She approached my booth, a mischievous grin pulling up one corner of her mouth and her eyes dancing.
“Hey, Lincoln. Didn’t expect to see you in here today.”
I winked. “Sunny-girl. I was hungry.” I eyed the way her uniform stretched over her high, tight tits and the short skirt showed off her tanned legs. I wasn’t hungry for food, and she knew that.
She set down the menu and glanced behind her. The diner wasn’t overly busy at the moment, mostly a few locals gathered around, sipping coffee, and gossiping. There was no one sitting close, so she leaned in and kissed me swiftly, then sat across from me.
“Hi,” she whispered.
“Hi.”
“Are you okay?” She frowned. “Was your dad at you again?”
I passed a hand over my face. “How can you tell?”
“You always get those lines on your forehead when you’re upset. And your dad always upsets you.”
“I’m fine.”
She bent closer, her eyes troubled. “Did he-did he hurt you?”
“No.”
The bell over the door chimed, and she stood. “I’ll be back. I get my break in ten minutes, and we’ll talk.”
My thoughts drifted to the last time my father and I’d had words.
His fist slammed into my ribs, stopping my breath and causing agonizing pain to ripple through my body. He knew exactly how to hit. To cause me pain without permanent damage, and where to hit so that no one could see.
“I told you to drop the fucking tart. She has no place in your life.”
I was on my knees, gasping for air, my mind racing.
I had fucked up and bought Sunny flowers on my credit card. She’d been having a bad day, and I wanted to do something to make her smile. I’d even had them delivered, remembering she had told me once she’d never been sent flowers.
My father saw the charge on the card and traced it.
And now I was taking the punishment.
He grabbed my hair and lifted my head. The anger on his face was frightening.
“Drop her, or I will drive her out of town. Her entire family. Got it? Some gold digger who has convinced you she likes you for anything except my money isn’t going to fuck up my plans.”
Another punch landed, and I was out cold. When I woke up, I was alone.
It was Sunny who saw the bruises. Sunny who made me tell her what happened. She listened with a horrified expression and decided we needed to break up.
“I’m not worth that,” she sobbed. “Someone needs to stop him.”
I held her arms, refusing to let her go. “No one can stop him, Sunny. I’m not giving you up. But I’m afraid,” I admitted. “Afraid of what he’d do to you.” I sucked in some air. “Don’t leave me, Sunny. Don’t make me go back to being alone again.”
She threw her arms around my neck. “I don’t want to.”
“We’ll have to be more careful. I can’t risk you.”
She sniffled, and I held her face in my hands.
“One day, we won’t have to hide. I promise.”
Her kiss said it all.
Since then, we’d been so cautious that at times it felt as if we were strangers barely acknowledging each other in town. We sought out private moments, hiding in deserted places. I lived for the hours when we were alone together.
She returned, carrying a strawberry shake and a piece of pie which I knew were for me. I shook off my dark thoughts. I wasn’t allowed ice cream or sweets at home, so I always got them when I was with her. She set them in front of me and returned a moment later with a sandwich and coffee for herself.
“Tell me,” she said between bites.
I told her what occurred. Instead of her looking disappointed, however, I was surprised when her eyes lit up.
“Did you hear what I said? I won’t be at the shelter this summer. I’ll barely see you.” I let my fork fall to the plate. “I was hanging on to this. Looking forward to it, and now he’s fucked it all.”
“Language,” she chided.
I ignored her. “He somehow constantly finds a way to make me fucking miserable.”
“Well, he failed this time.”
“Care to explain that logic to me? I was going to be right around the corner at the shelter. I could come in here every day and see you since he would be in the city. Now, I’m going to be stuck five miles away at the damn camp.”
She hunched forward, her smile never fading. If anything, it got brighter. After another glance over her shoulder, she slid her hand toward mine, entwining our fingers. “I have my own news.”
I squeezed her hand. “Tell me.”
“I’m working at the camp too.”
I lifted my eyebrows in surprise. “What?”
She nodded, looking excited. “I’m going to be working in the kitchen.”
“What about your sisters? Who will watch them?”
She smiled, although her eyes were sad. “My grandmother’s estate was finally settled. She didn’t have much, but there was a little money left over when it was done.” I waited for her to continue, squeezing her fingers in comfort. Her grandmother had been a special person to Sunny, and when she died a year ago, it had hit her hard. Sunny still became emotional when talking about her.