by Devon Ashley
I could tell just by the way Matt dipped his head that he was rolling his eyes. I agreed with him, but I kept a straight face. I hated to support his addiction, but at the same time, I didn’t want him to lose it while he was in town. These people didn’t need another reason to hate him. And for Mel’s sake, I certainly didn’t want his drunk ass learning she was still in town. He didn’t mention her very often, but I could tell by all the commentary since their break up that she was still a pretty sore wound.
“All right. We can head over to Lucky’s later. You in Matt?” I called across the room.
We had already discussed this earlier, so I knew he would say yes and pretend like Lucky’s was where we always went. Again, I didn’t want him and Mel to face off. The guy had been through enough without having to relive that drama. It was bad enough we’d have to deal with her in a legal sense when the time came.
I figured all-you-can-eat was the way to go, and as I watched Brad devour plate after plate as if he hadn’t eaten in the past month, I was right to choose it. The food wasn’t all that great, but it was quantity we needed right now. At the very least, Brad would go back to Houston with a full stomach. What the hell he spent his parents’ inheritance on all these years was beyond me. I was beginning to think he’d never even worked a day since he left. That would certainly explain how he went through his money so quickly, and why he was so desperate to get his hands on whatever his grandmother had left.
And that desperation worried me a little. Men did stupid things when they were A) desperate and B) drunk.
Lucky’s Bar was probably the biggest dive the town had to offer. The building itself was rundown. That phrase termites holding hands came to mind, but to me it looked like even the termites had given up on trying to support the structure. One good wind storm and this building would probably come tumbling down. Surprisingly, the clientele didn’t look that different from Sully’s, but the prices were a bit cheaper and they didn’t run a kitchen. Out of habit, I aimed for the far chair at the corner table.
We ordered a round of beers from the waitress. For a while we were all quiet, just watching the room around us move with life. I semi-scanned the room, but it held no interest for me.
“So Brad,” Matt said, “what have you been up to?”
“Eh, little bit of this, little bit of that.”
Little bit of nothing, most likely.
He continued gawking at these two girls at the opposite end of the room instead of acknowledging us, which was fine by me. I don’t know why, maybe it was the annoyance I built up towards him this past week, but I really wasn’t in the mood to catch up on his post high school life story. I kind of figured he couldn’t remember most of it anyways.
“Hey. Shane,” Brad called. “Isn’t she that Amber chick you were banging in high school?”
A quick gaze in the direction he was looking turned my stomach. Long blonde hair, eyes the color of amber – hence the name – and a tight tank and short cutoffs that left nothing to the imagination. Definitely Amber. “Yep,” I said monotonously, taking a long swig from my glass.
I practically choked on my beer when Brad yelled out her name. I wanted to kick him right there, but she had already turned her confused gaze our way. Not surprisingly, a slouchy Brad with grown-out hair didn’t ring a bell, but when she glanced over my way, her face lit up and she sashayed her way towards us.
Fuck.
Matt fucking chuckled, keeping his mouth pressed firmly shut. I muttered my curse aloud. Brad just leaned back against the wall and made no attempt to hide the way his eyes were memorizing every inch of her braless tank top. Jesus. In high school, that used to excite me too, but she only did it around me, not where the whole freaking world could take in the view. I liked my women sexy, but I preferred they didn’t flash their goods to anyone but me, even if we weren’t exclusive.
“Oh. My. God,” she sang, each word hitting a different note. I tried to look friendly, but my smile felt more like a grimace. She leaned in and threw her arms around my neck, forcing a hug on me that took way too long for her to break. Not wanting to lead her on, I merely patted her back with one hand, refusing to really embrace her.
“Hey, Amber,” I said politely, ignoring the silent laughter as Matt tried to hide himself behind his beer.
She pulled back but kept one of her arms slinked behind my shoulders, fingernails already stroking the nape of my neck. “Why didn’t you tell me you were back in town?”
“Honestly, it never occurred to me that anyone would still be here.”
“Shit, Shane. Give a girl a call to find out! My number hasn’t changed all these years.” Her red-coated fingernail poked my chest, her eyes playfully narrowing at me. “But yours has, hasn’t it?”
And this would be the exact reason why I changed my number. Girls I didn’t want any more still attempting to claw their way into my jeans. “Yeah, sorry about that. I lost my phone awhile back so I lost all my numbers. Then I had a stalker, so if you hadn’t called me within that window, I no longer have your number.”
“Well, here, let me give it to you again, baby.”
I cried out a hey when she dipped her hand beneath the table and into my front pocket, but that wasn’t what made me jump – that was because her other hand gave me a quick squeeze through my jeans. Matt burst out laughing. I’m sure Brad had a huge smile too, but I was too distracted to look. I removed her more questionable hand and she desisted as she whipped out my phone with the other. “Jesus, Amber. Could you not?”
Hardly fazed by my remark, she typed her number into my phone and replied, “Please. I remember what you like.” Handing it back to me, she leaned in and whispered, “And an audience never bothered you before.”
I knew what she was referring to…that one night where we met a bunch of people in her crowd down by the lake. Lakefront, campfire, full moon…alcohol. And yeah, we had sex out there that night, but everyone was so damn drunk no one even noticed what we were doing. Or at least didn’t remember anything by morning. And she was the one that stripped herself naked, not me.
“Actually, I’m not big on audiences. That was always your thing.”
“I’ll watch,” Brad declared with a wide smile, his eyes glued to her ass.
Oddly enough, Amber joined me in shooting him a death glare. Unfortunately for me, it wasn’t enough to keep her attention away. Turning back, she used her sexy voice to say, “Well, when you’re ready to call it a night and wanna play under the safety of the sheets, just give me a ring, baby.”
She winked and let her fingertips drag down my arm as she walked away, swinging her ass side to side so far she could’ve rang a bell between her thighs. I sighed and shook my head. Did I seriously want that at one point? I knew I was only looking for a distraction back then, but damn. I was just glad I never slept with her after she’d already been with every guy in town.
I reactivated my phone and deleted the number she just added.
“What the hell are you doing man? She wants you to take her home and fuck her till she pukes.”
My lips curled downward at the thought. Guess I wasn’t into easy anymore. “I’ll pass, thanks. You want her, you go.”
Brad gulped the rest of his beer and slammed it down. “You don’t have to offer that piece of ass to me twice.”
I shook my head – the moron actually left us to order another beer beside her at the bar.
“Dude. Not cool. Don’t encourage him. We both know she’s not going to let him touch her. The man looks nasty right now. Smells nasty too.”
“Sad thing is, there was a time when she would’ve gladly fucked him. Amber never did like Mel, and she would’ve screwed Brad just for sport.”
“That’s because Amber knew who you really wanted, and it wasn’t her.” Resuming his chuckling, he added, “You didn’t call out Melanie’s name while you screwed her, did you?”
“Hell, no.” I’d never called out any of their names during sex. Not a single one. I’d be l
ying if I said my mind didn’t stray a few times to think of Mel while I was sleeping with someone else, so the last thing I wanted to do was incriminate myself.
It wasn’t any wonder why Amber refused to give Mel my number when she needed it. Women were such bitches to one other. And it didn’t win Amber any points for keeping her from me. The past several years could have run entirely different if Mel and I had reconnected before it all went to shit.
Of course if we had, we might’ve fixed Brad before he broke and they could very well be married right now. As much as that pained me, at least the three of us would have a functional relationship. And perhaps I would’ve long given up hope of making her mine instead of constantly wondering what if.
Great. I could just feel the depression seeping out of my core, spreading throughout my body. Damn Mel and this hold she seemed to have on me. I groaned and roughly rubbed my hands through my hair, tempted to rip the strands out just to keep from feeling miserable.
“Dude, you need to screw Mel.”
“What?!”
He took a long sip from his longneck before he faced me, or he was just waiting for all the eyes I just attracted to lose interest in us. “You’ve got it bad man. Do you know how many times you’ve changed the subject or brought up Mel in our conversations? Or that I’ve actually heard you moaning her name in your sleep when I leave in the morning? And just now. You didn’t even have to say her name. Just the groaning and frustration coming off of you screams you were thinking of her again. I don’t care what you think the girl has or hasn’t done. You need to fuck her and pray it’s enough to get over her already.”
I think I held my breath for all that, because suddenly I inhaled a sharp gasp. “I moan her name?”
“Yup. Every night man. And I suggest you keep your door closed tonight and pray Brad’s asleep before you start dream-banging his ex-girlfriend again.”
“Shit,” I whined with frustration. What the hell was wrong with me? How the hell could a girl I’d never even so much as kissed have me so freaking panty-whipped? And if Brad ever found out I thought of Mel that way…
Crossing my arms across my chest, I blurted, “Fuck my life.”
I muttered a curse the second that all too familiar blonde came through the door. Why the hell she was here was beyond rational thinking. It was kind of like an unspoken agreement that we had. She didn’t come into my bar on the nights that I worked and I didn’t threaten to yank out the hair extensions she so obviously had.
Amber didn’t even bother searching the room. The second her eyes spotted me behind the bar, she swished her hips toward me in that gawd awful ensemble she had the nerve to call clothing. Forgive me if I was wrong, but clothing generally referred to material that covered the body in some form or fashion.
“Appletini,” she demanded with a smirk.
“Seriously?”
“What’s wrong, Mel-bell? Don’t know how to make a real drink?”
I choked down my laughter. “First of all, an appletini isn’t a real drink in any bartender’s opinion. And secondly, we don’t carry the apple to put in your tini. You can have a regular one or nothing at all.”
She flashed me a snooty pout and waved me off. “Whatever. Just add some grenadine to it.”
I wrinkled my nose but didn’t counter – the last thing I wanted to do was extend this conversation. Apparently, she wasn’t interested in watching me make her drink and took to scanning the crowd. Stupid on her part. I could’ve easily spit in her tini.
I placed the glass on the bar and said, “Five bucks.”
She slapped a five on the table. “My tip? Either straighten or curl that hair of yours. It’s too long and heavy for those natural waves to look pretty.”
I gripped my hands on the edge of bar on both sides of me, leaning in. “And who the hell exactly would I be trying to impress around here to even care?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Shane, maybe?”
I held my tongue and just stared at her. Fantastic. No wonder she was here trying to flash her goods. I mean, seriously, that top was so tight it could be considered a second skin trying to molt itself.
She pointed her finger at me and poked the air several times. “Ah. See? You do know he’s in town.”
“He’s not here,” I finally muttered.
“Oh, I know that,” she happily responded, taking a sip of her drink. “Because I just hung out with him over at Lucky’s for a bit.”
“Is that so?” I replied, trying not to let her words get to me. She was clearly baiting me for something.
“Yep. He needed to take care of something first, but then we’re going to go back to my place and catch up.”
I forced a pressed smile, but inside I was incredibly irritated. I had hoped his player days were over, but if he was going to meet up with this piece of trash, I had given him way too much credit. “Well, I’ll be sure to spray him down with disinfectant the next time he comes through the door then. Wouldn’t want my customers getting the clap.”
She looked at me like I was stupid. “You can’t disinfect your way out of the clap. You have to take pills.”
I laughed, I couldn’t help it, and I wasn’t sure she even understood why. She just looked annoyed with me.
“Ugh,” Chelsie groaned, looking directly at Amber as she approached, “did we forget to put out the no skank sign tonight?”
Amber flashed an obnoxious smile. “Wouldn’t take it too seriously even if you did. Doesn’t keep you from being able to work here.”
Chelsie returned the fake smile as I dully asked, “I take it you two know each other?”
“This bitch was a senior my freshman year and was always calling the house trying to hook up with my brother. So pathetic.”
Amber’s hand flew to her hip as her head cocked back and forth. “You’re just angry because your brother was fucking me. In your bed. Cute room by the way,” she sassed, taking a sip of her martini. “Pink. How kindergarten of you.”
Eew. No wonder Chelsie didn’t like her. Imagining Amber in my bed…that was disgusting.
“You just seem to make friends everywhere you go,” I said to Amber.
“I couldn’t care less about friends of the female kind.” With that she turned on her heels and headed to a table where two guys in their early twenties sat, who were more than eager for the busty blonde to join them.
“Bitch,” Chelsie sang in a high pitched voice just for my benefit.
“Agreed. What do you need?” She told me her order, and while I began filling it, I asked with a hint of disgust, “Did you she really have sex in your bed?”
“I don’t know. There was a day when I came home and my bed was all messed up. Which was weird because I always made it in high school. My brother was quite a man-slut back then, so I just assumed the ass fucked a girl there. Didn’t know it was her until right now though. Thank God I put my entire bed set into the wash under sanitize.”
I just shook my head. Disgusting. This was one of the rare times I was grateful I never had siblings. Chelsie took off with her order, and the moment she did, the bottle-blonde made her way back over. Lucky me.
I wished Tracey was working tonight, then I could go to the office and get some work done in a hussy-free environment.
When she placed her empty glass on the bar, I replied, “Wow. Look at you cleaning up behind yourself. Would you like to take it to the back and wash it out for me too?”
“Sorry,” she replied, waving her painted fingertips in the air. “I don’t get my hands wet for stuff like that.”
“Not unless it gets your juices flowing, huh?”
“Speaking of getting wet, I saw your ex tonight.”
I was pretty sure my face deceived me, because I felt the way all those muscles just went slack. “What?” I asked quietly, praying to God that I heard her incorrectly.
“Brad. Yeah,” she said, extending the yeah for a really long time with a hint of disgust. “Just FYI, I wouldn’t go around bragging to
anyone that you used to bang that, because he’s not looking so hot these days.”
The repugnance on her face was enough to make me believe her. Most people didn’t realize the way Brad was deteriorating before he bailed town. He was still fit back then. So for her to say his hot-ability had gone south, I couldn’t not believe her. If he continued the booze and drugs, he probably would look pretty shitty these days.
My heart was drumming fast, fearing he might actually be near. Probably within a mile or two at this very minute. Trying my best to be nonchalant about it, I asked, “Where’d you see him?”
“With Shane. Over at Lucky’s. Douchebag actually tried to get into my shorts. As if I would when Shane was sitting right there all single and yummy-looking.” Her phone jingled inside her purse and she reached inside. “Speaking of that sexy little devil, Shane’s calling,” she bragged, waving her phone in front of me so I could clearly see his name flash across the screen. “Time to go get wet the fun way. Bye, Mel-bell.”
The bitch walked off then, answering the call with a hey, baby just as she left the building. I wanted to be pissed at him for flocking to her the second things got rough between us, but I should’ve known better. Damn leopards never changed their spots.
More importantly, fear was creeping through my insides. What if Brad really was here? Shane was out fucking Amber tonight. He had to know she’d come rub it in my face. That was probably why he told her he’d meet her later. If he was that pissed at me over this money thing, maybe he would bring Brad here to make my life miserable. Stupid fucker. The genius part of it all was letting Amber tell me, making me wonder, worry, losing my mind trying to figure out if Brad was really in town. Shane kept him hidden from me, hanging out over at Lucky’s instead of here. Gawd, I just wanted to smack the crap out him!
Freaking man-whore.
I don’t know why it took that long, but I felt the panic attack rising inside me. My chest was starting to heave, my breaths becoming shorter and louder. Brad could be in town right now. Anywhere. Even outside my home, trying to peek inside the windows.