Raising Ryann (Bad Boy Reformed 1)

Chapter 4 One Sexy Alpha Male Coming Right Up (Reese POV)

“Has your server greeted you yet?” She’s about to answer before she glances at the door and waves. My eyes follow the direction of her gaze, and good Lord Almighty, I’m staring directly into the eyes of Luke Ryann—the guy from my class, the guy from the gym, and the guy who all of the sudden keeps popping into my life. I blink a couple times out of confusion and feel like a complete idiot. Once again I am unable to speak, and my mouth is most likely open. Luke looks a little different. His five o’clock shadow is gone. He’s dressed in a white polo shirt and dark gray shorts. Unfortunately, he looks just as sexy as he did before, sort of like a bad boy getting all cleaned up for a special occasion. Lucky for me, he looks just as confused as me.

“Hi,” he says. The corner of his mouth turns up while his eyes slowly roam over my face. Standing speechless, I feel it flush, as the scent of soap and light cologne consumes me. Then the strangest thing happens. It’s as if I’ve seen this play out before. Something about his scent, and the look in his eyes brings a sense of déjà vu. I can’t seem to place it, but it’s so familiar that I can’t be imagining it. Not only that, but his proximity is doing strange things to my body—things that make my skin tingle and my heart beat faster than it should.

Once I get my brain working, I try my best to play it cool. Clearing my throat, I say,“Do I know you?” Of course I know him. At least, I’ve already met him. But he doesn’t need to know that I remember who he is. He slides into the seat across from his date, and I can tell he’s clearly amused.

Without taking his eyes off me, he responds, “Lauren, this is Reese; Reese; this is Lauren. She and I work together at the gym.” Work together? Okay, maybe he’s not taking my job.

Flashing a wide smile that stretches across her face, she reaches out to shake my hand. “Nice to meet you, Reese. Wow, what a small world.”

I smile back at her. “Yeah, it is.” I glance at Luke. “I’m sorry, what was your name again? My memory’s not that great,” I say in my most sincere voice.

 “Luke. Luke Ryann.” He reaches out to shake my hand, and I hesitate before finally shaking it.

“It’s nice to officially meet you, Luke.” Our hands linger a little before I let go when an impatient customer interrupts me, demanding I get him another beer. I hold up my finger in his direction. “I’ll be right there.” I look back at Luke and Lauren. “I better get back to my tables, but I can take your order if you’re ready.”

“Go ahead and take care of them first if you need to. It’s not a problem,” Lauren says, flicking her eyes in the direction of the four guys at the next table. The guy with the jacked up teeth is holding up his empty beer mug, waving his Packers hat back and forth to get my attention.

 “Don’t worry about it. Everyone kind of came in at once so I’m trying to help my friend out. Robert is actually your server. You guys will love him.” I grab my notepad and pen, pulling the cap off with my teeth.

“Careful with that pen now.” I look up at Luke, who teasingly gives me a wicked grin. Once again I blush, mortified by the memories of what happened at school.

“Haha, very funny,” I say, raising an eyebrow. Lauren looks back and forth between us.