Thirteen
Tears burned the backs of Kensley’s eyes. Not over Eric, that POS. Everyone whispering every time she stepped outside her house. Little towns held onto their memories jealously. She could be the first human on Mars, and she’d still be the girl Hamilton’s son cheated on during their engagement party. Nothing she would ever do in her life would top that scandal. Not even Eric being on drugs.
Are you ready to leave Sessory Corners? The question teased her brain since the engagement disaster, and though she applied to that job in Italy, she still wasn’t sure. Maybe she should start with a smaller move, like to the City. A person could get lost in New York City as well as Italy without flying across the world to do it. But, she wanted something grander than moving downstate to the Big Apple and chose Naples. New country. New people. New air. Suddenly, new seemed very far away. Why? Why the doubt when she was so certain before?
She pulled a Taco Bell napkin out of her coat pocket and dabbed at her tears. She was going back into that bar and pretend everything was fucking fine.
The familiar grill of a silver Dodge Ram parked in the back row of the parking lot halted her sniffles and tears. Noah’s truck. Now her heart rate kicked up for a different reason. Seven days since that night. Seven days since he vanished after the phone call that sent him running to some female.
His driver’s side door opened, and Noah hopped down from the cab. His Shearling was open, showing a bulky sweater and a tight pair of jeans—that he was zipping up.
Her heart seized, and it took effort not to close her eyes and keep them closed because she wasn’t stupid. A man hopping out of his car, zipping up his pants, had limited meaning.
The passenger door to the truck opened. Someone waited for him. Quickly, Noah buckled his belt and moved around to the other side. He reached up and helped a woman out of the cab. The yellowish streetlight washed over the female’s face.
Meghan. The town mattress.
Their voices were lost in the rush of blood pounding in Kensley’s eardrums and the sight of Meghan smiling up at him. His hands on her waist, hers on his shoulders as he settled her on her feet. She leaned into him, and he let her. She tipped her chin up, said something that had him nodding before she kissed his lips.
Kensley froze, literally. Every muscle locked in place. Even self-preservation didn’t kick in when they headed her way.
“Kensley?” Startled, his steps faltered. Brow furrowed, and his gaze swept from the top of her head to her four-inch heels. Then, he continued with a steady stride. Meghan practically jogged beside him.
“Hey, Kensley.” Meghan stood to his right, under the curve of his arm. “I haven’t seen you in a while,” she murmured and pressed closer to Noah.
Considering the last time she saw Meghan, Eric’s penis was in her vagina, Kensley would say not seeing her for a while was a good thing.
“I meant to call you,” Noah said.
That got Meghan’s head snapping between Kensley and Noah.
Kensley’s gaze cut to him. “For what? You already thanked me for the pizza, and I thanked you for the window and lock.” That was the perfect segue to strut away with her head held high, but she blew it by pausing.
His gaze roamed over her face. “New hair…I like it.”
Didn’t do it for you, asshole. She flicked a strand out of her face and forced her mouth to stretch into a smile. “Enjoy the evening.”
She was really proud of herself. Not only did she manage not to spit on Meghan and throat punch her, she also managed not to punt Noah’s balls. Add Eric to the equation, and she had a trifecta. And no one came away bloody.
Kensley yanked open Tori’s car and dumped herself behind the wheel. Meghan was the person on the other end of the phone that night one week ago. She was the one he rushed away to be with.
Would it be rude to steal her bestie’s wheels and leave her stranded? Yes. Yes, it would. She scrubbed her face and, in the process, removed a good deal of Tori’s handiwork. Exhausted, Kensley sunk into the worn fabric of the driver’s seat. In her mind, she made a quick To-Do List because tomorrow she was putting the house back on the market. She had to call a realtor, clean out the house, and start the job search. She couldn’t wait for Italy anymore. Albany came to mind, which she quickly nixed. Albany was on the other side of the state. Rochester and Buffalo were closer. Finding a job, restarting her life in either city would be easy.
A deep, cleansing sigh, and she re-shuffled her mental deck of all the shit she couldn’t control got shelved, the rest she’d deal with in order of importance. Decision made, she climbed out of the car and trudged back to the bar. She’d stay thirty minutes and then leave, just to make it look like she wasn’t’ running away. “I can do this. I will do this.” All she had was her pride, and that was more than nothing.
“Hey.” Tori ran up to Kensley the moment she entered the bar. “You were gone a long time. I was about to hunt you down.”
Kensley took a breath and hung up her jacket. The pause helped to stabilize her ragged emotions. The last thing she wanted was Tori knowing how destroyed she felt. “I took my time. No need rushing back.”
Tori drew Kensley into an embrace and whispered in her ear. “I saw you with Eric. Want me to gut him?”
Eric? It wasn’t Eric that had disappointment chewing her heart. She was over the heartache he’d caused. Somewhere in the bar, Noah and Meghan were huddled together. Kensley kept her gaze locked on Tori. “I’m over Eric. Good riddance to his wandering pecker.” And all men for that matter. Not one of them was worth the fucking effort.
“Amen.” Tori gave her a high five. “I knew you could do better. I didn’t say anything because you were so in love. I didn’t think you’d listen to me.”
Was she? Didn’t matter now. “You’re probably right, but who cares anymore. He’s not my problem anymore. Thank you, Jesus.” She hooked Tori’s arm and headed back to the bar. “I need a drink.”
“Hey, where are the jerseys?”
“In the car. We are too cute to cover up all this hotness.” They made their way back to their seats and signaled to Perry.
Kensley kept her attention on the game as if she’d bet her paycheck on the outcome, not on the crowd at her back. That lasted all of ten minutes. A careful but nonchalant scan of the room and she spotted Noah and Meghan sharing a booth with another couple, one of Meghan’s girlfriends. At least they weren’t in direct eyesight of each other. It’s the little things that count, and she took this as a win. The bar wasn’t big, but with it packed for the playoffs, it was big enough to hide within.
I’m not hiding.
Perched on a barstool, no one could call that hiding. Oh, the temptation was there. She wouldn’t tell Tori how close she’d come to being stranded.
Half-time started with a tied score, not that she cared, but her attention didn’t deviate, even when the new guy on her left started flirting. She flirted back, mainly because Eric claimed a stool across the bar. He watched. She ignored. It was easy with Noah and Megan in the back corner near the rear exit. Meghan had draped herself all over Noah while he… whatever.
It was time to leave. She’d spent enough time here so Tori wouldn’t be too pissed at her departure. She glanced to her right. Where was Tori? She’d left to go to the restroom ten minutes ago. Peeing and checking your makeup didn’t take that long.
Kensley downed the last of her drink and called for an Uber. It was a busy night. She had a twenty-minute wait, so she ordered another drink. Tonight, wasn’t a night she wanted to be sober. She downed it fast, barely tasted the fruity, girly concoction, but she’d feel it later. Tori still hadn’t returned. She and Will had vanished. Kensley had an idea where and had to say she wasn’t a bit envious. She was officially taking a dick sabbatical.
She grabbed her purse and shoved through the crowd toward the exit. She needed fresh air, the Uber, and her bed. In that order.
Eric blocked her path again. “Kensley, I just want to talk.”
Damn it, she’d almost reached her coat. “Why me?” she murmured and realized now wasn’t the time to give a fuck. She pointed to the left, a bit diagonal to where they stood, at the booth with Noah and Meghan.
“Did you see Meghan? She’s sitting over there. You should go talk to her. Maybe she’d screw you in the parking lot again, but I’d hurry and get in line.”
Eric had the gall to crank his head around and stare with open hunger at the woman he left her for, then took his time turning back around to Kensley. “I don’t want to talk to her.”
Liar! But she wasn’t mad. “You sure about that cause there’s some drool on your bottom lip.” The idiot dragged a hand across his mouth, proving she was the idiot to ever think he was marriage material. To be honest, he was the only one who’d ever asked. Jeffrey Hamilton’s son! What a catch! What a waste of damn time and energy, all hers. Eric was lazy, arrogant, and self-absorbed. But he was a catch everyone had drilled into her skull, so she said yes even though he was/is/will always be a narcissistic asshole. That’s what desperate and hungry for attention got you.
Well, she wasn’t desperate anymore, not for the banker’s son or the hot ex-marine.
“Spit it out, Eric. Say what you gotta say.” A part of her realized the bar had gone quiet, again. Small town drama trumped the NFL any day of the week.
He swallowed, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. His gaze shifted to the audience they’d attracted. “I’m sorry, and I want you back,” he whispered, not so bold anymore.
“Daddy promised to open the purse strings again if you tucked tail and came back?” She already knew the answer yet had to ask.
Eric’s lips thinned into a mulish line, and she wondered how she ever mixed up petulant with handsome.
“Thank you.” Liquor aided, the words fell out of her mouth.
His brow knit together at the last thing he expected her to say. “For what?” A sliver of hope entered his eyes.
She couldn’t do it, couldn’t call him a dickless daddy’s boy. She wasn’t that drunk to be that cruel. “You don’t need me to get back in daddy’s good graces. Find someone else to clean up your image. Help you with your new habit. Make daddy proud.”
His gaze turned flat, yet he licked his cracked lips and dragged a finger beneath his runny nose. “Habit? You don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have a habit.”
This conversation was over. “Whatever, Eric.” She turned away. She’d done her duty as a good friend. It was time to leave. Eric wrapped his hand around her arm. His fingers dug into the soft underside, and he hauled her to him.
She yelped, surprised at the contact and the flash of pain. “What do you think you’re doing? Get off!” she hissed, not wanting to draw more attention to themselves.
“You know, that was always your problem. You always wanted me to get off, and you never wanted me to get on, get inside you. You kept your knees glued, protecting your cunt like it was fucking Fort Knox. Maybe if you gave me some without having to beg for it, I wouldn’t have gotten it from someone else, you frigid bitch!”
Ya see! Nice got you nowhere except kicked in the teeth. She’d given him everything he wanted, at least what she thought he wanted. Now to flip it around and blame her for his wandering dick, Oh hell no!
“Nothing about you worked as advertised. How were you ever the town stud with your under average four-inch dick and lazy tongue? My vibrator has more imagination than you.” Kensley could’ve stopped there, but oh no. She was done being nice. “Maybe if you lasted longer than two pumps, I wouldn’t tell you to get off. Maybe if you knew what a clitoris was, my legs would’ve stayed open and not closed shop every time you wanted to climb on.”
His face turned beet red, but Kensley was still on a roll and didn’t give a damn anymore. Liquor equaled loose lips, and she had just enough for her lips to keep flapping.
“I tried to teach you about the female anatomy, not like I needed you to be a Rhodes Scholar, but damn, you’d think a grown man would know we don’t pee from the same hole you insert your dick in. I know, I’m going too deep for you, something you’ve never been able to do for me.” She shouted the last sentence, shouted it to the rafters.
His gaze darted to the people around them. Like a car crash on the highway, they had onlookers. The crowd started yelling. Something had happened with the game. They were no longer the only center of attention. His gaze cut away from her to the nearest TV. She wasn’t surprised. He had a small gambling problem she’d discovered when they were dating. She was surprised that instead of releasing her arm, he increased the pressure.
“Bitch,” he ground out between clenched teeth.
“And that’s the best you can do.” She smirked, knowing she’d won. The last thing he wanted was for this to get back to his daddy. His hand tightened around her forearm. She yanked to get free, but he wouldn’t release her.
He hauled her into his body and whispered in her ear. “I’m not done with you. You should be grateful. Grateful! I wanted someone like you.”
What the hell did that mean? But she knew. Deep down, she knew exactly what he meant.
“Your average, at best. And chubby. How many times does a man have to hint you need to cut back on the donuts before he leaves? I had to think about Meghan to keep it up.”
Kensley would’ve sworn on a bible she wasn’t a violent person. Hell, ask anyone if they thought she had a violent streak, and the answer would’ve been a firm, “No.” Tomorrow, she’d blame it on the alcohol. Tonight, she balled her hand into a fist and connected with his jaw.
And swore she broke every knuckle in her hand, yet it was worth the pain to see the shock on Eric’s face as he staggered. Unfortunately, he didn’t release her. A hateful glaze ignited in his eyes, and he started dragging her through the bar, toward the exit, his fingers digging into her flesh.
All right. She had a choice to make, cause more of a scene, or take it outside. She leaned towards the latter because she wasn’t one to have the entire town neck-deep in her business until his grip tightened on the brink of breaking her skin.
God bless her brother for insisting she learn basic self-defense, something she had no interest in, but he forced the classes upon her. Kensley pried his thumb free and bent it all the way back. Surprised, he stopped and faced her. She kept bending and watching him grit his teeth against the pain. Wincing, he had no choice except to release her arm. She stopped short of bringing him to his knees. After all, she didn’t want to humiliate him, like he did her. The tears in his eyes were enough.
She released him and held her ground. She ran from the rehearsal dinner, ashamed. Tonight, she wasn’t going anywhere. In the crowded bar with people paying attention to the game and not the mini-drama playing out in their midst, she wanted him to know she wasn’t afraid, ashamed, or intimidated. He was nothing to her, which she let him know with a ‘go fuck yourself’ smirk.
She saw the fury in his eyes and knew what was coming, but her diluted senses couldn’t react fast enough. With his injured hand close to his chest, Eric brought his free hand up and hauled his fist back. Moving out of the way was a sluggish suggestion her muscles considered responding too, but it was too late. He was too close. In her mind, the punch had already happened, and she was just waiting to process the pain… Except nothing happened.
Because Noah happened.
He blocked Eric’s fist and then shoved him away from Kensley. Eric stumbled but righted himself before he bumped into anyone. His gaze darted between her and Noah as Noah turned to her. “Did he hurt you?”
Her arm throbbed but glaring at Eric, she grunted, “That asshole? I’ve never been better.”
“So, this your new guy?” Eric sneered, summing up Noah with a hard glare. Wasn’t much else he could do with Noah towering over him by at least five inches. “Full disclosure. She’s a lousy lay.”
Noah leaned close and whispered in her ear. “If I break him, will you be upset?”
That made her smile
.
“And her blowjobs suck. She gives lazy head.” Someone laughed, long and hard.
She spared a quick glance at the crowd. Was a commercial on? Because now she had their attention again. She turned back to Eric, damned if she’d let him get away with that low blow. “You didn’t have a dick for me to suck!”
Eric’s face turned beet red.
Noah stepped in front of her, blocking her view of Eric. Even with four-inch heels, she couldn’t see over Noah’s broad shoulders. That didn’t mean she couldn’t hear every word. “And that’s why you want her back because she’s a lousy lay and gives lazy head? I gotta tell you, man, with all the hip and tongue action she gave me,” he sighed as if remembering. “I disagree.”
She was shocked and pleased at the same time. Her lips tingled from the memory of him and her going at it. She liked giving him head, and no one had to tell her she was good at it. However, that wasn’t for public consumption. Dick Sucking Kensley, was not a moniker she wanted.
Gently, Kensley smacked the back of Noah’s head. He spared her a heated glance, which left her tingly.
Eric took that opportunity to throw a punch—and missed.
Noah pushed her away and threw a punch that sent Eric flying into five guys who crowded around the bar. He seemed to bounce off them onto a group of women gathered around a high-top table. Screams, broken glass, broken tables, liquor spilled onto the floor along with the women.
The bar erupted in a butterfly effect of violence. Chairs, bottles, pitchers filled with beer, glasses, all started flying. A pitcher whizzed past her and smashed into the sixty-inch TV above her head. Sparks and glass rained. She ducked and covered her head. Leaving was impossible, with everyone either rushing for the exit or joining the brawl.
Someone bumped into her. She slipped, went down to one knee. Get up! She had to get up or be crushed. Killed. This was not the way she wanted to die on a sticky barroom floor. Her limbs wouldn’t cooperate.
An arm banded around her waist, and someone hauled her to her feet. “Move it!” was shouted in her ear.
If I Love You Page 10
