The Chosen One

Chapter 4

Tuesday

Francine must have been tired because the next thing she knew, she was being woken up by the alarm on her phone, tucked up in her bed. She was so confused by what had happened because she was wearing just an oversized t-shirt and panties, and that was not what she fell asleep in. Starla had probably got her changed as she slept. Bless her, she was an angel!

The day quickly turned into Groundhog Day because 25 minutes before opening, the bell on the door rang, and those shimmering blue eyes narrowed at her as the jerk from yesterday smirked at her, taking the same seat at the bar again.

Francine couldn't be bothered to ask what he wanted, so she quickly made a large black coffee and slid it towards him, plastering the fakest yet sweetest smile she could muster while putting her hand out for the money.

"Good morning, Francine," he greeted her. Don't say my name, definitely not like that, Francine chanted in her head, hoping that if she repeated it enough, it would stop sounding so good. His deep, rich voice was like the deep black coffee he drank, and it made her mouth dry.

"4.95," was all she could manage to say as she grabbed a bottle of chilled water and downed half of it in one ungraceful gulp.

"Thirsty?" He raised an eyebrow at her, his eyes glinting with amusement like he knew exactly what he was doing to her.

"4.95," Francine repeated, apparently she was a robot now and couldn't form actual sentences, which was highly embarrassing to say the least, even in front of this stupid jerk.

"See you soon, Francine," he said, and Francine mentally chanted, 'stop saying my name like that'!

Being the pig that he was, he did the exact same thing as yesterday. His fingertips grazed hers as he placed the note in her hand. It was like he was carrying some odd electric charge that he had zapped her with.

Then he was gone again, like a phantom.

........

Wednesday

Francine hit the snooze button on her alarm clock three times this morning. Not because she went back to sleep. No, she wasn't that lucky because her brain was going crazy trying to figure out who the hell this mystery man was that seemed to be playing some sort of game with her in which she was his daily dose of amusement.

She hated the way he made her feel. She hated the way her body melted just by the way he looked at her, and every time he said her name, she swore to the goddess her knees felt so weak she had to use the counter to steady herself. She hated him. Kinda.

Maybe if she left a bit later and arrived just before opening time at 8:30, he'd have been and gone, leaving her to go about her day as unflustered as possible.

Francine pulled the car up at her usual spot, and there he was in all his perfection, leaning against the wall. His muscles bulged against his white t-shirt, leaving a clean outline of every curve of that body. No... oh no, she was not looking at his muscles. No, no, no. Well, yeah. Kinda.

She twisted over to the passenger footwell to grab her bag and jumped when her door opened, and that cinnamon and spice smell flooded in, making her feel lightheaded.

"Good morning, Francine," he greeted her, holding her door open as she clambered out as gracefully as possible.

Once he shut her door, she clicked the button on her key ring until it locked and began to unlock the front door of Woodies.

Suddenly, his body was way too close to hers as his body heat radiated between them, making her blush at the closeness of their bodies. Her mind began to churn out inappropriate thoughts of exactly how close their bodies could be, and she braced herself against the door to try to regain her clarity. She took a few deep breaths, trying to ignore that intoxicating scent and calm down.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his breath tickling her ear like a light spring breeze.

"Umm huh? Oh yes, sorry, I'm fine, I just got a bit dizzy. I'm just gonna go pop my bag away, and I'll be back," Francine lied, pushing open the door and heading to the staff room as quickly as she could to get some space for a few minutes.

"Breathe, Francine, it's just a man. A very hot man, but just a man. Just breathe," she coached herself while pacing the length of the small corridor that led back to the cafe.

She was finally back in control and focused on doing her job and ignoring her lusty thoughts, hoping that he'd leave once he got his coffee.

"Same as usual?" Francine asked, looking anywhere but at him.

"Yes, please, that would be great. So, how's your week been so far?" He asked, trying to make polite conversation.

"My week??" Francine squeaked nervously, nearly dropping his cup as she held it under the flow of boiling hot coffee.

"What do people do in this town, for fun?" He clarified, leaning closer to her, placing his elbows on the bar, then resting his chin on his hands.

"Most people come here in the evenings. There is a big bar in the other part of the building. There are live bands on Fridays. Then we have pack BBQs... me and my friends had a movie night on Monday. Actually, a girl from the new pack here, Mina, she joined us. She seemed nice, do you know her?" Francine babbled as her nerves around this guy began to have an internal freak out.

"Yeah, I know her. Do you come here in the evenings a lot?"

"Sometimes, but I work at the bar too, so I often miss the fun part," Francine admitted, shrugging her shoulders as she fixed the lid on his coffee and placed it in front of him.

"4.95," they both said in unison before chuckling at their silliness. He had a gorgeous laugh.

"You should laugh like that more. Your whole face lights up," this beautiful stranger told her as he put the $20 bill in her hand, running his fingers over hers and smiling as the tingles shot through her.

Francine bit her lower lip anxiously, feeling uncomfortable with his flattery as well as the way he made her feel when he touched her.

"I bet you say that to all the girls," she said, ringing up his order in the till and sorting out his change, then reaching over to him. He curled her fingers around the change and smiled softly, looking deep into her eyes.

"I don't say that to all the girls, just you. And keep the change," he nodded his head down to the change she was holding as his hand wrapped over hers.

His skin was calloused, scarred, and rough, yet somehow it felt like something she wanted to feel across her entire body.

She imagined his damaged hand squeezing her breast hard before his fingers tweaked at her n****e, drawing it out between his thumb and forefinger, making it hard and desperate for the warmth of his mouth.

His teeth would nip at it, and he would run his canines lightly across it, causing her legs to buckle and her body to fall into his. He would hold her up, he would support her. He would be her strength.

"Francine?" His deep voice snapped her out of her fantasy, and from the smirk on his face, she knew he could smell her arousal.

"Oh, s**t, sorry. Do you want anything else?" What was wrong with her? Words fell out, brain disengaged. Francine, you are so dumb, that was the most loaded question you could possibly ask, and you ask it while your panties are wet, you stupid, stupid i***t!!

"I do want something else... but I gotta get going. See you soon, Francine," he sounded reluctant to go, like it was taking all his self-restraint to leave.