Page 10 of Her Guilty Protector
“Why don’t you wash up while I put these in water. Dinner is almost done. I’ll need your help to dish it up.”
He nods and heads to the bathroom.
When he returns, I have the sandwiches plated and am leaning my hip against the counter as I pour the soup into the bowls.
“Shit. I didn’t even stop to think about how you have to maneuver. Let me take over. You just take a seat. I’ll get everything else on the table or do you prefer the breakfast bar?”
“The breakfast bar works. There’s some beer in the fridge. Do you want one?”
“No, water is fine.”
Grabbing two waters, I meet him at the table. We eat in silence for several moments. His soup is half gone and he’s devoured one sandwich and is on his second before he pauses and looks at me.
“I don’t know what you did to these sandwiches but they’re great.”
“It’s the cheese combo.”
“I haven’t had grilled cheese since I was a kid. I grew up with one slice of American cheese per sandwich, and I’ve had an aversion since then. But these are amazing.”
“Glad you like them.” Standing, I reach for my plate as he takes his last bite.
“What are you doing?” he asks.
“I’m going to clean up.”
He shakes his head. “You cooked. I’m on clean up. Go rest on the couch. Book or video?”
“Actually, I found a book that looks interesting while you were gone. But I can help.”
“Nope. You’ve done enough. Go rest. Do you want me to start the fire first?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Under the guise of reading, I watch him clean the kitchen, wiping down the table and counters as well as doing the dishes. “You do that well, soldier. Learn that in the military?”
He snorts a scoff. “My first job was at a restaurant. I started out busing the dirty dishes then worked my way up to dishwasher then prep cook.”
“How old were you?”
“Officially, fourteen.”
“How old were you really?”
He looks over his shoulder. “Almost twelve. I was always big for my age. My mother sometimes worked at the same diner. That’s how I got my first job there.”
“Busing tables wasn’t your first job?”
“The diner owner had two business next door to each other. The other was bagels and sandwiches. I started out sweeping the sidewalks in front of both restaurants and setting up and wiping down the outside tables before they opened and the same with the inside tables. Then I moved up to sandwich delivery on my bike. After school I’d take out the garbage. At closing I’d restack the tables and sweep again. The owner would give me a few bucks every day. Mom was a full-time waitress for a while.”
“That’s how you met the owner.”
Finished with cleaning, he wipes his hands and comes to sit on the other end of the couch. “I met him when he came to our apartment to screw my mom. He saw how big I was and asked if I wanted to work. He never asked my age.
“Mom would waitress when she could and bring men home to supplement. I’d go hang out on the roof till they left.
“Other times I’d hide on the fire escape so I could listen and make sure she was okay. Some guys would get a little rough and I wanted to be close by if she needed me.”
“You were a kid!”
