“Well, what is it?”
“What?” she says, pretending to forget I can read her as well as she can read me.
I sigh and try a different tactic. “Thank you for what you did back there. I guess it’s time to start telling people I’m not really going to medical school.”
“You don’t have to tell anyone anything you aren’t ready for them to know, Kacie.” She rationalizes my need to keep this secret.
As gently as I can, I try to pry out what is bothering her. “What was that really about?”
Jade knows she has to tell me now. “Kyle.”
“What about him?”
I watch as she takes a deep breath. “I think I like him.”
“Why the hell is this the first time I’m hearing about him?” I’m a little irritated and happy at the same time. She shrugs her shoulders. “Why did you almost rip my arm off to get away from him?”
“He was flirting with you,” Jade reluctantly admits.
“Jade, I told you that I’m not here to find anyone.” The second that spills from my mouth, Evan flashes through my head. Why am I thinking about some guy I only met briefly? “Does Kyle know you like him?” She shakes her head. “I really don’t feel like sitting in the bathroom all night. What’s your deal with him?”
“He’s asked me out three times. I’ve said ‘no’ every time.”
“If you like him, why did you say ‘no’?” I’m so confused.
“I don’t know,” she snaps. “I’m afraid, I guess.”
“Why?” She grabs my arm again to pull me over to the side since other people start to listen in.
“I get all flustered when he’s around. It’s almost like I forget how to speak or something.”
“Jade Quinn, speechless? I’m not sure that’s ever happened before,” I tease her. “Let’s go.” I loop my arm through hers and lead her out of the restroom. “What would you do if I didn’t come home?”
“I’d either move to wherever you were or live a very sad, lonely life,” she answers. From the sound of it, she had been considering both of those alternatives for a long time.
The club has gotten very crowded since we got here. As we try to make our way back to the table, something out of the corner of my eye catches my attention. Even though I can’t see his face, I know it’s Evan. He’s walking with a brunette, his hand on her back. She’s looking up at him adoringly. Evan points to a hallway in front of them and she leads the way. My stomach tightens at the sight of it. At knowing what he’s going to do with her.
“His office is down there. Told you he’s nothing but a whore,” Jade says. The look on her face is sympathetic as if she knows, despite what I told her, that Evan got to me.
“Who?”
She rolls her eyes at me. “You and I both know who. Come on.”
When we make it back to our table, Jake is there. He climbs out of my seat and gestures for me to sit down.
“You can stay there,” I tell him, but he shakes his head.
“Were you surprised to see them?” he asks.
“I was. Did you know the whole time that they’d be here?”
“Maybe,” he chuckles, drinking his beer.
“Hey, Kacie,” Kyle calls. “Want to dance?”
“Actually, I’m a terrible dancer. However, Jade loves to dance,” I come right out and say.
Kyle looks over at her, then back at me. I tilt my head to her and he smiles. “Jade.” He holds his hand out and she slowly reaches for it.
“I’ll order you another drink,” I whisper to her.
“You better,” she whispers back, but the smile on her face lets me know she’s not mad. At least not this time.
“Liar,” Jake says as I’m watching them on the dance floor. He slides into the seat Jade just vacated.
“Huh?”
“You are a damn good dancer. What was that about?”
“Jade likes him.” The waitress comes back and we all order another round because it looks like we’ll be here for a little longer.
He laughs. “I never can figure out the shit you two are trying to pull.” I sigh and look off in the direction I saw Evan walk a few minutes earlier. “He went back there to give her paperwork. Nothing else.” Jake is watching me closely so I try not to react. “I know what my sister has been telling you. I’m not saying what she said isn’t true. I’m just saying this time…” He pauses. “This time, he’s giving the girl paperwork. He had two waitresses quit last night. She’s a friend of someone who works here and she needed a job.”
“Why would you think I care about what Evan does?”
“Just the fact you knew who and what I was talking about shows you care, Kacie.” I look away, hoping he drops it. “Jade was right to warn you, but she can’t make this decision. It’s only your choice to make.”
“Typical guy, defending his man-whore friend.” I bump my shoulder into his so he knows I’m only kidding.
Jake smiles. “I’d never defend anyone who didn’t deserve it, and I sure as hell would never be discussing this with you if I thought something bad would happen.”
Uneasiness falls over me. “This has disaster written all over it. I know I shouldn’t even be considering the idea but, for some reason, I can’t seem to shake it.”
“Something to think about, I guess. Like I said, nothing bad will happen, if that helps you any.”
“How do you know?” I ask, desperate for someone neutral to help me.
“Because I just threatened him,” he says, a serious look on his face.
A nervous laugh escapes me. “You what?”
“You heard me. I won’t have a problem delivering on the threats I just made, either.” He takes a long swig of his beer. “Evan is a pain in the ass, but you have more in common than you think.”
“Are you calling me a whore?” Jake starts choking on a mouthful of beer, causing me to laugh again.
“You okay, Jake?” Gabe asks from the other side of him. He nods.
“That’s what you get.”
“I would never call you that and you know it.” He glares at me.
“You’d never call her what?” Jade says, coming back from the dance floor. She puts her arm around me and whispers, “I owe you.” I hand her the drink that was waiting for her.
“Nothing,” I say back and wink at her.
Jake gets up for his sister to sit. When Jade is settled, Kyle comes back to the table and stands next to her. Guess that went well. Conversation resumes between everyone at the table. I missed this while I was away. I probably wouldn’t have been able to stay away for much longer. This is my home. I may have some of the shittiest parents in the world, but my friends are pretty awesome.
A different waitress appears with a tray full of shots for the whole table. “We didn’t order these,” Danielle tells her.
“I know. Someone sent them over,” she announces. “Enjoy!” She’s gone quicker than she showed up.
Everyone starts reaching for a glass when I hear Amber say, “Eww. What is that? It looks like a bloody glob of flesh!”
When I look closer, I know exactly what kind of shots they are. My head immediately snaps up as I search the room for the person who sent them. Once my eyes find Evan, I notice his sexy ass smirk even from across a room full of people. Shit. I’m in trouble.
Chapter Seven
Evan
Despite my decision earlier in the day about not pursuing anything with Kacie, she’s all I can think about. At Jake’s, I realized there’s no way I’d ever be able to give a girl like her all she needs. Kacie deserves someone better than a washed-up nightclub manager. Jade was right to tell me to stay away. So if that’s what I decided, why the fuck is she still in my head?
Typically, it’s just a physical attraction with me. I find a smokin’ hot girl, then hit on her until she gives in. Needless to say, this doesn’t take very long. The longest it’s ever taken to convince a girl to sleep with me was a couple of hours. That was really only becau
se I was distracted with some asshole causing trouble at the club, which my security guys had to call the police for, and she was pretending to play hard to get. It can be fun when they play hard to get.
Then Kacie Foster walked into the club. My first reaction wasn’t to sleep with her. Okay, that isn’t totally true. I would have definitely laid her across my desk if she even hinted it was a possibility, but there was something about her that made me want to find out more about the girl in the blue dress. When Kacie smiles, she makes me smile and I have no idea why. The look in her eyes the first time I saw her made me want to pull her in my arms and make her forget all about whatever was bothering her. It was crazy the way I felt when she touched my arm and how she was so damn close to me, I could smell her. Who the hell smells that fucking good sitting out in the sun?
So here I am with my mechanic on my office phone, but so damn distracted with thoughts of Kacie that I can’t think straight. “Pierce!” Danny yells in my ear. “Did you hear what I just said?”
“Sorry, man. I was just looking at something,” I lie. “What was that?”
He’s chuckling. “Something or someone?”
“Something, dickhead. If it was someone, I wouldn’t have your sorry ass on the phone,” I tell him.
“Some friend,” he laughs again. “Anyway, the new clutch and dog box transmission just went in today. Since we got so far, I gave my guys tomorrow off. Between your car and the shop’s other clients, they’ve been working overtime. We will finish up with the upgraded turbo and catless exhaust system on Monday. That means you can take her for a test drive Tuesday. There’s no reason you shouldn’t be good to go by Thursday night.”
“Perfect.” There’s a knock at the door and Jake pokes his head in. I wave him inside and he comes to sit in the chair across from the desk. He doesn’t usually come back here. “I’ll let you know when I get a start time for Thursday, if you still want to put in for the race.”
“Absolutely. I want a front row seat at the finish line, too.”
“I’m sure it can be arranged. I gotta run. Jake just walked in.”
“Does the Camaro need anything before Thursday?” Danny offers.
“Do you need anything from Danny?” I pass the question along to Jake.
“I was planning on stopping by Tuesday just to have them take a quick look, if that’s okay?” Jake says.
“Tell him that’s fine. I’ll make sure someone is available for him.” Danny must have heard him. “Later.” He disconnects.
After hanging the phone up, I glance over to my friend. “Danny says that’s cool. Someone will be ready.” He nods his head. “What’s up? You don’t look like you’re here for a social visit.”
“I am, but I need to talk to you about something first.” He leans forward in the chair, putting his elbows on his knees. “It’s about Kacie.”
That’s not at all what I was expecting. “What about Kacie?” As if it’s not hard enough to get her out of my head, now my friend is bringing her up?
“I saw the look on your face earlier.”
“Look, Jake, I get it. She’s like family to you and off limits. She wasn’t interested in me anyway. I’m backing off,” I confess.
He starts shaking his head. “You’re right. Kacie is like a sister to me.” The way he says that makes me wonder if that’s how he really sees her.
“Just a sister?”
Jake sighs. “I didn’t always see her like that, but now I do. I asked her out a few times and she didn’t go for it. She was afraid it would go bad and things would get ugly. I respected her feelings.” I nod in understanding. “The second you sat down at my table when you came back from Kacie’s house, I could tell that something was different. What’s up?”
“Jake, I just told you that I’m backing off,” I repeat, standing up and fixing the papers into a pile on the desk.
“Evan, sit the hell down and talk to me.” If this was anyone else, I would have thrown his ass out of the club. It’s only because it’s Jake that I sit back in my chair. “What’s the problem? Since when do you back off, and why the fuck are you pouting like a little girl?”
“When I first saw her last night, I admit that it wouldn’t have taken much for me to pull my usual shit. Then I started talking to her and realized I wouldn’t mind getting to know her,” I tell him the truth. “But she made it clear she wasn’t interested.”
“And how did she do that?” he asks, grinning at me. I respect Jake but, right now, he’s really pissing me off. It’s hard enough trying to deal with this crap. This is exactly why I don’t date. Who has time for it? It’s so much easier to have random sex and be done with it.
“She ignored me.” He starts laughing. I lean back in my chair. “Glad you find this funny.”
“Man, that just goes to show how much you don’t know about Kacie Foster,” he says.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Kacie doesn’t ignore people she’s not interested in.”
“What does she do?”
“She tells them. And she’s generally not very nice about it, either. It’s usually fuck off or, if she’s in a good mood, she’ll say go away the second a guy walks up to her. I’ve seen her call guys all kinds of names you wouldn’t think most girls even knew existed. She’s been known to slap guys just for calling her something as simple as beautiful if she didn’t like the tone he used. But, in all the years I’ve known Kacie, she has never once ignored someone.”
“What are you saying? She might not hate me after all?” Why does hearing this make me happy? I should be out walking around the club, trying to find someone to bring in here and make me forget this girl ever showed up.
“I don’t know for sure,” Jake tells me. “Here’s the thing. I won’t watch you do to her what you do to all those other girls. Kacie is much better than that and, for once in her life, she deserves to be happy. She finally has something good to look forward to and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you or anyone else take it from her. I don’t agree with my sister telling you to stay away. Who she dates or is friends with isn’t anyone’s business but Kacie’s. So, if you get to know her and it goes well, meaning whatever you two decide works for the two of you, then fine. However, if you hurt her, I will personally make sure you never screw with anyone again. I’m not fucking around here, Evan. I love Kacie like a sister and I would do anything for her that I would do for Jade. Those two girls are the only family I have left. Are we clear?”
“Crystal,” I tell him. “I’m not sure what it is about her, but even though you just pretty much told me she’s Jade’s twin, I want to know everything about her. I rarely even ask a girl’s name. What the fuck is it about Kacie that makes me care?”
He stands up. “I have no idea. Let me know if you ever figure that out.”
“Are you sure it’s cool? You’re not still into her? If that’s the case, I’ll back off.”
“There’s no way in hell I’d ever be able to handle not having her in my life so, a long time ago, I accepted being nothing more than one of Kacie’s best friends. I’ll never regret my decision.” Another knock on the door prevents me from asking him if he’s secretly in love with her. Something tells me I’m better off not knowing the answer to that question.
“Oh. Hi, Jake,” Meg says, walking into the office. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Not at all,” Jake answers, smiling at my cousin. “How are you?”
“I’m good.” She gives him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I just saw Jade. She looks happy for a change.”
Jake laughs. “Her best friend is back in town after being away for a really long time. Those two are inseparable.”
“Kacie? I just met her. She seems nice. Shame she’s a Foster. Those people were a pain in my fucking ass last night. I don’t know how her or her brother fit into that family.”
“Kacie’s here? Were you going to fucking tell me?” I blurt out.
“Kacie is nothing like them
and has suffered their ruthlessness her entire life, more than you could ever imagine,” he tells Meg before looking at me. “I’m sure you would have found out sooner or later.” Jake’s smirk annoys me.
“Jerk-off.” This only makes his smirk bigger.
“Before you go banging the new girl in town…” Meg starts.
I interrupt. “It’s not like that.” She looks from me to Jake, then back to me.
“Okay. Before you go anywhere,” she corrects herself, “there’s someone I want you to meet. She’s a friend of Molly’s and she needs a job. Her boyfriend recently took off and left her with a kid. Molly said the girl would be available nights and weekends because her mom watches the baby. She also has waitressing experience. I figured after you chased off two of our better waitresses yesterday, you could use her.”
“I’ll talk to her now. Jake, are we good?”
“We’re good as long as you remember what I told you.”
“I won’t forget it.”
“Meg, it was good to see you. I’ll be hanging out with the girls if either of you want to stop over and have a drink with us. Jade had some friends meet them here to surprise Kacie with a small welcome home party.”
“See ya, Jake.” Meg watches him leave the office. She may even be checking out his ass. “What was that about?”
“Nothing.”
“Didn’t look like nothing to me, but whatever. I’ll take over tonight if you want to hang out with Jake and have a few,” she offers.
“What’s gotten into you tonight?” She’s never this nice.
“I feel bad for being such a bitch to you yesterday. You’ll still be here if anything happens that’s too big for me to handle, so why not?”
“Thanks,” I say, hesitantly. “Let’s go talk to this girl. What’s her name?”
“Ashley,” she tells me. “Try not to sleep with her tonight and scare the poor little thing away. She has a kid to support.”
“I thought you said you were sorry for being a bitch?” I stare at her.
Meg smiles. “I apologized for being a bitch yesterday. I don’t recall saying anything about today.” She wraps her arm around my back, I put my arm around her shoulders, and we walk out to the bar together. She’s lucky she’s family.
Left Behind: Left Behind Series #1 Page 8