Bentley (Hawthorne Brothers Book One)(4)

“Well, are you sure I don’t owe you anything?” I asked.

“Nope, you’re completely covered,” he said.

“Okay, great, I guess I’ll let you get back to work then. You probably want to leave anyway,” I said.

“Yeah, I think I’m going to get some breakfast,” he said.

“Oh, awesome, that sounds great. Well, I guess, have a good breakfast and I’ll see you around then,” I said, grabbing my keys and slowly turning around.

I’m not sure if I was expecting him to stop me and get down on one knee or something, but it didn’t happen, so, letting out a silent sigh, I walked to the door and put my hand on the handle.

“Wait,” he said, as I let go of the handle and turned around.

“Need me to sign something?” I asked.

“I know this is probably weird or sudden or something, but would you like to come with me? To breakfast, that is. I wouldn’t mind some company,” he said.

“Yeah, that would be great,” I replied with a smile.

Calm yourself, Anna. It’s just breakfast, the most innocent of all the date meals. Was this even a date? No, it couldn’t be. He just didn’t want to eat alone, that was it.

“I’m done here,” he said, as he turned off the lights and walked back around towards the door. “Why don’t I drive, and then I’ll bring you back here to your car.”

“Okay, yeah, that sounds fine,” I said, just happy to be going out with him.

“Great,” he said with a smile.





Chapter Four



Bentley



There was nothing better than getting a beautiful woman into the passenger seat of my car.

I saw the look on her face as I turned the key and unleashed its power. Vibrations flooded the interior as she shifted in her seat a little and grabbed the inside door armrest.

I screeched out of the parking lot towards my favorite diner, The Big Dipper, as traffic began to pick up in comparison to this morning. This place was a favorite of mine, and my family and I had been coming here since I was still in the high seat nibbling on pieces of bread. The lot was about half full when we pulled in, mostly filled with seniors getting their breakfast fix, as the handicap spots were all filled up.

“Ever been here?” I asked as I pulled into a spot.

“No, I don’t think I have. Is it any good?” she asked.

“The best diner in town,” I replied before turning off the ignition.

I could tell she was nervous, but I didn’t think she had reason to be. I was a good guy, albeit with a few bad tendencies, but I’d left those behind. I knew that breakfast wasn’t the best first date, if you could call this a date, but I figured it was better than just going home and being alone. At least I could get to know her a little bit more.

I pulled open the door for her, as well as for an older couple who came out of the restaurant.

“Thank you,” Anna said before walking inside.

The sound of clanking dishes and inaudible talking from all of the patrons and staff brought me back to my childhood. I used to look around in awe and amazement, completely entranced by the magic and allure of the diner. I think I still had a little bit of that in me, as I found comfort in the white noise of dozens of human voices all melding together.

“How many?” the hostess asked.

“Two, please,” I replied.

She looked over her seating chart before marking us down and grabbing two menus.

“This way, please,” she said, walking around the podium and guiding us to our table.

We squeezed through passing waiters and bus staff before going to a two-top near the back. It was a bit secluded from the action, but still great, as I knew it would provide Anna and me a chance to get to know one another a little bit better.

“It smells so good in here,” she said as she opened her menu.

“Tell me about it. I start to drool every time I come here,” I said.

“So, what’s good?” she asked.

“The pancake platter breakfast is always my go-to dish. Really anything here is good, though. I think I’ve tried almost all of it,” I said.

“You really must’ve come here a lot then,” she said.

“Hi guys, I’ll be right with you,” Connie, my usual waitress, said.

“I think I’ll go with the crepes. I saw some when we were walking to the table. They looked good,” she said.

“Always a great choice. So, you never told me what you’re studying in school,” I said.

“Business administration. I know it’s just such an exciting major,” she said sarcastically.

“Hey, nothing wrong with that. My brother was reading a magazine a few months back that said it’s an in-demand major,” I said.

“Yeah, I hope so. Jobs aren’t exactly easy to come by these days,” she said.

“Okay guys, what can I get you started with?” Connie asked as she came back with her pen and order pad.

“I think you know what I want,” I said.

“Pancake breakfast platter with an extra side of bacon instead of the sausage. How about you?” she asked, looking at Anna.

“I’ll do three of the crepes with strawberries and a side of toast,” she said.

“Water fine, or do you guys want something else to drink?” Connie asked.

“I’m fine with water,” Anna said.

“Same,” I replied.

“Great, I’ll get this in for you guys,” Connie said before taking our menus and walking off.

“So how long have you had the shop?” she asked.

“I’d say about seven years, I think. We got it when I got out of high school. Looking back, it was a risky thing to try, but my dad always wanted a shop anyway, so I guess he would’ve gotten it one way or another. It’s been great,” I said.

“Did you want to do anything else instead of this? For a career.”

“I always thought about becoming a cop or a firefighter. Those seemed like cool professions that I think I would’ve done well at. I’m happy at the shop, though, and I can’t even imagine my life without all this. I get to do what I love day in and day out, and even though I sometimes have stressful moments there, I wouldn’t change it for the world,” I said.

“That’s so great that you found something you love. I only hope that I can be as lucky. I’m not sure that will happen,” she said.

“Hey, don’t give up hope. You never know where life will take you and the things you might do. Hell, I know I didn’t expect to land here, but I did, and it’s great,” I said.

“Hopefully lightning will strike twice and I’ll get to do what I love too,” she said with a smile.

There was something so entrancing about her, but I couldn’t figure it out. Her smile wasn’t any more magical or bright than other girls’ I’d been out with. She wasn’t pushing her boobs out in some little dress or top, so it was nice how her body hypnotized me. It was just because of, well, her. It scared me a little, not going to lie. I’d almost feel bad if we got together and then I left. I knew I didn’t want to, that I wanted to see if I could handle some kind of relationship, but sometimes you can’t take the bad out of a bad boy. Sometimes you can’t change who you really are, no matter how much you want to.

It felt so easy to talk to her, like I was with somebody I’d known for years, even though I felt like I hadn’t known her for even ten seconds. We talked about life, friends, her schoolwork, and I even tried to remember her from high school, though I couldn’t no matter how hard I tried. I guess we were a few years apart, so that might be the reason why.

After about ten minutes Connie brought out our food, a veritable feast of the ages. I couldn’t swallow my spit fast enough before it filled up in my mouth again and my stomach rumbled. If only I could get an IV tap of this stuff daily I’d be the happiest man on the planet.

“How are you going to eat all that?” she asked as she unrolled her silverware from the napkin.

“You don’t think I can?” I asked.

“I don’t see how you can. You’ll burst!” she said, laughing a little.

“I bet you I can,” I said, unrolling my own silverware.

“What’s the prize?” she asked.

“A date—a proper date, at night, just the two of us,” I said, in a ballsy attempt to progress things further.

She looked at me for a second, not saying a word. I could almost see her brain scanning behind her eyes and thinking of what it wanted to say and do. I wasn’t too forward, was I? I’d been known to be like that in the past.

“Fine, you’re on,” she said, relieving me a bit.

“Then it looks like we’re going out again,” I said before taking the first bite.





Chapter Five



Anna



He was just about everything I thought he would be.

I enjoyed my time with Bentley immensely, and it was even better than I could have imagined. Just this morning I was nervously going into his shop on an act of fate to get a simple battery change on my car. I didn’t even know if I should go, even though he told me a few times I’d better show up, but I did, scared of seeing him again, and it looked like I was afraid for no reason at all.

He was funny, charming, nice, and a total bad ass, at least on the exterior. I admit he had some of those tendencies on the inside, though he wasn’t the “ass” part of that bad-ass moniker. Not only that, but he wanted to see me again, asking me out on a breakfast dare that I knew he’d complete. I just hoped his intentions were pure—but I knew they weren’t completely pure, considering he was Bentley and he had needs, wants, and desires to be fulfilled. I did, too. Just thinking of a night of passion and sex with him was enough to make me wet and ready for it. But that wasn’t all that I wanted, and I hoped that it wasn’t all that he wanted either.