“S-sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going.” Oh, my God! I sound like such a fangirl. As if I were at a Keith Urban concert, not at some dive bar.
I seriously want to run back to the bathroom and hide in one of the stalls for the rest of the night.
10
Ryker
She’s fucking adorable.
I caught sight of her and her friend as soon as they walked through the door tonight. The other girl was nice enough to look at, but this one? She’s absolutely stunning. I know I sound like a complete pussy, but fuck, I don’t even care.
“It’s no problem.” I smile down at her. I would say she’s average height for a woman, but still a good six inches shorter than me. “You’re not from around here, are you?”
She gives me a questioning look. “Sorry.” I run my hand through my too long hair. “It’s just that I’ve seen your friend in here before but not you.”
She gives me a half smile. One that tells me she’s still embarrassed about running into me.
“Yeah, I’m new to Phoenix.” She leaves it at that and then starts to walk away from me.
“Can I get you a drink?” I call out to her retreating back. What the fuck am I doing? Vanessa is going to be here any minute and here I am, offering a drink to another woman. A woman. Unlike Vanessa, she seems to be in her later twenties, not fresh out of high school. Not that she looks old by any means, but I can tell that she’s more mature than my girlfriend.
No, Vanessa isn’t really just out of school. She’s totally legal. But she’s experienced a lot less of life than I have. She has no idea what it’s like to struggle, as she’s obviously been handed everything to her from her daddy.
“No, thank you. I was just heading out.”
I don’t even catch her name before she vanishes from the hallway I’m still standing in. Now, by myself. I completely forgot why I even came down here in the first place. This mystery woman has been distracting me since I first laid eyes on her an hour ago.
“I didn’t get to hear you play,” Vanessa pouts as she sticks her bottom lip out like a fucking toddler. Seriously, what adult woman does that? Vanessa, that’s who.
“It’s okay. I’m sure I’ll play again soon.” I take a swig of my beer and then catch myself looking around the bar unconsciously.
“Who are you looking for?” Vanessa asks as she rubs my arm seductively.
We’ve been together for the last three months. I can’t even say we’ve been dating because that would mean we’ve actually spent time outside the sheets together.
Tonight is one of those rare nights that she decided to come see me at the bar. Her friend Bianca is tagging along with her because, as I’ve been told, women always travel in pairs. Her friend is almost as annoying as she is. Almost.
“Nobody,” I finally answer her when I realize I haven’t responded. She stares at me like she knows I’m lying, but then lets it go.
“What time are you off?” Vanessa asks as she sits on my lap. I fucking hate it when she does this shit while I’m working. I’m all for PDA, but she irritates the hell out of me. But if the mystery girl was sitting on my lap…
I have got to stop thinking about her.
“Not until eleven.” I’m short with her, hoping she’ll stop talking.
Here’s the thing. Years ago, I promised myself that I’d never get into another serious relationship, not after finding my girlfriend in bed with another guy. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve slept with plenty of women, but it has never gone further than a few rolls in the hay.
Until Vanessa. I mean, yes, most of our relationship, if that’s what you want to call it, has revolved around sex. But until her, I hadn’t spent more than a few nights with one woman.
I guess I felt like she was safe, though, because I would never see myself spending the rest of my life with someone like her. She’s not the settling down type. At least, not for a long time. I know that I can be a huge ass to her at times, but I guess that’s my way of keeping her at arm’s length.
I mean, I’m not a complete asshole. I don’t yell at her or anything like that. But I think I’ve done a pretty damn good job at letting her know not to expect anything long-term with me.
It’s nearing 10:00 and I’m beat after working my ass off behind the bar. Vanessa finally went out to the makeshift dance floor with Bianca, so I feel like I can actually breathe. A part of me thinks that I should just end things with her now, but she knows that I don’t want anything serious with her, or anyone.
I look out to the floor and see her dancing with some douche who appears to be in his forties. It’s fucking disgusting, but, honestly, it doesn’t really phase me. I should probably care, but if she goes home with him, I’ll be off the hook. She knows that I won’t fuck her again if she’s with anyone else, so I guess that would be my easy way out. Cut me some slack. I have some standards. I’m not willing to catch some disease. I value my manhood way too much for that shit.
“Hey, baby.” I hear Vanessa on the other side of the bar as I’m drying a clean glass. I finish what I’m doing and then turn toward her.
“What’s up, Van?” She leans over the counter, her tits practically in my face, and bats her fake eyelashes at me.
“I’m really horny, Ryke,” she whines at me. Jesus, this woman is ridiculous. And she doesn’t give a fuck that people nearby are staring at her.
I look around and see that everyone is now minding their own business and then lean toward her so I’m nose-to-nose with her.
“Van, this is my fucking workplace. You cannot say that kind of shit to me while I’m here. Got it?” I snap and then step back from her, shaking my head.
“But, Rykey.” What the fuck? Is she five? “Are you embarrassed by me?” She pouts, trying to look cute. Instead, she looks fucking ridiculous.
I see that I don’t have any customers wanting drinks right now so I walk around to stand closer to her. She takes this as an invitation and rubs my arm with her long, fake nails, the other hand working its way toward my dick. I won’t lie and say that it’s not a turn on, but I’ve had e-fucking-nough of this girl’s bullshit.
I look down at her and sneer. “Vanessa, stop.” When I straighten myself back out, that’s when I see her. Mystery girl. Brown-eyed-girl. I thought she left an hour ago.
I stare at her for a brief second as we make eye contact and I realize that she’s giving me a dirty look. What the hell did I do?
She turns on her heels as fast as she can, as if her ass is on fire. What the hell?
I’m just standing here with my girlfriend. Minding my own damn business. Is she jealous?
“Hey, man.” I turn at the sound of Austin’s voice. “Why don’t you take off with your girl?” He chuckles, knowing damn well I do not want to go home with Vanessa tonight. “I can close up shop if you want.”
“No, it’s okay. You stayed late last night.” By now, I’m shooting daggers at him. If looks could kill.
“No, really. I insist.” Asshole.
“Yay!” Vanessa starts jumping up and down like a fucking two-year-old, flapping her arms. “Now, I can have my way with you.” She stands on her toes to give me a kiss and then runs off toward Bianca. Because, of course, she can’t go anywhere without her bestie.
“I hate you,” I say to Austin as I walk back behind the bar. “I seriously fucking hate you right now.” The asshole has the balls to laugh even though I want nothing more than to put my fist through his goddamned face.
“You can thank me tomorrow after Vanessa has her way with you.”
Why do I keep this guy around?
Austin has worked for me since I opened two and a half years ago. He really is a great guy, when he isn’t pushing me off on annoying women.
He does all the hiring when we need extra help and we trade off on who closes each night. I guess you could call him my assistant. Right now, I really want to kill my damn assistant.
“Fuck you, man.” I grin at him. He’s right. At least,
I’ll be getting fucked. Although, for some reason, I’m really not in the mood for it tonight.
11
Claire
“Hey, you alright?” Sierra asks as she catches up to me and grabs my arm. “You looked super pissed back there.” She eyes me suspiciously, waiting for me to answer.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just needed some fresh air,” I lie.
“Ya know, Claire, we haven’t known each other but a few months, but I can totally tell when you’re not fine.” She stands with her hands on both her hips, challenging me to argue with her.
“Ugh! Okay. That bar guy was totally giving me the creeps. Happy?” I huff, completely full of shit. I’m so pissed at myself for thinking there was some kind of chemistry between me and that stranger. Why the hell would I think such a thing?
“What? Ryke? Claire, he may be a player, but I promise you he’s no snake.” When I don’t say anything, she continues to pry. “Ohmigawd!” she yells loudly, not caring that everyone else out here is now staring at us. She doesn’t typically seem the type to like attention, but right now, she doesn’t seem bothered by it. “You’ve totally got the hots for him, don’t you?” she screeches.
“Seriously, Sierra? Are you thirteen?” I laugh at her. “But to answer your question, no. I do not have the hots for him. I’m still married anyway.” I start to walk toward the parking lot but then feel her cold hand on my arm again. How is she cold? I’m over here sweating like a whore in church.
“Claire, I know you’re still married to that asswipe, but you deserve to be happy too. Hopefully, your divorce will go through quickly and then you won’t have to deal with him anymore.” What she doesn’t realize is that I haven’t even filed for divorce yet. That would require me to go back to Chicago and, frankly, I have no desire to see Trevor right now. Or ever. “Why don’t you come stay with me tonight? Glenna has Auggie until the morning. Your brother is watching Brady, right?” I have to say I’m extremely surprised that she’d agree to leave her baby again so soon, but she deserves the break.
“Yeah, okay.” I nod at her. “I need to run to Evan’s to get some things though.”
I program Sierra’s address into my phone and then we part ways. I could certainly use a night away. Brady will be asleep the whole time I’m gone anyway and I know my brother won’t care.
“Claire, Brady will be just fine. Go.” Avery says as she practically shoves me out the front door. Well, geez. It’s super strange having all this freedom since leaving Chicago. I never had help like this when I was with Trevor, other than when my mother-in-law Lynn would help with Brady.
“Knock. Knock.” I say as I open Sierra’s front door. I can’t believe she left it unlocked. Not that she lives in a super shady area or anything, but any yahoo off the street could walk into her house if they wanted to.
“In here!” She hollers from the other room. I slip my flip-flops off onto the rug and make my way toward her voice. Her house isn’t big, but I’m guessing she and Miles pay an arm and a leg for it. That’s Phoenix for you.
When I step into the living room, I see all of Auggie’s things scattered around. His animal print swing, along with a matching bouncy seat. Brady lived in his when he was that age. In the corner of the room sits an oak changing table that holds a set of drawers underneath it.
She is unquestionably not a neat freak, as there are dirty dishes laying around on the coffee table and empty soda cans on the floor next to the couch. I remember how stressful being a new mother was, but I know Trevor wouldn’t have put up with me not keeping up on our house. He’s such an ass.
“Hey,” I say as I join her on the couch. “Whatcha watching?” I ask, pointing to the small TV in front of us. I have to be honest… this looks more like a bachelor pad than a family home. But in a strange way, it’s very alluring.
“Just catching up on the last Walking Dead episode.” When I raise my eyebrows at her, giving her a look that says really? she goes on. “What? Miles got me hooked on it before he left. It’s the shit.” She reaches for her can of Mountain Dew that sits on the table in front of her. I love this carefree side of her. She reminds me a lot of myself. Like a hormonal, pregnant woman, I start to tear up at the thought of how thankful I am to have her.
“I’ve never seen it,” I say as I reach over and steal some of the popcorn out of the bowl on her lap. “Really? Skinny Pop?” I snigger at her.
“I’ll have you know that Skinny Pop is the bomb, thank you very much. Plus, it won’t go to my ass like that buttery shit would.”
I shake my head at her and then turn toward the TV, knowing that if I keep watching this garbage I’m guaranteed to have nightmares. Why is this entertaining?
“So,” she starts when the show goes to commercial. “What the hell happened with you and Ryke tonight that had your panties in a bunch?” This girl reminds me so much of Avery and Shay. God, I miss my best friend.
“Nothing happened.” I pop more of the skinny goodness into my mouth, trying to avoid her question. She, of course, doesn’t let me off the hook that easily.
“Spill it, mama.” She says as she pulls the bowl out of my reach. “If you want my Skinny Pop, you have to give me answers first.” She squints her eyes at me, trying to give me a dirty look which just makes me laugh.
“You’re nuts. You know that?” I shake my head at her before leaning over her lap to get the bowl out of her hand. In the next second, the bowl goes flying out of both our hands, sending popcorn into the air.
“Damn you. This stuff is like gold, Claire.” She’s now on her hands and knees like a damn dog, trying to pick up all the kernels off the floor. I will not be eating that now.
“Why don’t you just vacuum it up?” After asking, I know that was obviously the wrong thing to ask as she throws the offending snack at my head.
“And waste a perfectly good bowl of popcorn? No way.” She continues on the floor. “But don’t think you get out of my question, missy. What the hell happened tonight?”
I inwardly groan. “Nothing really happened tonight besides the fact that I ran into him like a fucking loser when I came out of the bathroom.” I’m sure my face is ten shades of red right now, thinking about how embarrassed I was. I just saw possibly the hottest living male and had to act like a buffoon in front of him.
“Did you talk to him? He seems like a great guy. Always has a different chick on his arm when I see him, but can you really blame the guy? I mean, you saw him.”
The guy is for sure a man whore. I know I really shouldn’t judge him since I don’t even know him. But he practically undressed me with his eyes while he was on stage tonight and then again outside the bathroom. Then he was all over that skanky looking bitch not long after that. The blonde bimbo appeared to be not a day older than eighteen. I’m guessing he wouldn’t bring an underage girl into his bar, but she looked way younger than him.
“No, not really. I mean he offered to get me a drink, but I turned him down.”
The show is now back on, so I try to pretend that I’m actually interested in it now.
“Nuh uh, girl.” She clicks the TV off with the remote and turns toward me on the couch. “Why the hell did you turn him down?” I’m not looking at her, but I know that she’s looking at me like I’ve lost my damn mind.
“I can’t drink, remember?”
“One drink wouldn’t kill you and you know it.” She stands to take the bowl into the small kitchen off the living room. The only thing that separates us is a tiny half wall, decorated with picture frames. I recognize her in many of them from when she was younger. I also spot one of her and Miles on their wedding day. She wears an ivory strapless dress with a train that goes on for days. She looks absolutely exquisite.
“Sierra, I’m not even going to entertain that idea. Once again, I’m still married and I do not need to get mixed up with someone like him.
“Whatever!” She hollers from the kitchen, slamming cabinet doors.
“What are you doing in there?” I
ask as I stand to join her.
We’re interrupted by the ring of her phone, coming from the coffee table.
“I’ll grab that for you.” I walk back to the living room and as soon as I see it, Miles’ name comes into view. I rush to the kitchen so she can answer it before it goes to voicemail. I know she doesn’t get to talk to him often.
“Here.” I practically throw it at her. She gives me a questioning look until she realizes who’s on the other line.
“Hey, baby,” she answers and I suddenly feel like I’m intruding.
I quickly write out a note to let her know I’m going out to grab food. I suddenly have a huge craving for chocolate eclairs. I have no idea where the hell I’m going to find them this late at night, but I’m on a mission.
I slide my shoes on and quietly pull the door shut behind me, not wanting to interrupt Sierra’s conversation.
12
Ryker
I’m exhausted and really just want to have a damn beer and then fucking sleep, but Vanessa seems to have different plans as she fondles my dick through my jeans.
“Van, I’m really tired tonight. Can I give you a raincheck?” I know I’m being a total douche right now, but I really can’t get in the mood to fuck her. Why couldn’t she have gone home with the old man she met tonight?
“Come on baby, please?” she begs, which has my dick shriveling up even more.
Before I can answer her, my phone pings in my pocket. Why the fuck is she texting me?
“Who is it?” Vanessa asks, leaning over my arm to see who it is. She’s so damn nosey.
“Monica,” I grumble. I don’t even care if she’s jealous because maybe that’ll make her leave. I’ve only talked about her a few times to Van. She knows Monica is the reason I don’t do serious relationships anymore.
Revived (Unexpected Series Book 1) Page 6
