Meet Me Halfway(75)

He seemed to understand that, too, because the minute he saw me hustling from table to table, he toned down his gravitational pull and relaxed into his booth, chatting with his brother.

I was assisting another waitress, and had my arms covered in dishes from my elbows down, when they finally pushed out of their booth.

Garrett met my eyes across the room as he tossed cash and something else onto the table. Then he quietly followed Harry out.

I don’t want to say I sprinted over the minute my arms were free, but it was possible. Tucked under a wad of cash that was way too much for their total, was a folded, wrinkled-looking paper. I snatched it up like a crack addict, reading it, then re-reading it.

I’ll see you after work.





How those five words could be both thrilling and nerve wracking was as confusing as it got. I feel like he was both threatening and teasing me at the same time, and it made me feel like a fire was burning in my belly while ants crawled all over my skin. It was heady.

I stashed the note in my pocket, glancing at the window and half-expecting him to be standing there smirking at me, but he wasn’t.

The fact that I was mildly disappointed should have worried me. The fact that it would have turned me on, should have worried me more.





“You going to change it up tonight, Curly? Or just take your usual?”

I stuck out the tip of my tongue in thought, Garrett’s note burning a hole in my back pocket. Was he really going to wait for me to get home?

“Change it up, but nothing crazy that will hinder me from driving.”

“You got it.”

I left Nate at the bar and stored the broom I’d been using, switching it out for the mop. We’d closed right on time, and this was the last chore on my list.

My manager had long since stopped checking on my closing duties, trusting that I actually did them, so when I was done, I shouted a goodbye toward his office and met Nate on the patio.

“Your poison, my lady.”

I took it, dropping my tired butt into the chair next to him and propping my feet on the bars between the legs of the table. “Oh my God, what is this?”

“Just a lemon drop.”

“Jesus, that’s good.” I took a few more sips, leaning back and closing my eyes, enjoying the sweet and sour flavors mixing with the silence of the night. Sometimes you don’t realize just how loud your surroundings are until the moment you finally have silence.

“Uh-oh.”

Eyes still closed, I mumbled out a lazy, “What?”

“Would you say your boy toy is the murdering type?”

I cracked an eye open, wondering where his line of questioning was going, but the sight of his pale face had me shooting up and whipping my head around to see where his gaze was focused.

Garrett stood on the other side of the patio fence, his face partially obscured by the night, and his fists clenched at his sides.

What in the world was he still doing here? I set my drink down, turning my body to face him. “Garrett?”

He blinked, telling me he heard me, but he didn’t tear his eyes from Nate. On the outside, he looked cool and detached, but I knew better.

“She’s not interested.”

Nate’s eyebrows shot right up his forehead, “Yeah, I’m pretty sure even fucking Pluto knows that.”

“Good.”

I put a shaky hand out to stop Nate’s continued rambling and tried not to panic. Why did I feel like I’d just been caught cheating? “What are you doing here?”

The skin around his eyes twitched as he looked at me, and something flashed across his face. It was there and gone in a blink, but I’d seen it. Hurt. “I told you I’d be here.”

Oh god. I’d thought he meant he’d see me back at the duplex, not that he’d literally wait for me to get off work. He’d been sitting around waiting, only to find me meeting up with a different guy as if I’d just disregarded his message. Fuck. My next words tumbled out of me like word vomit.

“Nate’s a friend from work.”

“Good to know. Let’s go.”

I chewed my lip. “My Jeep is here,” I said lamely.

“You’ve been drinking, you’re not driving.”

“I haven’t even finished one drink. And you drank tonight too.”

“Hours ago. You’re not driving. Harry and I will come pick it up later.” He cocked a thumb over his shoulder, “Get in the car, Madison.”

Realizing I didn’t have much of a choice unless I wanted to be thrown over his shoulder, I stood stiffly, scooting past Nate’s chair with a muttered goodbye.

“You good to go with him, Curly?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay. Thanks, Nate.”

He shot a sympathetic look my way, but he didn’t say anything else to either of us.

Garrett walked one step behind, reaching past my body to open the door to his Nova for me. I slipped in, eyeing the plastic bag of items sitting at my feet. The man had been working on the baby blanket for me while he waited for me to get off work. God, I was such an asshole.

He climbed behind the wheel, not speaking or looking my way as he buckled in and pulled out of the lot. The silence between us was deafening.

I didn’t know what to say or do. I wanted to apologize for hurting him, but he hated my apologies. The act alone would only succeed in making him angry.