by Julia Goda
“You’ll make an exception this time. We’re toasting to Jesse.” Rick told me in a quiet voice full with meaning. My head shot up from watching what I was doing to meet his. He gave me a quick and reassuring nod. I smiled a small and grateful smile, reached for another shot glass, filled it, and lifted it. Rick, Larry, and Macy followed my lead and lifted theirs.
“To Jesse,” I whispered.
“To Jesse,” they repeated. Then we all downed the shot together and slammed the glasses on the bar almost in synchronization when we were done.
That felt good.
I grinned at Rick. He grinned back at me. Then his eyes took on a teasing glint. “I’m on the top of my game tonight, so you better watch out,” he said before he put the bottle of beer to his lips and took a swig.
I laughed and shook my head at him.
“You still haven’t talked her into going out with you, Rick? You’re losing your touch,” Macy said mockingly.
“I’m working on it. I’m a patient man.”
“I’d say,” Macy mumbled. Larry chuckled. I just kept shaking my head. “Throw the man a bone, Lore. He deserves a reward for being so persistent.”
I looked from Macy to Larry and back to Rick, who was watching me intently.
Then I heard my name shouted from Chris’ end of the bar. Only Chris wasn’t there. “Hey, Loreley, you think you can stop flirting with the detective for long enough to get a paying customer another drink or what?” My good mood instantly disappeared as I saw who it was.
Brad. He was a complete and total asshole and he had tried to bring trouble to the bar on more than one occasion. I had to give it to him, he was extremely good looking— about ten years ago. Now, you could see that the glorious days of the former high school hotshot quarterback were long gone. He went to school with Cal and Rick, so I’ve seen him play back then. He could have been something great. Got a full ride to UCLA, but got kicked off the team when he was busted at a party and arrested for possession during junior year. Stupid. So very stupid. But he wasn’t only that. He was also a total douchebag.
One look at him now and I could see he was in rare form. Apparently, so could Rick. Out of the corner of my eye I saw that he was getting up from his stool. His eyes were fixed on Brad and he did not look happy. Not happy as in seriously not happy and ready to rip into Brad.
I put a hand on his arm to get his attention, shaking my head at him when I had it. “Don’t worry, I’ve got it. Not the first time I’ve had to deal with a jerk.”
I could tell he didn’t like that, but he sat down nevertheless, letting me do what I needed to do in my place of business.
I strode over to Brad, making sure I put some extra swagger into it while I had my narrowed eyes fixed on his face. It was both a challenge and a warning at the same time, to let him know I wouldn’t take any of his bullshit. When I reached him, I leaned my hands on the bar and moved close to him. His eyes went to my cleavage and I had to stop myself from gagging.
“Warning, Brad. Don’t push me,” I told him in a low voice.
His eyes came back to my face and I must have not done a very good job of hiding my disgust, since his jaw clenched and his face turned into a sneer.
“Looks like our fancy big city detective is finally going to get lucky tonight.”
God, he was such an asshole.
I leaned in closer, threateningly, and hissed under my breath, “Listen, asshole, I get that you’re unhappy with your life, but don’t come to my bar and take it out on me. You want a beer? I’ll get you a beer. And it even comes with some free advice: if you hate your life so much, maybe you should try and be a little friendlier and nicer to people instead of being a complete douchebag all the time.”
At that, Brad’s right hand shot out and he grabbed my left wrist, pulling me in closer across the bar that separated us until I could smell the beer and cigarettes on his breath.
Disgusting.
“You think I should be friendlier? I’ll show you exactly how friendly I can be,” he whispered as he leered at my cleavage again.
Gross.
I didn’t deign to reply and tried to pull my wrist from his grip. “Let go,” I said when he didn’t. His grip tightened to the point of pain and he pulled me in closer. “Let go, Brad,” I told him again but stopped pulling since that would only make it hurt more.
“No,” he said and before I could react, he pressed his lips roughly to mine. I reared my head back and swung up my right arm, using the heel of my hand to hit the bottom of his nose with the upward motion. Brad let go of me and stumbled back, his hand going to his now bleeding nose.
“You fucking bitch! You broke my nose!”
I glared at him while I rubbed my left wrist with my right hand and cradled it against my chest. I was going to have a bruise there.
“Get out of my bar, Brad.”
“Fuck you!” He yelled. He made as if to advance on me but was stopped by, I was shocked to see, Jason, who was now standing in front of him with a hand on Brad’s chest, pushing him back. Chris was right there with him, glaring at Brad, his hands clenched into tight fists at his side. And so were Rick and Larry.
“Out,” Jason growled.
My initial shock at seeing Jason coming to my rescue turned into irritation at seeing him here. “Go away, Jason. I can handle it. I don’t need you to rescue me.”
He didn’t turn his eyes from Brad as he answered me. “I saw that. Doesn’t mean I’m not gonna teach this asshole a lesson for putting his hands on you.” His voice was low and growly with rage.
“Thanks, but I don’t need or want your help. As you can see, I have more than enough friends who’ll do that for me. You can leave now.”
Brad stumbled backwards when Jason gave him another push in the direction of the front door, but caught himself and tried to push past the four men, showing again how very stupid he was.
“I think you’re forgetting that I’m a cop, Brad. A cop who saw you touch a woman against her will. You gotta be very careful right now,” Rick warned him.
“I gotta be careful? She assaulted me! That fucking bitch broke my nose!”
“Yeah, and she had every right to since you wouldn’t let her go when she asked you to. Now, let’s go outside before I have to arrest you.” Brad threw me another glare before he turned around and stalked out the door, followed by not only Rick, but Chris, Jason, and Larry as well.
Great.
I hoped I wouldn’t have to deal with the police now and press charges or something like that, because Rick was involved.
“You’re covered in blood, honey,” I heard Macy say. She was standing next to me behind the bar.
I looked down at myself. There were blood splatters all over the front of my shirt.
Great. Blood was a bitch to get out.
“Shit,” I said, “thanks to that asshole, one of my favourite shirts is now ruined.”
Then I lifted my right hand, the one I’d hit Brad with, and saw that it was also covered in blood; my left hand was fine, but my wrist had red welts all around it. I flinched when I turned it. It stung.
“You need to put ice on that.” Macy walked me over to the ice chest, grabbed a towel, wrapped some ice in it and pressed it gently to my wrist. I flinched again.
“There you go. That’s a mean right hook you’ve got there. Think you can teach me that?”
I smiled at her. “Sure.”
She smiled back at me. “Who was that Jason guy? I’ve never seen him around town before,” she asked as she started to dab at the blood on my shirt.
I sighed. “That’s a long story.”
Macy studied me for a few long moments before she went back to dabbing and said, “Soon, you, me, and Ivey. Girls’ night. No arguing.” As if I would.
“Ivey is gonna hate the fact that she won’t be able to drink,” I said through a snicker. Macy shrugged, but I could see her smiling. “It’s her turn. I’ve been benched three times. It’s payback time.”
&nbs
p; JASON
Jason was sitting in the far corner of the bar at a table. It was crowded enough that Loreley wouldn’t see him but he could watch her. It looked like she was having a good time with her friends. He watched as she laughed and smiled and shared a drink, as they toasted to something he was too far away to hear.
Seeing her smile and have fun with her friends like that made his chest burn with jealousy. He wanted to be the one who made her smile like that, happy like that, the one she would look at with her beautifully warm and sparkling eyes. It took everything in him to stay in his seat as he witnessed the familiarity between her and the guy who was sitting closest to her. He could tell by the looks they were exchanging that they were close, that they liked each other. He could also tell that the guy wanted in her pants.
“Hi, my name is Ashley. What can I get you tonight?” He heard a smooth and silky voice ask him. He turned his head and saw a waitress was standing next to him. When he didn’t answer, she leaned in closer, showing him her cleavage. Jason ignored the boobs that were practically in his face and grunted, “Beer. Heineken. Bottle. No glass.” Then his eyes went back to the bar, to Loreley, dismissing the waitress.
Less than a minute later, he felt eyes on him. Glancing down the bar, he saw the waitress leaning across the counter, both her and Chris’ eyes were on him. The waitress’ were miffed. Chris’ were furious.
Shit.
His plan had been to find a quiet moment to talk to Chris, maybe when he went in the back or after they closed. But it looked like he wasn’t going to get that. Chris said something to the waitress without taking his eyes off him then he lifted the partition, strode around the bar, and marched towards him, his eyes heated with fury, his face set in a mask of rage.
“You’ve got balls, I give you that,” he seethed as he arrived at his table.
Jason knew he had to play this a certain way if he wanted the answers from Chris he so desperately needed. He couldn’t antagonize him. He needed his help. So instead of meeting Chris’ anger with his own as he usually would, he schooled his face into a neutral mask and said, “Like I told Loreley last night, I’m not leaving until she talks to me.”
Chris’ chuckle was cold. “You wanna talk to her, you gotta go through me.”
“That’s why I’m here.” Chris stopped short, surprised by Jason’s words.
“You’re here to talk to me?”
“I am,” Jason said.
Chris smirked at him. “All right. Let’s go outside. We’ll talk.” Jason could tell by the way he said the word talk that talking was not what they’d be doing outside. Chris was itching for a fight. Jason wouldn’t normally shy away from a challenge like that, but again, he needed Chris on his side. He couldn’t risk getting into a physical fight with him and lose his maybe only chance of finding out what the hell was going on.
“I’m not here to fight you, Chris.”
“Oh, I heard what you’re here for. I’ll save you the time and energy. She’s never going to forgive you for what you’ve done.”
Jason was getting frustrated and impatient, not only with the conversation, but also with the accusation. His low and growly voice communicated this as he said, “I did not cheat on her, Chris. You know I would’ve never done that. No way would I have hurt her like that. I loved her, was completely committed to her and our future. No other woman existed for me. She owned me. She still does. You really think that would change and I would fuck the next pussy that was offered because of some stupid fight? You knew me better than that. Yeah, I know I was a complete dick that night for yelling at her and calling her a selfish bitch for wanting to pursue her dreams. I get that. I’ve hated myself for it for the past six years. But you know, man. You know I was going to ask her to marry me. Fuck, you helped me pick the ring.”
Chris hesitated. The fire in his eyes changed and turned contemplative. There had been no mistaking the sincerity in Jason’s voice. He meant everything he had said.
Jason tried to push his advantage. “You gotta help me out here, Chris. You’re right. Loreley won’t talk to me. She won’t believe that I didn’t cheat on her. She hates me too much to even listen to me, to let me explain, and I have no idea why. I’m missing something here. Something important. And I need you to tell me what that is so I can fix it. You know her better than anyone. Please, man, give me something to go on. Help me out,” Jason implored. He was not too proud to beg for his old friend’s help.
Before Chris had a chance to answer him, a commotion at the bar had Jason’s eyes swing that way and grow big and panicked at seeing some slimy guy’s hands and mouth on his Loreley.
“Motherfucker,” he swore and he was off.
“Thanks, but I don’t want your help. As you can see, I have more than enough friends who’ll do that for me. You can leave now.” Jason ground his teeth together. He had the urge to growl and throw her over his shoulder like a caveman, to carry her off and make her listen to him. But dealing with this asshole was more important right now. He had touched his woman against her will, had put his filthy mouth on her against her will. A red haze of rage covered Jason’s eyes as he gave that asshole another push and made him stumble.
Finding out that Rick was a cop pleased him, but at the same time, it annoyed him immensely. It pleased him, because that meant Rick could make this guy’s life really unpleasant if he didn’t smarten up. But it annoyed him, because that meant he couldn’t punch Rick in the face for wanting in Loreley’s pants.
All the men followed that asshole outside. There were four of them: Chris, Rick, himself, and some guy he hadn’t noticed had come to Loreley’s rescue as well. When he took a closer look, Jason realized it was the guy who had sat at the bar with Loreley’s other friends.
“What? That bitch sending all her boyfriends after me now?”
Jason and Chris advanced at the same time but were stopped when Rick spoke. “You need to shut up and get out of here, Brad, before I find more reason to arrest you. And you better hope Loreley doesn’t press charges. Would be difficult to get out of that with the whole bar and a detective as witnesses.” Rick’s voice was low and lethal.
“Press charges? What for? That bitch provoked me!”
Jason felt himself growling. He took a threatening step towards Brad but was held back by a hand on his shoulder.
“Did you not hear what I just said? You need to shut your mouth and get out of here. I mean it, Brad, one more word and I’m getting my handcuffs out.”
Brad glared at Rick, his eyes blazing, but he kept his mouth shut, then turned around and stalked away. Jason’s body relaxed with every step that increased the distance between them.
“So you’re Jason,” Rick was now talking to him, his voice a little less lethal and menacing, but not by much. Rick had heard about him. He knew who he was and didn’t like him much. Not surprising.
Jason sliced his eyes from watching Brad’s retreating back to Rick. “Yeah, I’m Jason.”
“Heard you got in Loreley’s face yesterday.” Jason didn’t respond. He didn’t owe this guy an explanation. Rick kept speaking. “You need to stay away from her. You’ve hurt her enough and she doesn’t want you here.”
“Sorry, detective, but what I do or don’t do is none of your business.”
“You’re right. It’s not. But Loreley is my friend, which makes her my business.”
“No. It doesn’t.” Jason replied and he could tell that Rick got his meaning.
Good.
They went into stare-down, glowering at each other for long moments. The urge to punch the cop intensified, but Jason couldn’t afford getting arrested. So far, the media hadn’t discovered where he was, but that would change within in the hour if he got taken in. The press would have a field day with the mug shots alone. To Jason’s satisfaction, Rick was the one who broke contact when his eyes went to Chris. “I’m gonna follow Brad, make sure he goes home and doesn’t start more trouble. You got this?” He asked, gesturing to Jason with a chin lift.
Chris nodded. “I got this.”
“Make sure she gets home safe.”
“Always.”
Rick nodded and started walking towards what Jason assumed was his car, but not before he gave Jason one more threatening glare.
“I’m gonna go in, make sure Macy isn’t taking punching lessons from Loreley,” the guy that had come outside with them called to Chris as he was heading back into the bar. Chris gave him a low chuckle as he said, “Good luck, man.”
When the door closed behind him, Chris turned his attention to Jason.
“Now that we’re alone, let’s get back to our earlier conversation.”
Jason waited.
“You’re right, I thought I knew you. Thought I could trust you. Just like she did. That turned to shit when she knocked on my door for the second time in less than twenty-four hours, heartbroken and destroyed. Because she met the skank pussy you fucked.”
“Goddammit! I didn’t fuck anyone!” Jason yelled, the control he had on his anger finally snapping.
“Cut the bullshit, Sanders! Lore went to your place to talk to you the next morning, to figure stuff out, to find a compromise to make things work for both of you! She didn’t want to lose you. I knew you overreacted, that you said shit you didn’t mean. We talked about it all night. Then she went back to you only to find a woman fresh out of the shower wrapped in a fucking towel telling her you couldn’t come to the door ‘cause you were still in the shower! You broke her heart, Sanders, and I’ve waited six years to kick your ass for it!” Chris advanced on him. Jason didn’t retreat. If Chris were going to come at him he would meet him head on. He advanced right back on Chris and got in his face.
“Fuck! Fucking listen to me, Chris! I didn’t fuck that girl! Murphy did!”
“Of course, how convenient. Blame the guy who screws around so much he can’t remember every girl he’s fucked, let alone the girl’s name the next morning.”
“I’m telling you the truth! They crashed at my place that night because it was closest to the bar we played at. I wasn’t even there. I stayed behind and got drunk. Ask Nathan. He was with me.”