by R B Hilliard
I took a chug of champagne and laughed. Just thinking about the look of horror on Ellie’s face when that song came on… and the policemen stalking across the room …with hand cuffs…was priceless.
Joss stuck out her hand and shoved Ellie toward the policemen. “Here she is occifer, take her!”
“Joss!” Ellie shrieked and dug her heels into the floor as she attempted to stop Joss from flinging her into the policemen.
Officer number one stopped and pulled out his gun. “Put your hands up now!” he shouted.
Everyone in the room threw their hands in the air right as J.T started singing about shackles and being someone’s sex slave. This would have been hysterically funny if we weren’t all being held at gunpoint. My lungs started doing that clinching thing that normally signaled an incoming panic attack and I seriously debated whether or not I was going to hurl. Suddenly, officer number two stepped up beside officer one, who I had mentally deemed as Gun Toting Gus, and lowered his hand to his gun. Oh god! He’s going for his weapon! He’s going to kill us all! Instead of grabbing his weapon, both policemen lifted their heads to the ceiling and howled like wild animals. Then they reached down and yanked their pants off. Yanked-Them-Off! My chin hit the floor right along with their discarded pants, and Ellie? The poor girl just stood there with her hands over her mouth. Before I could form a coherent thought the twosome ripped off their shirts and posed for us… in leopard printed G-strings!
“Welcome to your party, Ellison!” Gus shouted. “We are your entertainment for the evening!” The other two policemen ripped off their clothes and joined their fellow comrades on the dance floor. The girls went wild.
“Holy shit,” Ellie whispered. Our eyes met and held for a second. Then we both burst into laughter.
When I caught Joss’s eyes, she blew me a kiss and curtsied.
Well done, Josselyn.
I will never forget Ellie’s look of shock and then delight as the men began gyrating their bare asses all over the place. The night was a hit and the strippers were seriously hot. In fact, they had so much fun that they threw on civilian clothing and hung out with us off the clock. Gus and I were deep in conversation about the merits of stripping when Max and the guys rolled in. It was just my luck that Gage was with them. My stomach soured just thinking about him.
Gage Blackwell
How could something so perfectly right turn out to be so horribly wrong? I had been banging my head against a brick wall for months now, trying to figure out why things happened the way they did, but I kept coming up empty. He was it for me and I thought he felt the same. How could I have been so wrong? My unshakable belief in myself had taken a big hit. I had lost my heart, my way, and was mentally spinning out. This must be what Ellie felt like when Max disappeared and she had no answers. Hell, I have answers and it still doesn’t make sense.
I took another chug of champagne and drifted back to my conversation with Gage that night.
“Hey Princess, you gonna introduce me to your friend?”
Like always, he looked yummy, except now, instead of his usual shoulder length hair that I loved so much, he was sporting a short cut. It wasn’t that it looked bad or anything. It just didn’t look like the Gage I once knew. At least he still had his signature facial hair. I wasn’t really a fan of facial hair. That is until I experienced Gage Blackwell. He had trimmed his usual beard down to an incredibly sexy goatee. Over all, the good boy edge look really worked for him.
He snapped his fingers in my face and smirked as if reading my thoughts.
Angry that he had caught me staring, I feigned disinterest. “No, I’m not going to introduce you.”
His smirk formed into a breathtaking smile as he turned to Gus and held out his hand. “Gage Blackwell.”
Realizing that he was standing in the middle of something not-so-pleasant, Gus threw me an uncomfortable look. “Uhhh, Alvin Allen,” he said, shaking Gage’s hand.
I wanted to melt into the floor. Alvin? Chris or Mark maybe, but… Alvin?
Gage chuckled and I wanted to kick him. “Nice to meet you, Alvin. He nodded his head in my direction. How long have you and Piper known each other?”
I could see this train wreck coming from a mile away and needed to head it off at the pass. Reaching out, I latched on to Gage’s hand and turned to Alvin. “Will you excuse us for a minute, please?” Not giving him a chance to respond, I yanked Gage across the room and into the storage closet. Shutting the door behind us, I started in. “Go back to Texas. I’ll give you the keys to the car, but whatever else Dooley wants you to accomplish here isn’t going to happen.”
His long sleeve black Henley conformed perfectly to his chest and arms and his jeans hung just low enough on his waist that when he reached up and wrapped his fingers around the top of the baker’s rack, I got a glimpse of his ripped abs and the mouthwatering V that led down to…heaven.
“I’m not going anywhere, at least not until you explain why you ran…and, why would I want the keys to your car?”
I wanted to slap the confused look off his face. I wanted him to explain, to tell me why. I wanted us back, but then I remembered that none of it was real. There never was an ‘us,’ at least not to him. “Seriously, you can stop playing me now. Other than the car, why are you still here? Is Dooley threatening you?” The thought of Dooley hurting him made me sick.
He dropped his arms and leaned in. “This is the third time that you have mentioned Dooley Shane in reference to what has happened between the two of us. I am well aware that he is not your favorite person, but what does he have to do with you-running-away-from-me?” He stressed each word as if I was hard of hearing. “Also, I repeat, why would I want your car?” Wondering what angle he was playing, I hesitated. Sensing my momentary weakness, his arm shot out and hooked around my waist. He pulled me in and, for a second in time, I let myself forget. A shiver of desire danced down my spine and curled around my toes. I tilted my head back and was immediately trapped in his blue gaze. “You are mine, Piper. I knew this the second I laid eyes on you. You are it for me. I love you. I am hurt and confused, but I love you. Please… talk to me.”
His words snapped me back to reality and I hated it. I knew that I would give anything in the world for his love…his real love, not the fake shit he kept dishing up. As much as it pained me to do so, I jerked out of his grasp and took a step back. His hurt expression made me angry.
“I don’t know why you insist on playing me, Gage, but whatever,” I shrugged, acting as if it didn’t matter. “I told you this before and you didn’t believe me, but you need to. Dooley is not who you think he is and regardless of how things ended between us, I don’t want to see you get hurt. You can take it or leave it, but don’t say that I didn’t warn you.”
“Princess, I can honestly say that I have no idea what you are babbling on about and until you tell me…in complete sentences…that make sense…I won’t.”
His smug tone went all over me. I stepped in to where our bodies were almost touching, tilted my head back so I could look him in the eye and through clinched teeth let him have it. “I loved you with every fiber of my being and it was real and pure and true. I would have done anything for you…anything. Now? Now, I just wish I had never set eyes on you. You have caused me nothing but fucking misery and heartache.” Tears stung the backs of my eyes, but I held them. I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry. Instead, I opened my mouth and lied through my teeth. “You don’t have to pretend anymore, Cowboy. It’s time to let it go. I have.”
What he said next gutted me.
“You want me to let it go? You got it. I’m done wasting my time. Because that’s what you are, Piper, a waste of my fucking time. Have a nice life, bitch.”
I dragged myself home that night and barely managed to keep it together. Nothing made sense anymore. Gage didn’t act like someone who was pretending. He acted genuinely hurt and confused. If this is all part of Dooley’s evil plan, then I’ll give it to him.
Hiring Gage Blackwell was a brilliant move because the boy has steller acting skills.
It took hanging out with my friends and lots of exercise to start feeling human again. After that, I honestly thought I was getting better. That is, until I saw him at the wedding tonight. Before tonight, when Gage and I spoke, even if the words weren’t kind, I felt a part of him still belonged to me. He didn’t even look at me tonight. He danced and flirted and caught the flipping garter. Tonight I finally realized how little I mattered. Gage Blackwell had never been mine.
Chapter Two
After graduating from college I was at loose ends. Joss had Kurt and the bar. Ellie had an incredible job lined up in Greensboro. I had a degree in English and absolutely zero prospects. My parents, who had moved earlier that year back to Texas, wanted a child back in their empty nest. As my brothers had just started their own business in California, I was the only candidate. Having no clue as to what I wanted to do with my life, I agreed. I stayed in Greensboro long enough to watch Ellie graduate before packing my things and heading for Texas.
I had been there all of two days when Reynolds Walker called me out of the blue. She had landed a job in Austin and needed someone to share rent on an apartment. Through the years I had managed to keep in touch with a handful of my boarding school friends. Reyn happened to be one of my favorites. She was a blue eyed blonde with a bubbly personality whose smile could light up a room. Like me, she had a tweaked sense of humor, which is probably why we got along so well. Apparently she had landed a job as a booking agent for Austin City Limits. However, she had been in Austin long enough to discover that she wanted to play harder than she wanted to work. This is where I came in.
“I swear you will love Austin, Pi. The men and music in this city can’t be topped. I even have a job lined up for you. That is, if you’re interested. Please say you’ll come, please?”
It took me a few days to gut up and tell my parents about Reyn’s offer. I loved Richard and Marie. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt them. Of course, being the understanding parents that they were, they told me to go. So, I packed up all of the things I had just unpacked and headed for the city of good music and hot men.
The Oasis is a Texas landmark. Anyone who has stepped foot in Austin wanting great Tex-Mex and even better Hill Country views has been there. The rear of the restaurant is made up of multi-tiered decks that look out onto Lake Travis and provide a vantage point for an unparalleled sunset.
My first week there I waitressed three day shifts and two additional evening shifts before a bartender quit and I landed his job. Pretty damn good for a first week. Reyn proposed that we go out on Saturday night to celebrate my first week in Austin. I agreed, but only if we were going to The Oasis. One advantage to working at a bar is the half priced drinks. Reyn invited her sometimes friend, Melita, to join us and I called my cousin Susannah from Fort Worth and promised her a low key weekend.
Susannah, Reyn and I spent all day Saturday lying by the pool. Reyn was right about the guys. They were hot. After a day of half-naked, wet, muscled up men strutting to and fro I was ready to end my dry spell. Around five we headed up to shower. By seven we were spritzed and ready to go. Since Texas is crazy hot in June, I put on a kelly green, sleeveless blouse, white short shorts, and my favorite cork heel wedges. Susannah and Reyn had on variations of the same thing. I was debating whether or not to wear my hair up or down when the apartment windows started vibrating.
“She’s here!” Reyn shouted, clapping her hands.
“How do you know?” I asked. I was answered by a loud horn honking.
“Let’s go,” she said.
Susannah shot me a questioning look and I shrugged. Grabbing our purses, we headed out the door. At the bottom of the stairs sat a candy apple red BMW Z4. Macklemore and Lewis were popping some serious tags out the windows and I contemplated turning around and heading back up to the apartment. Like a five year old, Reyn raced down the stairs ahead of us and bounded into the front seat. As there were only two seats in the car, this left Susannah and I stranded on the sidewalk.
“Since we don’t have that far to go, I thought we could all cram in!” Melita shouted out the open passenger side door. The music was so loud that I could feel the pavement vibrating under my feet.
“That’s okay!” Susannah shouted back, “I have plenty of room in my car! We can meet you there!”
Melita turned down the music and curled her lip into what I assumed was supposed to be a pout. “Oh come on don’t be party poopers. We’re only going a mile or so up the road. We can all cram in for that, can’t we?”
“Wait! Reyn said. “Let me introduce you first. Piper, Susannah, meet Melita. Melita, this is my roommate Piper O’Connell and her cousin Susannah.”
“Hiya,” she said, holding up her hand. “I’m Melita Lewinsky and, before you ask, no, I’m not related to Monica and I always swallow. Now, are you going to get in or not?” In addition to her crass personality, two things stood out about Melita. First, she had really short hair and the second thing was her glasses. Not only were they dated, but they were thick…like, really thick. She reminded me of someone, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. At first I thought of Waldo of Where’s Waldo From, but that wasn’t quite it.
Forcing a smile, I halfheartedly replied, “Sure, we can all scrunch in.”
“Yay!” Reyn cheered and scrambled out of the front seat. “I think Susannah should be on the bottom.” Susannah glared at me as she lowered herself down onto the seat. Reyn scooted in and positioned herself half on the center console and half on Susannah. This left me plastered to the door. Great.
Two minutes in, Reyn suggested a change up in the music.
“Thank Jesus,” Susannah mumbled and I elbowed her.
Melita punched a few buttons and Call Me Maybe shot through the speakers. I burst into hysterical laughter.
Melita flashed a smile at me. “I know, right? The best party song evah!” she shouted and raised her hands in the air. The car veered to the left and we all screamed. Melita laughed while Susannah and I glared at Reyn.
To avoid hitting the ceiling every time we went over a bump, Reyn and I had to awkwardly crane our necks sideways. I was debating whether to hang my head out the open window like a dog when Melita reached across the dash and pressed a button. In three seconds flat the top was back and we were being pummeled by the wind.
“There goes my hair,” Susannah grumbled from underneath us and I couldn’t help but giggle at our ridiculous situation. When I glanced over at Reyn my giggle turned to an out and out belly laugh. Most of her short, perfectly bobbed, blonde hair was standing on top of her head. Stray pieces were stuck in her lip gloss that had smeared across her face.
Evidently I looked as bad as she did because she burst out laughing when she looked back at me.
Out of nowhere, Melita let out a shriek and the car swerved dangerously.
“Holy shit! We’re going to die!” Susannah screamed from somewhere underneath us.
“My contact blew out!” Melita shouted. “I have to pull over and find it!”
“How can your contact fall out when you are wearing glasses?” Susannah shouted back, “And will you please turn down the music!” Thankfully, Reyn reached up and turned it down before Susannah killed someone.
“I wear both,” Melita explained. “You guys have no idea how expensive these fuckers are! If I don’t have my contacts in and my glasses on I am literally blind!” She whipped the car over to the side of the road and put it in park. “Everybody out, but do it slowly. I think it landed somewhere near the gear shift.”
We piled out of the car as commanded. Reyn and I looked like three dollar hookers after a really rough night. We, however, had managed to block the wind from hitting Susannah. Although her clothes were somewhat rumpled, she still looked perfectly coiffed.
I saddled up next to Reyn, who was frantically trying to tame her rat’s nest of a hairdo. “You didn’t tell me she was blind,” I mu
rmured under my breath.
“That’s because I didn’t know,” she quietly replied.
Susannah made her way over to us. “You do realize that we have a blind person driving us around…on windy roads…through the hills of Austin. Don’t you? I’m not really sure I’m comfortable with this.”
No shit.
Melita swung her coke bottle eyes at us and, like a bunch of deer stuck in headlights, we froze. “Why are you all just standing there? Help me look!” she screamed.
“Sorry,” we all replied, and headed over to assist.
After searching for what seemed like hours, we heard the deep thrum of Harley pipes vibrating through the air. A few seconds later the ground under my feet shook as ten or so motorcycles passed by us.
Susannah’s eyes lit up. “Time to go!” she shouted. Susannah loved motorcycles and, even more so, the bikers who rode them.
Reyn and I agreed that it was time to go. After ten minutes of arguing with Melita about who would drive the rest of the way, we gave up and let her drive us very slowly the last half mile.
The second we reached the bar, I dragged Reyn into the employee bathroom so we could fix our hair.
“No offense, but your friend is slightly annoying,” I told her. I was beginning to understand why she was Reyn’s sometimes friend. (Had it been me, she would have been my never-in-a-million-years friend).
“I know, right? She always manages to screw up a perfectly good time with her drama. Get ready, this is just the beginning.”
When we returned to the bar we found that Susannah had ordered us each a schooner of beer. I waved to my fellow bartenders, grabbed my beer, and told the girls to follow me. We wove through the mass of bodies, down three flights of wooden stairs and out onto the lowest of the many decks. Not as many people knew about the lowest deck, so it was always the least crowded. I steered us over to the last available table and sat down. The lake stretched serenely in front of us. To our right was a large open area where people were drinking and dancing and to our left sat another four top. Behind us stood two full and, from the looks of it, very rowdy ten tops.