Discipline

“Linh! What are you doing sitting in a corner?” Harry bellowed from behind the bar, one arm wrapped around Adriana as he used the other to help her do a good pour from the tap. “No one puts Linh in a corner!”

I eyed her as she grinned quietly at table ten. “Stop texting!” I scolded playfully. She gave me a little shake of the head, running her tongue over the corner of her top lip.

“You don’t want me to stop texting,” she murmured, giving no details when I asked for clarification. I let it go though because I was busy accompanying Kelsey as she flirted with the new, sandy-haired line cook. Apparently, all it took were a few shots for her confidence to make an appearance. It helped that Em had taken it upon herself to play wingwoman, supplying stories of Kelsey’s own cooking forte and doing such a good job that I let myself step away. Or rather, let Harry pull me away. His big hands covered the cutouts of my dress, warming my bare skin. I closed my eyes with relaxation, though they shot open within seconds.

Closing my eyes made me see Daniel. Damn it, forget him, I reminded myself. But it was too late. In my warm, tipsy haze, I was lusting for the touch of his hands again.

“You and Adriana drive me fuckin’ crazy,” Harry murmured as he leaned me against a wall. “Whoever your ex was, he was a stupid tosser for letting go of this. I fuckin’ dream about this body.”

“Shut up,” I snorted.

“I’m serious. You and Ade are my go-to fantasy for my morning shower wank.”

My hand flew to my mouth to cover a guilty laugh. “Harry!”

“What?” he grinned. “I can assure you that at least a hundred other guys who’ve eaten here have gone home done the same while imagining you two, so I’m not in the minority here. The guys in the kitchen too. It’s just part of us being guys and you two being fuckin’ gorgeous girls. We’re not all gonna try to have sex with you, but we’re sure as hell gonna think about it. ‘Cause there’s nothing wrong with that, right?” He laughed at my contorted expression. It was all flattering if I really considered it but still strange to actually hear. Though if anyone were to be this honest about their sexual fantasies, it was a drunk Harry. “For example,” he started, “my dream is having you and Ade in the shower. Naked, skin all shiny, suds all over. But it’s not like I’ve asked you two to come over and jump in because… well, because you’ve been spoken for all these years. If you hadn’t been, I probably woulda tried my luck.”

I laughed, covering my face. “That’s… good to know, Harry.”

“Hey now, don’t act like you don’t have fantasies about guys. You know you did. Especially after being with a dickhead for so long.”

He wasn’t wrong about that. Fantasies got me through my relationship with Ben. Almost every time I was in bed with him, I imagined someone else. On more than several occasions, it was Daniel. Mr. Cole. Because the equivalent of Harry’s shower fantasy was my classroom one. It had followed me from high school into adulthood and seen modifications along the way. As a senior, the fantasy simply consisted of a good, long make-out session while sitting on the edge of Daniel’s desk. As I got older, I imagined him peeling my clothes off before laying me flat on my back, keeping just my skirt on before throwing my legs over his shoulders, rattling desk drawers as he pumped in and out of me while squeezing my breasts.

God, stop. Stop thinking about him. The mere image of Daniel was enough to make me lose my breath and feel warm.

“I think I need a glass of water,” I breathed, suddenly pulling away from Harry.

He laughed, his eyes narrowing at me. “Who were you thinkin’ of?”

“What?”

Harry bit his grin. “He’s a lucky bastard, whoever he is.”

All I could do was smile sheepishly as I rounded the bar to get a glass. But before I could, Linh grabbed my hand.

“Follow me,” she murmured, her dainty fingers grasping mine with a surprisingly strong grip as she led me outside.

“What are we doing?”

“You’ll see.”

A crisp breeze cooled my cheeks once Linh pushed through the door. I closed my eyes, tilting my head to let it blow on my warm neck.

But when I opened them, the heat returned — to my face and every other part of my body. I stared at the person standing before me.

“Daniel!”

I willed my hands not to immediately reach out and touch him. But he looked so adorable and simultaneously sexy in dark wash jeans and a plain, heather blue T-shirt — through which I could make out the lines of hard muscle on his chest. My stare slid from that to is hair. It seemed to have grown since the last time I’d last seen it and was a bit messy, as if he’d been running his hands through it beforehand. God, he’s so cute.

But the best part above all was the fact that he was smiling. That gorgeous, knee-weakening smile with those dimples that made his cheekbones look more carved from stone than usual. I hadn’t seen that smile once the last time we were together.

“Hey.” He rubbed his curved lips as he gazed at me. I held my breath as he paused before lowering his voice to a murmur. “I’ve been thinking about you.” He laughed quietly. “I can’t stop, actually.”

And inst

antly, I was a useless, speechless puddle of mush. Which wasn’t good because in the back of my head, something was nagging me, telling me that it was dangerous for Daniel to be here, despite the fact that we were in the city, in the Lower East Side. Not Woodhill.

“Alright, lovebirds, we’re gonna go inside,” Mike’s voice declared from behind me. I spun around to see him with an arm draped around Linh, who gave me a little wink.