“And she’s trying to support a kid, Knoxy. Have a heart,” Max pointed out.
I swore under my breath. “Walk each other out,” I ordered and then went after Naomi.
I found her in the parking lot next to an ancient ten-speed.
“You’re not riding that thing home,” I announced, grabbing the handlebars.
Naomi let out a long sigh. “You’re lucky I’m too tired to pedal or fight. But I still quit.”
“No, you don’t.” Handing her the apron, I hauled the bike over to my truck and put it in the bed. She limped along after me, shoulders slumped.
“Jesus, you look like you got trampled by a herd of horses.”
“I’m not used to being on my feet for hours at a time. Okay, Mr. Pushes Paper From a Comfy Desk Chair?”
I opened the passenger side door and gestured for her to get in. She winced when she climbed up.
I waited until she was settled before shutting her door then rounding the hood and sliding behind the wheel. “You’re not quitting,” I said just in case she hadn’t heard me the first time.
“Oh, I’m definitely quitting. It’s the only thing that got me through the shift. I plotted all night. I’d be the best damn server you ever saw, and then when you had your change of heart, I’d tell you I quit.”
“You’re un-quitting.”
She yawned. “You’re just saying that so you can fire me.”
“No. I’m not,” I said grimly.
“You wanted me to quit,” she reminded me. “I quit. You win. Yay you.”
“Yeah, well, you didn’t suck. And you need the money.”
“Your benevolence is astounding.”
I shook my head. Even exhausted, her vocabulary still hit high on the SAT scale.
She rested her head against the seat. “What are we waiting for?”
“Making sure the girls walk out together and get in their cars.”
“That’s nice of you,” she said, yawning again.
“I’m not a complete asshole all the time.”
“So just with me then?” Naomi asked. “I feel so lucky.”
“Cards on the table?” I didn’t feel like sugarcoating it. “You’re not my type.”
“Are you kidding me right now?” she said.
“Nope.”
“You’re not attracted to me, so that means you can’t even be civil to me?”
The back door opened, and we watched Max and Silver exit with the last bag of trash. They marched it to the dumpster together and high-fived after heaving it in. Max waved, and Silver tossed me another salute on their way to their respective cars.
“I didn’t say I wasn’t attracted to you. I said you’re not my type.”
She groaned. “I’m definitely going to regret this, but I think you’re going to have to break it down for me.”
“Well, Daisy. It means my dick doesn’t care that you’re not my type. It’s still standing up, trying to get your attention.”
She was quiet for a long beat.
“You’re too much work. Come with too many complications. And you wouldn’t be satisfied with just a quick fuck.”
“I believe Knox Morgan just said he couldn’t satisfy me. If only I had a phone to immortalize that statement on social media.”
“A. You’re getting a new phone immediately. It’s irresponsible to go without one when you have a kid to think about.”
“Oh, shut up. It’s been a handful of days. Not months. I didn’t know I was going to have a kid to think about,” she said.
“B. I could satisfy the hell out of you,” I plowed on, pulling out of the parking lot. “But you’d just want more, and that doesn’t suit me.”
“Because I’m an ‘uppity, needy pain in the ass,’” she said to the darkness out her window.
I didn’t have a defense. I was an asshole. Plain and simple. And the sooner she realized that, the farther she’d stay from me. Metaphorically speaking.
Naomi let out a weary sigh. “You’re lucky I’m too tired to slap you, jump out of this vehicle, and crawl home,” she said finally.
I turned onto the dirt lane that led to home. “You can slap me tomorrow.”
“Probably just make you want me more.”
“You’re a pain in my ass.”
“You’re just mad because now you have to find a new spot to pee in your yard.”
THIRTEEN
HISTORY LESSONS