by Hope Stone
“I can imagine,” Pin said. “It also must get pretty depressing.”
I blinked.
“I guess so,” I said. “Honestly, I tend to disassociate. I don’t often involve the mistress like tonight; Kim’s an exception. And something tells me she doesn’t need my pity.”
“Don’t call Kim a mistress to her face,” Pin said with a grin. “She definitely won’t like that.”
I laughed as I pictured Kim’s outraged reaction to being labeled a mistress. “Noted. Thanks for the advice.”
Figo Wine Bar was trendy and right in the center of downtown La Playa. Even on a Thursday night, it was filled with couples gripping big glasses of wine and nibbling on tapas. I knew this wasn’t a real date, but something about the piano music in the background and the shimmering orbs hanging artfully from the ceiling for lighting made me feel all smiley and chatty, as if it was a first date with a really, really cute guy.
Because Pin was cute. More than cute. He was downright attractive. And I couldn’t help but steal a glance at his torso. I could see the shape of his shoulders and chest through the thinner fabric of his shirt and he was definitely fit. I flashed my eyes back to his face.
“So what’s next?” he asked. “Now that you’ve gotten bored with all the cheaters.”
“I’d love to bust a criminal ring or something,” I said. “Missing children cases can be really rewarding too. I worked one a few years ago with a coworker.”
“What happens when you don’t solve a case though?” Pin asked.
“Oh, I drink,” I said.
That shocked a snort of laughter out of him.
“Yeah,” I said. “I do not deal well with failure. I was always a very sore loser as a kid.”
“Isn’t failure unavoidable?”
“Of course,” I said. “And knowing when it’s time to close a file is part of the job. Doesn’t mean I like it.”
“But you love the job anyway,” Pin said.
It wasn’t a question. He could tell how dedicated I was to my PI work. I held still as I met his gaze and nodded. His perception made a chill run up and down my bare spine.
“What about you?” I asked. “How did you get sucked into the dubious world of biker clubs?”
“Trust me, Outlaw Souls is nothing close to dubious.” Pin gave a dry chuckle. Even his laughter was cute. “We’re a strictly above-board club. Bikes, security jobs, brotherhood, and that’s about it.”
“I didn’t know there was such a thing as an ‘above-board’ biker club,” I said.
“Well, there is,” Pin said. His tone wasn’t too sharp, but his face darkened and I could tell I had offended.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I guess I’ve only been exposed to stereotypes.”
“Not your fault,” Pin said.
“Well, I don’t like being ignorant,” I said. “Tell me more about the club.”
Pin’s smile said he was all too happy to move on. He told me about a few of his brothers and the rides they went on before explaining his accounting work. Then he asked me more questions about how I got into the PI world, and what my favorite cases were.
He laughed out loud when I told him the story about a time I talked my way into a business conference at an exclusive LA hotel by pretending I was on the board of a Norwegian company because I was convinced a guy was meeting his mistress there. I discovered it was an actual work conference and the guy was there for business only.
“Rest assured, I got him a week later,” I said. “It just turned out he preferred cheap motels for his trysts.”
Pin was easy to talk to. A little bit serious, but he could be funny, in a quiet and slightly sarcastic kind of way. Then again, lots of guys I’d gone out with had been easy to talk with. Didn’t mean they weren’t boring after the first few dates.
Before I knew it, I caught a glimpse of Kim and Trey settling down at their table.
“Ok, don’t turn around,” I said to Pin, keeping a casual smile plastered on my face. “But our targets have arrived.”
Pin instantly stiffened.
“Please relax,” I said. “We’re just having a nice evening, ok?”
Pin nodded, and his shoulders eased slightly.
I kept my eyes on Pin, but stole glances over at the table. Kim was decked out in a silver dress with a slit up to her hip and sky-high heels. She looked like a million bucks. I smiled as I sipped my water and grabbed a fry from the plate Pin and I were sharing. She really was trying to torture Trey.
He was smitten too, I could tell. He was ogling Kim with that wide-eyed look of admiration mixed with a healthy dose of pride. I saw it all the time. Guys were so self-congratulatory when they convinced some young hot thing to choose them.
What killed me was that Olivia was no crone. I had seen the pictures. She took good care of herself. Probably had worked out like crazy to shed her baby weight after giving birth. She went to the hairdresser and did her makeup all while dealing with an infant.
But Trey didn’t see any of that. Guys like Trey enjoyed the chase. Once they had the woman all secure and in their bedroom, they lost interest. They started to look for something newer, younger, hotter.
“She’s doing a great job,” I said to Pin. “She’s got him wrapped around her finger.”
“I would expect nothing less from Kim,” he said.
Kim and Trey had ordered, but they were ignoring their glasses of wine. Instead, Kim was leaning forward while Trey ran his hand up and down her smooth brown arm.
“Ok, I’m gonna pull my camera out,” I said. “You just keep chatting while I set it up.”
“About what?” Pin asked.
“Anything,” I said. “Just act normal.”
“I did some freelance CPA work today,” Pin said. “Really interesting situation with their profit margins.”
I nearly laughed out loud as I pulled my camera up onto the table. “You’re really talking about accounting?”
“You said I could discuss anything,” he said.
“Fair enough,” I said. “Please tell me more about profit margins.”
Pin gave me a crooked smile and continued. While he talked, I screwed the lens in place and made sure the shutter wouldn’t clack with a noise when I took a photo.
Kim was facing me, so I had Trey’s profile, but he was unlikely to see me. I knew I could count on Kim to stay in it until I gave her the signal.
I got a series of photos of him rubbing her arm and then to top it off, he leaned in and kissed her neck.
“Perfection,” I muttered. “This is borderline art.”
Pin snorted. “I hope the wife agrees.”
“Oh, she won’t,” I said. “But her lawyer will love these.”
I set my camera down. I had more than enough. It was time for the signal. I quickly took apart my camera and slipped it back into my bag. “Ok, I’m good.”
I leaned to the side so Kim could see me past Pin. Then I lifted my hand up to the chunk of my hair that fell over my collarbone and flicked it over my shoulder with a toss of my head for emphasis.
“A hair flip?” Pin asked. “That’s the super secret signal?”
“You should turn around now,” I said. “You’re gonna wanna see this show.”
Pin
I twisted in my chair as soon as Claire gave me the ok. It had been agony keeping myself from sneaking a glance at Kim.
Well, not total agony. Claire was more than a decent diversion. To be frank, she was downright hot when she was in her investigation element. But I still was dying with curiosity to see what was going on with Kim and Trey.
As soon as I turned around, Kim started to raise her voice so that it carried over to us.
“It’s so funny that you say that Trey,” Kim said. “Because I’ve heard I’m not actually the one for you.”
Trey didn’t look scared yet, just confused.
“In fact, I’ve had it on really good authority that you have a wife,” Kim said.
A few people
in the restaurant gasped aloud. Trey looked terrified.
“Baby, calm down,” Trey said. “Who told you that?”
“Oh, do not call me baby,” Kim said, standing up so she could look down at Trey.
I glanced back at Claire. Her eyes were lit up with excitement. She looked like a kid on Christmas morning and it was totally cute. She wiggled her eyebrows at me.
“Told ya it would be good,” she whispered.
“Look, Trey, I’m not even angry,” Kim said. “Because I know you’re going to get what’s coming to you. I just feel bad for you.”
By this point, the whole restaurant had fallen silent while Kim’s voice only got louder.
“Seriously,” Trey hissed through clenched teeth. “Don’t even think about going to my wife about this.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it,” Kim said.
Kim had one hand on her hip with her leg stuck out just so Trey could get the best view of what he was missing. Then, her every movement part of her performance for the crowd, Kim picked up her big glass of fancy red wine.
“Oh shit,” I muttered.
“My thoughts precisely,” Claire said.
Kim dumped the entire glass of wine onto Trey’s crisp white shirt. The restaurant erupted into cheers and the hostess even let out a loud whistle.
“That’s our cue to leave,” Claire said.
I turned to see that she had already risen to her feet and packed her purse up.
“I gave my card to the hostess ahead of time,” Claire said, winking at me. “In my line of work, sometimes you gotta bolt fast.”
Now I’ve engaged in plenty of flirtations. I’ve seen the batted eyelashes, the hair twirled around a finger, the coy smile, but I had never had a girl wink at me. And for some reason, that half-second movement from Claire made my stomach drop right to the floor.
She was too good to resist.
I stood up and followed her as she whisked Kim away. All the while Trey was mopping up his shirt, so he never actually saw Claire. It was expertly done.
Once we were out on the sidewalk, we speed walked until we were a few blocks away. Then Kim let out a big whoop.
“Fuck, that felt good!” she said. “I’ve always wanted to throw my drink at a guy!”
“You killed it,” Claire said. “Looked like you’d done it a million times.”
The girls high-fived, and I couldn’t help but grin. Kim had been a true showstopper, but my eyes kept lingering on Claire’s face and the way her button nose scrunched up when she smiled.
I had rules about never going for the women who made me feel too much. The ones who stirred up blind desire. That was reckless. That kind of desire had led to the mess with Sara.
But if Claire was going to wear that dark red dress and do things like wink sassily at me while she said something badass, I was going to throw every single rule out the window.
“You get what you need?” Kim asked.
“I got more than enough,” Claire said. “Thanks again for all your help, this is my new record for tying up a case.”
I stiffened. Claire spoke with a tone of finality as she patted her bag. As if she was getting ready to call it a night. Go home. Tie up her case. And I would never see her again.
As if she read my thoughts, Kim grabbed Claire’s arm.
“Well then you have got to let me buy you a drink,” Kim said. “You’ve got a new record, and I’m newly single, that’s worth celebrating.”
Claire chewed on her bottom lip as she considered.
“Come on,” Kim begged. “You have to at least have one drink out of pity for the poor girl who got duped by an asshole. I never would have figured it out if not for you.”
“Ok, just one drink,” Claire said with a laugh.
Kim jumped up and down and squealed in excitement. “Ok, let me call a car to take us to Hive. I need to dance.”
Claire’s eyes widened when Kim mentioned one of the biggest clubs in La Playa, but she didn’t turn away.
“You would have figured Trey out,” Claire said. “And it wouldn’t have taken you very long.”
“Probably,” Kim said with a shrug.
Kim knew the bouncer at Hive, so we were able to cut the line and buy drinks in no time.
I tried not to stare, but I couldn’t help but notice the way Claire’s pale face seemed to shimmer beneath the disco lights. And the way she scanned the room with an excited gleam in her eye, as if anything could happen at any moment, and she would be ready to leap into action.
When she reached up to push her hair off the back of her neck, I was tempted to run my finger down her nape, just to feel how smooth her skin was.
After one round, Kim declared it was time to dance. She strutted out towards the dance floor like she owned it. Within minutes, she was dancing with an eager guy.
“Is she always the life of the party?” Claire asked me.
“Dunno,” I said, liking the way she leaned in towards me as if we were co-conspirators. “I haven’t gone out with her a ton.”
“Well, I think she’s amazing,” Claire said. “And she deserves this after Trey.”
Her mouth flattened into a frown when she mentioned Trey. I wanted to make her forget him. I wanted to make her forget every guy that wasn’t me.
It occurred to me that she could have a boyfriend. In fact, it was likely she did. But then, on the off chance she was single, I had to try my luck.
“Wanna dance?” I asked.
“Sure,” Claire said. She hopped down from the barstool and followed me towards the floor.
“I should warn you, I’m a terrible dancer,” she said.
“Me too,” I said.
She was not a terrible dancer. She just didn’t dance like other women. First off, she didn’t even try to be sexy. There was no sensual wiggling of her hips or gyrating. Instead, Claire just danced however she wanted. She jumped and twirled and spun her arms around and laughed.
Claire wasn’t trying to be anything besides who she was. It was the sexiest thing I had ever seen.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her small but wiry form. I wanted to trace the indent of her waist with my hand and run my other hand along the curve of her muscled upper arms.
But I didn’t. I kept my distance. I grabbed her hand to twirl her and, when she didn’t let go, I twirled her again. One song bled into another, and eventually she edged closer and closer to me. I got more and more lost in the way her eyes flashed when she looked up at me. There was something there, I could tell.
Then she was only inches away, and I gripped her back with my hand while we spun. Like it was as easy as breathing, she draped her arms over my shoulders while my other hand found her waist.
We danced like that for a while before having another round of drinks. Kim tracked us down at one point, and we all danced together, but I didn’t plan on leaving Claire’s side. She seemed ok with that.
It was on the wrong side of midnight when the three of us exited onto the sidewalk. Kim had danced with a bunch of people and even made out with a guy in the bathroom, but she wasn’t going home with anyone. She was not the type of girl who needed to fuck a rando to get over a guy.
“Claire!” Kim squealed. “You’re the best, and I love you.”
She wrapped her arms around Claire and hugged her. Given that Kim was at least six inches taller than Claire even without her heels, I was concerned that Claire was going to get squished. Kim had definitely taken a tequila shot or two with her dance partners.
“Thanks,” Claire said. “You’re the best too!”
Claire then helped Kim call a car. Kim waved goodbye to us one last time before departing.
So it was just me and Claire, alone on the sidewalk. The music from inside the club throbbed behind us, but the crowds were a distant memory. The world shrunk to the two of us, beneath a streetlight’s glow.
“Fun night,” I said.
Claire nodded. She looked at the ground and then glanced up at me from beneath h
er lashes.
“You want to split a car?” she asked.
She had no clue where I lived, and I didn’t know where she lived. For all we knew, we could be on opposite ends of La Playa.
But there was no way in hell I was saying no to her.
“Sure,” I said.
Claire asked with my address and then fiddled with her ride-share app for a few seconds. “It’ll be here in five minutes.”
A bevy of giggling women stumbling out of the club’s side door made us move up against the wall. As the women tumbled into cars and disappeared, I stepped closer to Claire.
I hadn’t known her long, but I knew that she was fearless and bold. And yet as I lifted my hand to touch her jaw, I moved with agonizing slowness, like she was a scared animal likely to bolt.
Maybe I was the one who was scared.
As my fingers rested just near her ear, she lifted her chin and locked her eyes on mine. At that moment, I knew that she wanted me just as much as I wanted her.
I leaned down, and she raised herself on her tiptoes so that our lips met. I pressed gently at first, but then she did this little gasp. Just a quick intake of breath, but I couldn’t hold back.
I deepened the kiss and ran my tongue between her lips. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her entire body against my torso, making it so I was the one gasping with desire. My entire body caught on fire as I gripped her waist with one hand and moved my other hand lower, just above the curve of her ass.
The buzz of her phone made her pull away. I clenched my teeth so I didn’t growl out a curse.
Claire blinked as if she was waking from a dazed sleep, then she yanked her phone out of her purse. “The car’s here.”
Claire
I told myself it did not mean anything that Pin was the best kisser I had ever encountered.
Some guys were good at kissing. So what? It didn’t mean that he was different or special than any other hook up. And he was totally a guy to hook up with. That’s it.
We slid into the backseat of the car in silence, but the air seemed to crackle between us. Because, Jesus Christ, he was a good kisser.
