“Don’t worry, Daddy. I am going to give back, I just haven’t decided which charity to donate to this year yet. I’m still deciding.”
“Good. So, you heading out again? You look all dressed up.”
“Oh, yeah. Daisy and I were going to head to Brody’s in a bit.”
“That sounds like fun. Just behave yourselves,” he said, with a wink. Just then, his pager beeped. He took it out of his pocket, and looked down. “That’s the hospital, I need to take this. You and Daisy have fun tonight, and remember what I told you,” he said, and hugged me around the shoulders.
With a quick kiss on the cheek, I said, “I will Daddy, I promise.”
“Make sure to say goodbye to your Mama before you go,” he added, dialing a number on the telephone.
Just then, Mama walked into the foyer. “You leaving me again?” she said, smiling warmly.
“Oh, Daisy and I were going to go to Brody’s tonight…is that okay?” I asked, suddenly feeling guilty.
She smiled wider and said, “Lilly, honey, you are almost thirty years old. You don’t need my permission to go to a bar.”
“I know that, but I just got back yesterday and I feel like I haven’t spent much time with you.”
“Oh sweetheart…you are on vacation, go have fun with your sister. You will be here for three weeks. I’m sure we will have a chance to spend some time together.”
I took her hands in mine and said, “Are you sure?”
Giving them a squeeze, she said, “I’m sure. Go.” She hugged me, and walked in to the kitchen.
Just then, Daisy came into the room talking on her cell phone. “Okay, that sounds good. We’ll meet you there, bye,” she said, hanging up the phone. She put her phone in her back pocket, and looked up at me. Her eyes widened, and she smiled. “Wow, girl, you look so sexy!”
“Thank you, you too! I knew that top would look great on you,” I said, referring to the red top with the see through lace back she had picked out this afternoon. She had matched it with a pair of jeans, black heels, and had scrunched her hair into soft waves. She looked great.
“Well, thanks for the suggestion. You ready?”
“Yeah, all set. By the way, who were you talking to just now? Are we meeting someone?” I asked, sliding on my coat.
“Uh, yeah, Vi is meeting us there, if that’s okay.”
I laughed and said, “Of course it’s okay! I want to see her too. Her wedding is the reason why I’m here.”
“All right then, let’s go,” she said, and we headed out the front door as we called out our goodbyes to Mama and Daddy. We walked out together and got into Daisy’s car. She started the engine and we began the drive to Brody’s. It didn’t take long to get there, and soon we were pulling into the parking lot and she shut off the engine.
As I got out, I said, “You know, I am really going to have to get a rental car while I’m here. I’m not used to being driven everywhere.”
“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea, cause I’m tired of hauling your ass around,” she said, with a smile. I rolled my eyes, and we linked arms and walked inside the bar. Loud country music instantly filled my ears. The place was already packed for being so early in the evening. As my eyes scanned the room I saw a lot of faces I hadn’t seen since high school. It seemed like I was one of the few that left for college and didn’t come back home. After we took our coats off and hung them by the door, Daisy immediately led me toward the bar to order drinks. “Hey, Brooke, can we get two Bud Lights please?” she yelled over the loud music coming from the jukebox. The bartender looked up and when her eyes met mine, she smiled widely. “Hey! Lilly!”
“Oh my god, Brooke Bailey? Hi!” I exclaimed, and she came from back behind the bar and pulled me into a warm hug. Brooke Bailey was from my graduating class, and she had played volleyball for all four years. She was definitely one of the nicer popular girls. She looked sensational. She was tall, tan, and her hair was bleach-blonde with dark lowlights, and it was hair sprayed so it was big and didn’t move. “Oh wow, it’s so great to see you!”
“Oh, it’s great to see you too, girl!” she said, and released me from her arms. “Good god, Lilly, you look absolutely beautiful!”
“Oh thanks so much, so do you! Look at you! You are, like, a sexy bartender!” I said, laughing.
“Bartender? Hell, I own this place now.”
“Really? How did that happen?”
“I inherited it from my grandpa when he passed a few years back.”
“Aw, I’m sorry to hear that. He was a nice man.”
“Yeah, but he left me something great. Plus, it pays the bills, so that’s never a bad thing,” she said with a bright smile.
“So, is this what you’ve been up to since college?”
“Just the past six years. I didn’t finish college.”
“Wow, really? How did that happen?”
“Oh you know, the usual. Went to college, got pregnant in my sophomore year by my bastard ex, dropped out to be a single mom, and moved back home,” she said, winking at me.
“You’re a mom? Aw, that’s great!”
“Yeah, my Cassidy is almost nine years old now.”
“Oh my…well I bet she’s just beautiful.”
“Thanks, I’m kind of in love with her,” she said, smiling. “Well, hey, let me get you two your drinks.”
“Oh, right, you are working. Sorry!”
“Hey, it’s okay. I was happy for the distraction. It’s great to see you again,” she said, and I notice her eyes move to the left, and for a second she looked irritated. She looked back at me and smiled.
“You too. Listen, can we catch up this week? Maybe have lunch?”
Brooke smiled. “That sounds great. Listen, Daisy’s got my number, so call me anytime,” she said, and walked back behind the bar.
“I will do that.”
Her eyes flicked to the front door, and she said, “Hey, looks like your other sister just walked in, so I’ll catch up with you later,” she said, setting three Bud Lights down on the counter. “One for Vi, too. On the house,” she said, winking.
“Thanks, Brooke,” I said, taking the bottles in my hands and walking toward Violet, who was hanging her coat up on the hook by the door. As soon as we reached her, I handed her a beer. “Hey, Violet. I’m glad you came.”
“Thanks, me too. You girls been here long?”
“No, not at all,” I said, taking a drink. “So, you gonna be singing karaoke tonight?”
Violet smiled, and shook her head. “Um, that would be a no. I don’t sing at all.”
“And the world thanks you for that,” Daisy said, taking a drink of her beer. “Believe me, Lil, she’s awful.”
As I laughed, I looked around the bar, and I noticed several men staring at us, including a man sitting on a stool in the back corner of the bar. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t place him. Feeling increasingly uncomfortable, I said, “Well, why don’t we shoot some pool then?”
“That sounds fun!” Violet exclaimed, and she immediately started walking toward the pool table at the back of the bar. About ten heads turned in her direction as we followed behind her. Daisy rolled her eyes, and I just shook my head.
I don’t think I had been hugged and complimented so much in my life than I had in the past forty eight hours. It felt like almost our entire graduating class was at Brody’s, and they all wanted to say hello to me. After about an hour of catching up with almost everyone I went to high school with and playing pool with my sisters, we (or rather Daisy) decided that we were going go out on the dance floor. One of Daisy’s favorite songs came on, and she insisted that we all dance to it together. It wasn’t my kind of music at all, but I had to admit that even though I was a terrible dancer, I was having fun being with my sisters and having a good time. We weren’t even halfway through the second song before I felt a pair of hands on my hips, moving along with me. Instinctively I froze up and when I felt the large, unwelcome hands slide down and grab my ass,
I spun around. “Hey Lilly, you’re lookin’ good baby,” I heard a husky voice say. After focusing my eyes, I recognized my harasser. It was the man that was staring from the corner of the bar. Jared Moony. Suddenly I felt my skin start to crawl. Jared was another of Glenbrook High’s star football players, and he was the school bully. He looked…awful. I guess if I hadn’t known him I would have thought he was okay looking, but knowing how he looked in high school it seemed life had hit him hard. His face was worn and leathery, like he’d been in the sun too long. His voice was rough and cold and his eyes were unfriendly and intimidating. I was instantly uncomfortable, but I didn’t want to offend him because he looked like he was the type that had a short fuse, and was probably already drunk.
“Um, h-hi, Jared. How are you?” I asked nervously. I glanced around for Daisy or Violet, but they were looking the other way and couldn’t see me.
“Oh, I’m good, babe. I’d be even better if we could get outta here and talk,” he said, and I could smell the whiskey on his breath as he leaned close to my face.
“Um, well, as tempting as that sounds, I’m here with my sisters, so I’m going to have to take a pass, but it was good seeing you again,” I said, as friendly as I possibly could, and tried to turn back to find Daisy and Violet.
Suddenly, I felt his hand grip my arm, and he spun me around hard, taking both of my arms into his large hands and squeezing. He was hurting me. “Still high and mighty, ain’t ya, Princess?” he spat angrily at me, shaking me. He was gripping my arms so tightly that I couldn’t move.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I said, my eyes wildly looking around for anyone to help me.
“Oh, please. You always walked around that school and this town like you were so much fucking better than everyone. I think you need to be knocked down a few pegs,” he said, and my arms were stinging from his iron grip. He leaned in to my face and was about to plant a nasty, whiskey-soaked kiss on me, when suddenly I felt his hands release me and I saw a tall figure slid in between me and Jared and had pushed me behind their back. Luke was standing defensively in front of me with one arm out to shield me. At that moment Daisy and Violet came running over with Jack.
“Lilly, what’s going on?” Violet asked nervously. Daisy looked like she was going to attack Jared herself, and Jack put a protective arm around her, probably holding her back.
“Leave her alone, Jared,” Luke said, his tone threatening. I immediately felt the strength of Jared’s grip on me as stinging pain shot through my arms. I winced.
Jared snickered. “Or what? What you gonna do, pretty boy?” he said, shoving Luke back slightly. “Get outta my way,” he said, and he was trying to reach for me again when Luke grabbed Jared’s arm, and threw him back. By this time the whole dance floor had parted to make room.
“I’m telling you now, you need to walk away and leave her alone,” Luke growled.
“Oh really? Looks like you need knocked down too, doc,” Jared growled, and as soon as Jared took another step in my direction, Luke punched him hard in the jaw. Jared dropped to the floor, and several people standing around started to cheer. At that moment, Brooke came running over to us holding a baseball bat with two bouncers in tow. They stood Jared up and began walking him to the door. “Get the hell off me!” he shouted, shoving one of the bouncers. He glared at Brooke and spat, “I bet you are just lovin’ this, ain’t ya, bitch?” He spit out a mouthful of blood at the floor in front of her feet as they grabbed onto him tighter and were now half-dragging him.
Brooke held the bat up and narrowed her eyes at him. “If you don’t get the hell out of here now, I’m gonna love the feel of my Louisville Slugger cracking into the back of your skull,” she said, dark hate spreading across her face. I knew that she and Jared never liked each other from way back, but something had obviously happened in the past to fuel the rage in her face as she looked at him now. She then looked at the bouncers and said, “Get him outta here, boys. And don’t let him back in, he’s on the black list from now on.”
“Yes ma’am,” they muttered, and began walking him toward the door. As they were escorting him outside, Luke yelled, “If you ever put your hands on her again, it will be the last thing you do, I promise you that.”
“Whatever, this bar sucks!” Jared screamed out, and one of the bouncers shoved him out the door.
Brooke gave Luke a quick look, and then said, “I’m gonna go make sure he stays out. You okay, Lilly?” I silently nodded, still slightly shock over what just happened.
Daisy wiggled out Jack’s grip and came to face me. “What the hell was that about?”
“I honestly don’t know. I was just dancing with you and Vi and all of a sudden I felt his hands on my ass,” I said, and tried to laugh it off. The truth was…Jared scared the hell out of me. I wasn’t scared of the way he acted, but what he said hit a nerve. It bothered me…I really hope no one thought I was a stuck up bitch. This place was my home, and I loved it. I slightly shook my head to try and banish my thoughts, and I placed a hand on Luke’s arm. “Hey, thank you.”
He looked into my eyes, and forced a smile. “No problem.”
“Can I talk to you for a sec?” I said, motioning to the pool table. He just nodded his head. I walked toward the table with him close behind me. When we were alone, I turned to him and said, “I’m so sorry, Luke.”
His eyes snapped up. “What in the hell for? You didn’t do anything to deserve that.”
“I’m not talking about Jared. I’m talking about what I said earlier. About us hanging out and keeping it a secret.”
He waved his hand in the air. “Oh that. Lilly, its okay, forget it.”
“It’s not okay. I thought about what I said, and it was so crappy of me to ask in the first place. I want us to be friends so much, and I was just scared of what people might think. Can you forgive me?”
Luke snorted and shook his head. “You just got accosted by a drunk has been who more than likely left bruises on both your arms, and you are apologizing to me for something that happened hours ago?” My eyes were wide with anticipation. I wasn’t worried about myself at the moment. I had to know that things between Luke and I were going to be okay. After a moment, his face softened and he said, “Yes, Lilly, I forgive you.”
I leaned off the stool and impulsively pulled Luke into a hug. “Thank you Luke, for everything,” I said. I took a deep breath, inhaling his scent. Lord, he smelled good. I must have been holding on longer than I was supposed to, because Luke was the one that broke apart from the hug.
“You’re welcome,” he said, and for a moment his expression changed from concern for me to full blown anger and back again.
I reached and touched his arm. “Hey, you okay?”
“Yeah, I just…I think I’m gonna go,” he said.
“Go? Why?”
“I just…gotta go. I’ll call and check on you tomorrow,” he said, and with a quick kiss on the hand, he walked away. In that moment, something happened. My heart started beating faster and something warm started to spread through my chest and to my fingertips. I saw him say his goodbyes to Daisy and Violet, and after saying a few words to Jack they left together. Daisy looked over to me, and mouthed “What was that?”
I just shrugged my shoulders. This has been the weirdest night. I had reconnected with another old friend, had fun playing pool and dancing with my sisters, then got felt up then man-handled by a drunken idiot. And now, to top it all off, Luke just up and left with barely a goodbye. Suddenly I felt overwhelmingly tired. I got up and walked over to Violet and Daisy. “Girls, I think I’m ready to call it a night, if you don’t mind.”
Violet pulled me into a hug, being careful not to squeeze my sore arms. “Of course we don’t mind. I’ll go get our coats,” she said, and walked to the coat rack by the door. As Daisy and I gathered our things and headed toward the door, Brooke walked over to meet us.
“I’m so sorry about what happened here tonight, Lilly. You sure you’re gonna be okay?” she
asked.
I hugged her, and said, “I’m sure. Thanks for helping out, you were pretty bad ass with that bat,” I said, and she smiled at me.
“Yeah, well, it kind of comes with the territory. I just wish I’d been able to get in one good swing at him, the worthless prick,” she said.
“Why do you hate him so much?” I asked before I could stop myself.
Pure hatred spread across her face. “What’s not to hate?” She quickly hugged me one more time, and said, “Well I’ll let you girls head home. I’m gonna have Phil and Tim walk you ladies out.” She motioned to the bouncers from earlier and they came walking over to me.
“Thanks again Brooke. I’ll see you soon,” I said, waving goodbye. I slid on my coat and I walked outside with Daisy and Violet. We said our goodbyes to Violet, and then we headed home where I immediately went up to my room. I took a quick shower and got into bed, and drifted off to sleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Chapter 10
Dream a Little Dream
“You’re sure that we’re all alone?” I asked, apprehensively.
He laced his fingers through mine, and whispered, “Why? You getting’ nervous?”
“A little,” I admitted, and he looked worried. “But only because I don’t want us to be in the middle of something and your parents walk in. It would be humiliating.”
“They are staying in Valdosta for the weekend, so they won’t be back until Monday. We have the place to ourselves,” he said, and he pulled me close to him. I knew Mama and Daddy wouldn’t worry about me because I had called them while I was in Luke’s truck and told them I was spending the night with my friend Brooke, and called her to make sure she would cover for me. As he held me tight against him, I took a deep breath. He smelled so good. Us being here together…it felt so right. I felt warmth spread through me as his fingers left mine and began tracing up my arm to the line of my jaw. I looked into his eyes, and my breath caught in my throat. His eyes were so beautiful, so blue. I could spend the whole night staring into them, but a deep pull in the bottom of my stomach had other ideas of how to spend the evening when I saw his head tilt to the side. He leaned in and kissed me for the third time. The first kiss was sweet, and the second was an awakening. The third kiss was all passion, all fireworks, and all heat. His hand tangled in my hair and he groaned as I gently bit his bottom lip. This kissing thing was getting easier with each passing moment.
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