”
“Did you play football in school?” I ask next. This is the way it always is when I get around him. I can’t stop talking. Nor do I want to. I want to pull out whatever personal information I can from him.
“No.”
“Hmm. Really? They would have definitely dragged you on the field where I went to high school.”
“You think someone can drag me anywhere I don’t want to go?” Finally, his lips twitch, making my smile turn into a real one. If I thought he was handsome before, that was nothing in comparison to how he looks now.
“No, Ivan. I don’t think anyone can drag you anywhere you don’t want to go.” I shrug. “I figured maybe you went to college to play football or something.”
“You know what happens to the brain when it takes too many hits?” I scrunch my nose.
“I’ve heard some of those stories.” The long-term effects it’s had on men’s bodies from their time playing football. I fill up his mug. I don’t have to leave room for sugar or milk. He drinks the crap black.
“I’m not a fan of getting knocked on my ass.”
“Have you ever even gotten knocked on your ass, Ivan?” I laugh.
“I wasn’t always this big.” I pause. Ivan has given me a first real glance at who he is. I swallow, thinking I know what he means.
We’d been pretty lucky with some of the foster homes we’d landed in over the years, but I’ve heard other stories. Homes can seem so inviting from the outside, but you never know what happens behind those closed doors. Not until you’re inside and the rest of the world can no longer see.
“What are the specials tonight?” he asks, cutting through the silence that I for once let linger. I spout them off. He always wants to know them but never orders them. Instead, he goes for his normal cheeseburger and fries.
“You really are a creature of habit, Ivan.”
“Habits change,” he responds, picking up his mug to take a drink. His logic is not making any sense because, to me, he’s always the same.
“I’ll get your order in.”
“Take your time.” We both say it at the same time because I already knew what he was going to say.
“Habits,” I tease before I turn to leave to go put in his order. I don’t have to glance over my shoulder to know he’s watching me.
He always is.
5
Ivan
I sit in the back of the bar, doing my best to blend in. Rae sticks to staying behind the bar for the most part. I don’t know what I’d do if she was one of the scantily clad women who served drinks throughout the place.