by S. E. Kloos
Xander just snorted and spoke with a quiet chuckle in his voice. “Well, see... this little daisy I know took my black one. This was the only other hat I had in my truck.”
Giving him a smile, she reached up and took off the white hat, this time taking the opportunity to run her fingers through his hair. Taking his black hat off her head to put it back on his, she placed his white hat now on her head. Since there was black in the hat and white in her shirt, it still went together. “There, that better?”
Keeping one hand on her hip, he set the other on the open door frame, kicking his boot casted foot behind him and up on his toes to give his ankle a break from his weight, he leaned closer to her. “What do you think? I’m pretty easy to please, Little Darlin’. I don’t need much. Just my hat, my horse, a pack of Marlboros, and a beer and I’m a happy camper. Everything else is just a bonus.”
Looking at him with a weird look on her face, she bit her lip a moment before replying. “You forgot the clothes on your back.”
He just cocked a brow at her. “No, I didn’t.” Then he winked at her, “That’s one of them bonuses.”
She pictured that, nearly choking on her tongue.
Xander smirked at her before dragging her out of the open doorway and shutting the door behind her. Keeping her between him and his truck, he caged her between his arms too and bent down to look her in the eyes, “Like I’m prone to losin’ my temper, I am just as prone to losin’ my clothes.”
Giggling like a teenager all over again, Elizabeth reached up and batted at the brim of his hat, knocking it in his eyes before ducking under his arm. She didn’t get far before she felt his hand close around her wrist. With a smooth maneuver, he twirled her back around into his chest, causing her to squeal while locking his fingers behind her back to keep her there.
Smirking down at her, Xander used the hat on his head to tilt the one on her’s back out on his view of her face. He chuckled, “you blushin’ like a virgin on her wedding night, Little Darlin’. I think someone needs a little white lightning to calm down a bit.”
Feeling the steel muscles under her fingers through the fabric of his shirt, she didn’t think that whisky was all that good of an idea personally, but she also wasn’t about to say no to it. So, like a dumbass, she smiled and nodded.
Smirk growing at the nod, “Atta girl. There is just ONE thing I wanna do before we head on inside.” Seeing curiosity spark in her eyes, Xander dipped his head, pressing his lips to hers like he had wanted to do earlier in the week, before she left the day she had come to his mama’s. He had been kicking his mental ass for two days for not doing so, and had spent a lot of that time trying to figure out how get another chance at it.
He couldn’t be happier that that night’s shindig came up in conversation at the corner store earlier in the day. The way she seemed to melt against him, paired with the muffled mewl, damn near set his blood on fire. She tasted like cherries to him, but that was probably that lip gloss shit and not actually her. He just shrugged a mental shoulder at the thought. This wasn’t the only time he planned on devouring those lips tonight. He was sure at some point it would come off, so he would find out if she really tasted as sweet as he thought.
Deciding not to push her too far too soon, he didn’t make a move to deepen the kiss into anything more heated than it was. However, he lingered for a moment longer before pressing a final peck to her lips and standing back his full height. There was a real stroke to his ego when she opened her eyes and he saw a glossy sheen over the bright orbs.
Her voice was airy and light when she finally found it. “What was that for?”
Xander shrugged, giving her a cocky smirk, his voice off hand when he spoke. “You wearin’ my hat. ‘Round here, that makes you my girl till you give it back or I take it back.” Then he lifted a hand to fix it on her head. “But you too damn cute in it for me to be considerin’ that, which means I get to kiss ya whenever I want.”
Voice still slightly breathless, all she did was say, “Okay” before taking his arm when he presented it. As he lead her inside, she made a very valiant effort to get upset at the way he phrased that, but there wasn’t a shred of her that could muster the will to do so. There wasn’t any darkness in his eyes when he called her his girl and there wasn’t any following threat to it. There was actually a compliment.
She turned her face up to look at him while biting the corner her lip. She wanted to believe that he was different than Brandon, and maybe he was. So far he had been, and other than that one time that was pretty justified, she hadn’t seen him get upset. As a matter of fact, he was on the verge of shooting Brandon the day they met. A small smile pulled at her lips when she thought about that twist of fate. He was only supposed to be in town for a few days and ended up breaking his ankle, keeping him here long enough for her to be able to get to know him a bit.
Smiling wider, she came to the decision that she was just going to go with the flow to see where it went. After the disaster that that was her last relationship, she felt she owed it to herself to have some fun. If this didn’t turn out to be for the long haul, she was going to enjoy it while it lasted. Plus, if Xander ever did cross that line, she wasn’t too big a person to tell his daddy on his ass. She would do it in heartbeat and not feel a bit bad about it, either. She would even sell tickets and popcorn to the show.
Pulling his girl up in front of him once they reached the bar, Xander dipped his head to her ear so she could hear him over the music. “What do you want, Little Darlin’?”
Turning to face him, she just shrugged and shook her head. “I don’t care. Whatever’s fine with me. I’ll drink about anything but gin. That shit is fucking nasty.”
Reaching into his back pocket for his wallet, Xander pulled out his credit card and handed it over to the bartender, ordering two shots of the promised white lightning and two Buds. Leaning to the side of her, his elbow on the bar, he propped his casted foot up on the foot bar with his leg behind her calves. Picking up his shot glass when it was put in front of him, he looked at Elizabeth with a raised brow. “What are we drinking to tonight, Little Darlin’?”
Elizabeth looked at her shot, tapping the glass on the bartop in thought before looking at him and raising her glass. “To having fun for once without worrying about the consequences.”
Xander’s emerald eyes flashing to jade brought the girl up short. She looked at him in confusion when he set his glass back down and shook his head. He laced his fingers together, just looking at her a short time before he licked his lips and clicked his tongue. “I ain’t drinkin’ to nothin’ that has to do with that shit.” He paused a minute before he locked eyes with her, “I can’t make you believe me when I say you ain’t got nothin’ like that to worry about with me, Sweetheart, but I certainly hope eventually you’ll get it through your head. We out to have fun, and I never worry about no fuckin’ consequences. You said you wanted to forget he existed. Prove it.” Picking back up his glass, he raised it while continuing to look in her eyes. “What’s the toast, Sugar Britches?”
Looking at the glass she was holding then back at him, she picked her glass back up before reconnecting their gazes. “Get me, eat me, bite me, blow me. Fuck me, suck me very slowly. If you kiss me don’t be sassy, use that tongue and make it nasty.” With that, she clanged her glass to his and took her shot.
Xander just looked at her a moment before smirking, a chuckle in his voice. “Now that’s a toast.” He then took his shot, traded his empty shot glass for his beer bottle, and gave her a smile, “Where the hell you hear that from?”
Giggling as she too traded her empty for a beer, she shrugged. “It was the toast of the night on my 21st birthday. It was the last time that I went out before I got with my ex. I changed it from what it used to be though. There was a ‘beat me’ in there before, but you said you wouldn’t drink to that so I improvised a bit.”
Wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her closer to him, he smiled at her. “Cute and smart.
I’m one lucky little fucker.”
Pushing his hat on her head back a bit, she gave him look. “What would you have done had I not taken your hat?”
Xander chuckled and leaned forward, setting his forehead on hers. “I’da kissed ya anyways.”
Cocking her brow, she questioned. “Really?”
Nodding once, Xander said surely, “You bet that cute little ass I would’ve. I’ve been kickin’ myself for not doin’ it since you left my mama’s the other day. Had you not taken my hat, I would’ve waited till later tonight and blamed the booze, had you a problem with it.” Then he shrugged slightly as he pulled back to take a drink of his beer, but paused with the bottle to his lips long enough to say, “I’m resourceful like that.” He took his drink, smiling around the mouth of the bottle when his girl snorted hard before laughing out loud.
Once she calmed a bit, she took a drink of her beer, swallowing before making her observation. “Sounds to me like you got some experience with that little stunt.”
His smirk was wide enough for his teeth to show. “Now, whatever gave ya that idea? I don’t need STUNTS. I’m just that damn good.”
Scoffing with a smile on her face, “well, alright then you conceded little prick. Never fuckin’ mind.”
Snorting, Xander took a drink of his beer before leaning in to whisper in his Little Darlin’’s ear. “There ain’t nothin’ little about my prick.” Then he laughed as she pulled away from him with a cry of ‘Jesus’. Smiling wide at her, he offered, “You might be gettin’ a slight accent, Little Darlin’, but we still gotta work on ya vocabulary. Ya gotta remember you ain’t in the big ol’ city here, and whatcha mean ain’t whatchya say.”
There was a good natured laugh at that as she grinned at him, “You fuckin’ backwoods hick.”
Xander just shrugged a bit as he finished his beer, and then ordered another one as well as another round of shots.
Chapter 15
It was about a half hour later when Elizabeth excused herself to find the bathroom. It was while she was in there that Mark and Val showed up. Xander let Val know where to find her. After she vanished down the hall, Xander and Mark went over to where Kyle was talking to a few of the other boys they knew from town.
When Elizabeth and Val came back out, they went to the bar, did a shot together, then Elizabeth ordered another beer. Staying at the bar to finish the conversation they had started in the bathroom, Val looked at her little Dolly, smiling as she went on and on about Xander this and Xander that. She was excited for her, and gave herself a mental pat on the back for remembering to tell her to steal his hat.
They, however, turned to look that the guys just in time to see two little bodies sidle themselves right on up to the Steele brothers, sending a wave of irritation straight to Elizabeth’s core when she recognized the one hanging on Xander like a fucking spider monkey. She didn’t want to let it get to her, but damn it, it sure as fuck did.
Val looked back to see Dolly’s face fall a bit, and felt it necessary to pick it back up. “That’s Lindsay, or Lynn as she prefers these days.”
The slight fall to her face turned dark with the reminder of the name and the last time she saw her. “Oh, we’ve met.”
Blinking at the tone in her Dolly’s voice, Val decided the best way to get rid of it was to confuse the fuck out of the girl. So, falling back on southern sayings that the girl was still learning, Val giggled. “I tell ya, that girl is as happy as a dead pig in the sunshine.”
Blinking at that, Elizabeth looked over at Val, wrinkling her nose as a giggle came out of her mouth. “What?”
Val tittered, “Means she’s an idiot.” She then filled the girl in on the story on the town hussies. “Two summers ago, she went to visit her daddy up in Dallas. Left a b-cup, came back with those monstrosities. Been barkin’ up the wrong tree ever fuckin’ since. She’s a sweet talkin’ little thing, but wet behind the ears.”
Then she nodded to the other girl that was trying to be all over Kyle while rolling her eyes again, “And that’s Margret. She showed up one day ‘bout four years ago and hunkered down with the very first man that opened the door. Poor ol’ Mr. James certainly bit off more than he could chew, but he’s just too kind hearted a man to put a lady out with nowhere to go, or who claimed to have nowhere to go anyways. Ever since she first laid eyes on poor Kyle, she’s been nippin’ at them heels like a rabid wolf. Ky don’t take too kindly to it, but if his mama ever found out that he misspoke to a lady, she would knock his teeth down his throat. He deals with it because of that, but he got his eye on this little honey from the next town over.”
Elizabeth grimaced at the thought of that, picturing exactly how he would look without teeth. She felt really bad about it when she snorted at the image, having met the woman and knowing that she would actually do it.
Val smiled at the sight of her little Dolly finally seeming to be happy, even if the happiness was only gonna last till the whisky wore off. Leaning toward Dolly, she nudged shoulders with her. “Wanna go fuck up their night?”
An overly enthusiastic look over took Elizabeth’s face as her eyes light up. “What do you have in mind, Sugar Pie?”
An elated laugh came from Val’s lungs at the horrible southern twang of her Dolly. Once she settled down, she grinned, “Well now, that had to be just about the worst Scarlet O’Hara voice I ever did hear, Dolly. Points for tryin’, though. Give it more time and you’ll get ya accent.”
Once Val stopped laughing again, she stood up and turned to her Dolly, taking off Elizabeth’s hat before putting it between her teeth. After taking out the half ponytail in her hair, she used all ten fingers to quickly run them through her hair, messing it all the fuck up while at the same time giving it a lot of body. Once she was satisfied, Val put the hat back on her head and crouched down, tugging and pulling certain sections of hair to make the hat lay right while giving Elizabeth the ‘look’.
Once she deemed herself done, Val stood, pulling Elizabeth up with her. Grasping her shoulders, Val locked eyes with her dolly. “You just follow my lead here, Dolly. This is gonna be a hoot-n-nanny.”
Linking arms, the two girls walked across the floor to go teach a couple of little sluts a lesson or two.
Chapter 16
Xander was doing just about everything in his power not to lose his temper at the moment, because he knew if he did, he would have the wrath of his mama in his head before he could blink. He had tried every last thing he could think of to get the little twit to realize he had no interest in her, whatso-fuckin’-ever, but the stupid bitch just wouldn’t take the nice hint. Now that he had the girl he wanted on his arm for the night, who could show up at pretty much any time, the LAST thing he wanted was for her to see him with some other girl hanging all over him.
Just as he was about to throw caution to the wind and get more forceful with the girl, he happened to look up to see Val and his Little Darlin’ heading their way. Looking down at ‘Lynn’, he suppressed a smirk. By the looks on their faces they were looking to either get laid or cause a whole mess of trouble. He wasn’t entirely sure what his preference was at the moment.
Catching his brother’s eye, he jerked his chin out, calling Kyle’s attention to the approaching ladies, winking when Kyle snorted. Words without speaking passed through their eyes, both looking forward to whatever was about to go down.
Once the girls were close enough to hear him over the music playing, Xander tipped the brim of his Stetson to them. “Well, Howdy there, Little Darlin’, Val.”
Feeling Val flex her arm, Elizabeth took her cue and smiled a wide one. “Well, hey there yourself, Cowboy. Val here was telling me all about how well you ride. Can’t wait to see for myself.”
There was a cough and a gag from beside the girls, drawing their attention to Mark as he choked and sputtered on the beer he had been drinking.
Xander just smirked while playing along with her. “That a fact, Sugar Britches? I certainly can’t take all the credit there. I do hav
e one hell of a stallion.”
Having seen the actual stallion, she certainly couldn’t disagree with that. However, keeping with the theme, Elizabeth winked at him. “Bet he’s a beautiful one, too. Think you’ll let me pet him?”
Swallowing the groan, Xander grinned. “Whenever you feel obliged, Little Darlin’. He’s a sucker for a pretty girl with soft hands.”
Throughout the entire conversation, Val was trying SO hard not to laugh. She certainly had not expected her little Dolly to be quite so crass, but it was the absolute cutest thing to see. It also didn’t hurt that Lindsay was creating a new shade of red with every word spoken.
When she had finally reached the end of her rope, Lynn stepped away from Xander’s side and got between him and the little bitch trying to steal her man. Glaring at her, Lynn sneered. “Why don’t you go’n back where you can from, ya stupid Yank.”
Silence.
Elizabeth turned to her, slowly sliding a brow up her forehead to the brim of her hat, “Why don’t you fucking bite me, ya biggity bitch?” Taking a step closer, Elizabeth stood toe to toe with the bottle blonde once again looking for a go. Keeping her voice even and cool, “Remember that the sun don’t shine on the same dog’s tail all the fucking time. Call me that again, and you’ll be as busy as a stump-tailed cow in fly time spittin’ teeth, get it?”
Val’s hand came up and covered her mouth.
Mark just stared on with wide eyes.
Margaret stood there blinking at the girl.
Kyle snorted.
Xander brought his hand up to his mouth and bit his index finger to keep from laughing while mouthing ‘damn’ against his skin.
Lynn’s glare darkened as her voice lowered. “Don’t be gettin’ too big for them britches, Bitch.”
Elizabeth just smirked. “Least I know when I’m not wanted, Hussy, and that every once ‘n awhile you need to do a root touch up. You look like a two toned goat that had one too many kids.”
Lynn let out the most god awful screech before whirling around and stomping away, a wide eyed Margaret following behind her, calling out for her to wait.