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Chapter 76: Couch Surfing
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Boys of RDA Chapter 77: Dream Team Together Again
"We're tag teaming lunch again?" Jamie's question comes from behind me, and I jump jerking the coffee pot but without spilling any of the hot liquid inside.By the time I turn around to face him, there's a genuine smile in residence on my face. "Yup, it's the dream team together again." I smack him on the arm with a move that's so reminiscent of my mother my breath hitches.My new coworker doesn't notice my slip and turns back to the other side of the counter to start our prep for the upcoming lunch rush. He balances on the heels of his feet and leans into the case, his muscles flex stretching his black polo shirt as he moves plates around. I might spend a few too many minutes watching him with my back against the opposite counter.The restaurant is peaceful now so my time isn't interrupted with a needy customer. It's the quiet time of day, the time that pays the least in tips. People stop in for a muffin or coffee — quick orders that don't require them to sit. Then as we get clo
Boys of RDA Chapter 78: Lunch Time Visitors
Bonnie's was swamped at lunch giving me legitimate reasons to ignore Trey as he sat in his little corner table. Oh and the tips. My apron pocket bulges with the cash left on the tables and there's always more from those who paid with credit cards. If this is the underpaying shift, I can't imagine what a dinner would net me. Screw fifty, at this rate I might be able to pay my debt off by forty-five.Jamie and I made a great team even though it was a steady flow of customers. My steps were light as I raced around, bouncing from the high of being busy. It was a great shift — except for the fact Trey's still here.He didn't leave. Six hours and five cokes he sat at his little perch and watched me. I waited for him to at least visit the bathroom so I could sneak in, bus his table, and sit someone else there, but as if he could read my plan the man never moved. Even after drink number five. Is he a camel? All that earlier bravado leaked away the longer he sat there... for six hours.Th
Boys of RDA Chapter 79: Do You Promise?
Against all the wishes I made over the last five minutes, Trey is still here when I step past the counter into the main area of the diner. He still hasn't touched his salad and his eyes track my movements across the white titled floor — probably so he can intervene if I try to make a run for it. He's right to be concerned. I considered it while in the back."You're here."I sit in the wooden chair on the other side of Trey's small table and cross one leg over the other.He leans his body further over the table. "You promise to stay here?""Yes."Trey's eyes narrow for a fraction of a second. "Say you promise.""Fine," I blow out a breath in frustration. "I promise I'll sit and hear you out. Now talk."The legs of his chair scrape on the floor as he stands. "I need to take a quick break. I'll be back."He doesn't look behind him, but walks with deliberate and quick steps to the back of the restaurant toward the bathrooms. I laugh at him. I guess he's not a camel after al
Boys of RDA Chapter 80: Confusion
"I'm so confused." I shake my head. "You were dating but not dating? Were you sleeping together, but not sleeping together too?" The question slips out, hostile tone and all.Trey's eyes fall to the table. "There was a time we were sleeping together semi-regularly."It sounds like he's tried to work his answer in a way it almost sounds clinical so it won't hurt so much, but Trey obviously doesn't understand women. Those words suck regardless of how much sugar you put on them."There was a time?""Mari and I haven't had... that part of our relationship in a while. Way before August," he references the time we were on the beach together. "We've both dated other people in secret over the years."I flinch at her invading my special memories. "You get how ridiculous this sounds right? Did I fall into a San Francisco based soap opera? This is really the world you live in?" I want to believe him, but the whole explanation feels too crazy to be real. Even if he's serious, when has a
Boys of RDA Chapter 81: I'm a Moron
I'm a moron. It's the single explanation for why I'm even considering leaving the apartment on my Friday off."You've already agreed to go, so you'll have to come out sometime." Aspen slumps against the bathroom counter beside me."Why did I agree to it?"She jumps up to sit on the counter and leans against the mirror while giving me the once over. "Tell me again what happened in his car."My face heats at the allegation in her question. "We walked four blocks so he could drive me home two." I still can't get over the fact he drives the little car around even with parking. "Then we talked.""Uh huh. You 'talked.'" She air quotes talked. "Remember I was here when you tried to sneak in the door that night."I've already explained this twice, but I try once more to make Aspen believe me. "I'm not kidding. I told him about my mom and the job thing." I don't mention I cried for most of that conversation and Trey sat quietly beside me and rubbed my back. It was sweet, which is co
Boys of RDA Chapter 82: Without any Fight
"Um, I don't know." I scan the menu again and try to read some of the selections this time. "Let me guess, you're getting the steak?" I peek my face over the tall menu and smile at him."Of course. You should try it.""Okay." I give in without any fight and cringe, thankful Marissa isn't here to see how bad I am at making him work for it.Our table is small so our legs and knees are mushed up in the space between us. After a few more seconds of footsie, we settle into a comfortable position of his knee, my knee, his knee, my knee. It takes mere minutes before I realize there is way too much knee touching going on for me to remain unaware of it for the rest of the meal.Our waitress returns at the perfect time, right before I made a ridiculous comment about how warm Trey's knee is against mine. I don't even want to know how he'd respond.Trey takes my menu. "Give us an order of the sweet potato fries and two filet mignons." He stops and turns his head to me. "Do you like mushr
Boys of RDA Chapter 83: Meeting at the Hill
Aspen's fingers move on her phone screen as we ride in the backseat of Licorice, the black Escalade driven by Jake."Mar and Amanda are going to meet us on the hill," Aspen relays the information I assume she read from her text. "That's the best thing about them having to drive in. They always get there before us."Her brown eyes brighten a little with the declaration as she shoves the cell phone in her back pocket. Jake takes a turn a little quicker than normal and I'm forced to grab on to the door handle to stop myself from sliding across the leather seat."Drive slower, Jake. We don't want to get there too early." Aspen taps him on the shoulder in a playful gesture. She loops the long scarf around her neck and pulls on the end tightly. "Do you think it will snow this year?"I look out my side window curious to what prompted her question. Everything looks normal as people walk the streets in the same thin fleece jackets they've been wearing the last few weeks. "Has it ever sn
Boys of RDA Chapter 84: Raven Digital Arts
Yesterday morning when I agreed to take the job with Raven Digital Arts, I had no idea Trey would expect me to start today. Monday. As in within twenty-four hours. I thought I'd have more time to prep for this. A week to talk myself out of it. Find a better job. Like maybe one of those people who stand by the side of the road and wave the giant signs at passing cars. I could do that.I was so excited to find out more about Marissa's date that I didn't think through my actions. Now I'm here. Here, as in the office of RDA. Sitting behind the big wooden desk in the lobby."Sit here and I'll go grab you the new employee forms." Finn sounds happier than I am about the fact I'm now his employee. He opens the door to the back where the offices are and I'm left alone in the white tiled room.Not even Bonnie could get me out of starting today. She took the news well when I called her last night. There wasn't a weekend or night shift available, but she put me on the standby list in case so
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Boys of RDA Chapter 246: Series Epilogue
Six months later"I thought you were painting this room silver?" Hudson asks dropping his half of the couch inside of our brand-new tiny living room. That's not fair. It's bigger than the apartment when I lived with Marissa. Living here will be like me having my own special mansion. Except this time the rent is higher.I put my end of the couch down and then promptly sit at the end of it. I've done my part of moving. This is why we hired movers. I don't know what it is about men wanting to lift heavy objects. Plus, it's not like there's much furniture to move. The old apartment came furnished. This stuff is new.I look at the wall, which shimmers in the bright light from our large open window in the new living room. "I did. It's Silver Fox.""This color is gray.""No, it's Silver Fox.""It looks gray to me."I shake my head in dismay. "Gray is darker."He nods slowly. "Uh-huh. Whatever you say."Hudson and I have been living together since he made the permanent move t
Boys of RDA Chapter 245: Finn Hooked You Up
A few weeks later"Wow, Finn hooked you up." My eyes blink a few times trying to adjust to the overpowering glare of so many television screens in one room.Hudson laughs as he steps behind me. "Ridge taught me you can never have too many cameras.""Well, you definitely put his words into practice." No less than thirty flat screen TVs line a wall in the room Finn and Hudson started calling the war room. I'm pretty sure Finn has a camera everywhere Aspen may go in San Francisco. There is even one in the comic shop. The transition has gone well for the most part. Finn and Aspen had a heated debate over her bodyguard situation.Once Hudson accepted the position, he didn't waste time. It's been less than three weeks and he has a war room set up and is spying on half the residents of the city. My man gets shit done."Are you happy?" I ask turning around so we are face to face.Hudson rolls his eyes and says something silently to the ceiling of the room. He's recently taken up pr
Boys of RDA Chapter 244: Full Marissa Style
The glass automatic door at the airport entrance slides open and I saunter in with a purpose. No woman has ever been as determined as I am to put a man in his place. Full Marissa style.And then maybe win him back. It depends on his response. I've been through tons of shit the last few weeks. I need someone who can handle me and won't chicken out.Aspen and Finn checked me out of the hospital and then took me back to my apartment making me promise I wouldn't leave when I asked to be alone. My mother even listened when I told her it was a great time to visit my brother in Washington. He'll love it.Besides my shattered heart, I'm medically fine. There's no reason for people to be stuck hovering around me. Hurt or not, I've still peopled too much these last few days, so it wasn't hard to press that I needed quiet time. I promised to head right into bed and sleep for a few more days.But I've broken many promises lately. And kept secrets. I am not the same girl I was last year. An
Boys of RDA Chapter 243: Horrible Timing
I hate to be a bad friend — who am I kidding, I'm always the bad friend — but Aspen could not have picked a worse time to make her visit. And I love her. She was here all day yesterday. Getting water, refilling water, fluffing my pillow and accidentally pulling on my IV before doing it again while apologizing for pulling on the IV. Hudson and I haven't had two minutes to ourselves. I tried to fake sleep yesterday afternoon, but then they stood around the bed looking and me and whispering."Do you need your pillow fluffed?" she asks for the thousandth time. It's become her filler question. What she asks me if she doesn't know what else to ask.I shake my head, giving Finn my best "calm her down" look, but he doesn't notice. He's so madly in love with Aspen he thinks everything she does is adorable. "I'm fine, Aspen. Relax."My best friend is definitely more put together than Hudson in the last two days, but not by much. Her hair is flat on one side, a little curly on the other, an
Boys of RDA Chapter 242: A Scene I Never Want to See Again
A STEADY STREAM of beeps wakes me up to a stream of light.A hospital. It's the place I've woken up the last two days. I can't complain. It's one hundred times better than a concrete floor in an abandoned factory in Oakland. Even still I fight the panic as my brain comes into consciousness. The hospital therapist says eventually there will come a day when I don't wake up ready to flee, but I'm not sure I believe her.My awake body is heavy and sluggish. Yesterday I spent most the day sleeping as my conscious mind worked around what happened after I was taken from the sidewalk in front of Cosmo's.Hudson was shot. I watched it with my own eyes. What I didn't know at the time was the bullet grazed the side of his body and most of his injury was due to the shock of being shot. Even though my mind didn't want to believe it at the time, he led the charge to rescue me. And yes, he absolutely shot Jimmy in the head — a scene I never ever want to see again, but one that plays on repeat e
Boys of RDA Chapter 241: Kidnapped
Breathe. I hit reality with a start. Tears form as I blink my eyes to open them. My shoulder hurts, a tingling stiff sensation like I slept on it wrong. At one point I must have broken out in a cold sweat and my skin is clammy, moist yet chilled. My knuckle scrapes the hard ground underneath my body as I sit up and the events of what happened flood back. It wasn't a bad dream. I've been taken right from the front of Cosmo's. Kidnapped.They shot Hudson.I have no idea how long I slept or where I am. No longer in the van, the room is dark around me and it takes longer than I want for my eyes to adjust. Of course, there's no positive to be found when they do. Sawdust and dirt smells permeate the air. On the ground there's not only cold hard concrete but sharp pieces of wood. I wipe a few from my pants legs only to have them stick to the skin of my fingers.As I try to stand, there's a clink of metal. I tug my foot to find it doesn't move. My leg is bolted to the ground with thick m
Boys of RDA Chapter 240: Forgive and Forget
"Are you sure you won't walk in there and start crying?" Hudson asks as we stop in front of Cosmo's Comics and Café.I take a deep breath and check myself before I answer because frankly he's probably right to be worried. It's been two days since we met with Drew at the restaurant in Oakland and I spent most of that night crying. I haven't talked to anyone since then. More than likely they think I've been taking this time to apologize to Hudson. He promises he's forgiven and forgotten and even understands why it took so long.Hudson spent the last few days consoling me as I came to terms with finally admitting what happened that night and saying goodbye to Drew if only in my own mind. He's been perfect. He didn't push or yell at me to do it faster or tell me I was being ridiculous. He listened and held me when I needed him. I couldn't ask for a better man.Hudson is everything I've ever wanted in a guy. Sensitive enough to figure out when I'm hurting, but strong enough to tell me
Boys of RDA Chapter 239: Final Answers
"That's your answer?" Hudson's eyebrows lift.I hit my knee against his. "Hudson."He sighs in agitation."Well, Drew, the way I look at it Amanda doesn't have much to tell. It sounds to me as if in her story you were a friend who was there to help her out. Who didn't want to get involved in a police investigation. But before I can trust her opinion that you're a nice guy, I need proof."Drew laughs even though it's inappropriate for the time. "I don't think I'm a nice guy, but thanks, Amanda.""Um, you're welcome?""I started working construction jobs part time when Clare and I were in foster care." He stops talking right as the story gets good."But you don't do construction work now, do you?" Hudson asks the exact question I've been thinking.It's like pulling teeth to get facts out of Drew, but what he doesn't understand is Hudson will have no qualms telling Ben if he's not satisfied with his answers."Yes and no. From time to time my boss asks me for extra favors
Boys of RDA Chapter 238: Truthful Memories
"Sorry, Dean, I've got to get home. Lots of Christmas prep to do."There's no time to chase another raid with so much work to do for Aspen's Christmas celebration. They overdo it for most holidays, but the big ones are the worst.He nods, accepting the answer. I rarely take him up on offers for more raiding or the hundred times he's asked me out for coffee. "Okay, see you next time." He waves, following a large group of people making their way to cars and bikes before heading toward the wharf.I step onto the sidewalk outside the baseball stadium to look for a cab. The road is eerily quiet since there isn't baseball in December and the people from the raid snatched up the cabs. Even though Grant, Clare's boyfriend would kill me, I scroll through my phone and find the Uber app. If I have to call for a ride anyway, I should at least make it a cheap one. He'd be pissed over how close I am to his neighborhood without someone here with me, but it's too late to worry about that now.
