Homeless Heart

Chapter 15

Phin

Friday was here, and I made sure I was at the café so as not to miss Lizzie. I was looking down, pretending to read my book when she came in.

She stopped in the doorway and was smiling at me when I looked up. Of course, a guy walked in and smacked right into her. He apologized, and she blushed which was cute as fuck. Watching her talk to this guy made me jealous in about two seconds. He was touching her arm, making sure she was okay. My whole body tightened, and my face changed from a smile to a scowl in a split-second. No one should touch her but me. Mine!

"You're here?" Seeing her smile dissipated the anger in seconds. Her smile was the best tonic I could ever take.

"Sorry, I missed you. I had some work to do yesterday morning. Will you join me before you run off to work? Go get your little black addiction."

She looked at her phone to check the time. "Sure. I'll be back in a minute." Watching her ass in her tight black pencil skirt made my jeans tighten, I had to shift in my seat to hide my boner under the table.

"Here, I got you a new cup of coffee, nice and hot."

"You didn't have to do that."

"I think I owed you one." I was a little disappointed that she bought me something. I should be buying her a drink. I hated owing anyone anything, especially her.

"I've got big plans for making you that signature cocktail tomorrow night."

"Sounds interesting." She smiled and placed a bag down in front of me. "Here, I bought some pastries, have some with me." I didn't want to be a bad sport, so I took one of the pastries and sat it next to my coffee. I'd save it for later.

I leaned in, wanting to be closer to her, and smiled as she didn't move away. "So, are you ready for tomorrow?"

"I am as ready as you can ever be for these things. Shit, I mean stuff will happen, so you need to be prepared for it." The blush spread across her face.

"I love your potty mouth; continue." Feeling self-conscious, she rubbed her lips, which made me smile as I licked my own.

"Working on events is like riding a roller coaster when you are going up toward the long drop. You know that anticipation of falling; you know it's coming but not sure when. Then you hit the top and drop, and it all goes by in a flash. You want to throw up, you want to cry, and you want to laugh. Then the coaster comes to a stop, and you want to do it again."

"Sounds a little like falling in love." Where did that come from? I needed to be careful with my heart around this woman. I sat mesmerized as she talked about her job and the joy she got out of being of service. Her eyes sparkled when she spoke, and I couldn't look away.

She squeaked out; her voice caught in her throat. "Yes, it is a bit like falling in love. Hard to do it without wanting to throw up."

All I could do was smile at the thought of her throwing up. "Wow, you love what you do. How did you start working for a runaway charity?"

The smile left her face for a minute, and I hoped I hadn't ruined my moment with her. "Well, it's a long story, but the short version is that my best friend in high school ran away from home and we never found her. I hope that someone was there for her and by doing my work, I can be that someone for a young runaway who needs help and a safe place to stay."