Just as he launched into a new topic, her eyes drifted slightly to the right as she caught movement by the door. Some men were entering the bar. Her stomach dropped and if she’d been in a car at that moment, she’d hear the screeching halt of brakes.
Her cousin Jeremy, her brother Mike, and none other than Luke friggin’ Daniels walked into the bar, and were currently looking for a table.
Holy. Friggin’. Shit.
“So listen. I was wondering,” Chaz was saying, but the ringing in her ears drowned out his words, as if a bomb had just gone off near her and she was momentarily deaf.
The guys started walking to a table and Jem just happened to look over, meeting her eyes. A look of surprise appeared, then a smile, then something else. She saw him say her name and both Mike and Luke looked over. Mike’s face went through the same transformation, but Luke’s? Luke looked completely expressionless…except for the eyes. His eyes said he was ready to commit murder.
The three of them started making their way over and Janie’s palms began to sweat. Women followed their every move with their eyes. Jeremy, the gorgeous dark haired god with movie star chiseled good looks dressed in his suit and overcoat; Mike, the playboy detective in jeans, combat boots, and leather jacket with the ever present twinkle in his eye; Luke, the sleek fashion icon of the City dressed in simple gray slacks and a black cashmere sweater and coat…the black only making his pale blue eyes stand out even more.
“Whattaya think? You game?” Chaz asked quietly, an arrogance coloring his tone. Janie finally looked back at him, not having any idea what he was talking about. Perhaps she should’ve been listening because Chaz’s eyes had a sheen of lust coating them. He reached out and took her hand.
“I’m sorry, Chaz. What?” She started to remove her hand from his just as Jem arrived at their table.
“Well, what have we got here? This is a surprise,” Jem said with a smile and leaned down to kiss her cheek. Then he glanced at her hand being touched by Chaz. His eyebrow shot up and his face got that overprotective look, but at the same time his smile grew bigger. “Look who’s here, guys,” he said, looking back at Mike and Luke as they approached.
“Hey!” Mike said with exuberance as he looked between Chaz and Janie then shuffled around Jem to kiss Janie on the cheek as well. He stepped back to put his arm around Luke and slapped him on the back bringing him into the circle now standing around her table. He smiled at Luke then looked at Janie. “What are the chances of seeing you here?”
“Yeah. What are the chances?” Janie said knowingly, giving her brother a look. Emily. It had to have been Emily.
Chaz had yet to say anything and was staring up at the three giants around him. They were an impressive and intimidating sight alone, never mind when they were all together, each of them standing at 6’3”. Ayanna often joked there must’ve been something in the water when they’d all been conceived.
Luke leaned in and effortlessly took her hand from Chaz’s grip, raising her hand to his lips. At the last minute he flipped her hand over and kissed her palm. “Hi, baby.” He kissed softly, looking pointedly into her eyes. “The guys and I decided to hang out tonight. Sort of a birthday celebration for just us boys,” he said with a note of danger in his voice. “Since I didn’t have any other plans.”
“That’s wonderful,” she said between clenched teeth and a fake smile. “Don’t let us interrupt you.” She removed her hand from his and looked away. Her insides had nearly melted at the feel of his lips on her.
“I’m Detective Michael Callahan,” Mike said to Chaz. “And you are?”
Oh, brother. Literally.
“Oh, uh, I’m Chaz. Chaz Cardosa,” he stammered slightly, but smiled. “I went to CAS with Janie. You’re her brother, right? I think my older brother was in your class. Anthony Cardosa?”
“Oh, yeah. Anthony. Sure, I remember him. Is he still the same douchebag he was in high school?” Mike asked, a smile on his lips that didn’t reach his eyes.
Janie rolled her own and said in exasperation, “Alright, Mike.”
“What?” he asked. “I was just wondering.”
“Your name’s Chaz?” Luke asked, his eyes zeroing in on the man. “Huh.” He glared at Janie then back at Chaz. “Just curious, but any chance your nickname in high school was ‘Chaz the Razz’?” If looks could kill, Chaz would’ve be worm food at that moment.
Shitshitshitshitshitshitshit. How on earth did Luke remember that?
Both Mike and Jem looked between Chaz and Luke, getting the impression that Chaz was most definitely not to be seen as a friend, then in the span of a second seemed to grow before her eyes, all three of them turning into ‘Alpha Man’, which wasn’t too difficult since they all were anyway.
Chaz looked at Luke in confusion but then smiled, completely clueless, “Yeah, how’d ya know?”
“I must’ve heard your name mentioned a time or two,” Luke shrugged as if thinking. “You don’t often hear the name ‘Chaz’. I go way back with the family and since you went to high school with Janie, I’m sure I must’ve just heard it in passing or something.” Then he turned to Janie and gave her a look but furrowed his brow as if trying to remember. “Is that possible, Janie?”
“Maybe, who knows?” she shrugged back, blushing. “Well listen, don’t let us keep you.”
“Not a problem,” Jem said. “In fact, why don’t we join you?” He began to look for some chairs to drag over.
Mike and Luke had sounds like a great idea looks of agreement on their faces, as if there was nothing remotely out of the ordinary about them butting in on her date.
“Jeremy Quinn McCallister, you will not,” Janie said, exasperated, her voice rising. Then she lowered it and said, “Don’t be ridiculous. Go find your own table.”
“Um,” Chaz mumbled as the guys gave each other looks.
“Stop being a bunch of knuckle dragging family members who don’t know how to mind their own business,” she said good naturedly to them then turned to Chaz. “My apologies, Chaz.”
“Oh, are they all your brothers?” he asked in confusion.
“No, this one is my cousin,” she said directing her thumb to Jem. “And the other one,” she stopped and looked at Luke, who waited patiently and smugly, interested in her explanation of who he was. “This one is just a guy who hangs out with them.” Take that, Luke Daniels.
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that’s all I am, baby girl,” he tsked, giving her a glare and enjoying her discomfort with the whole situation.
She’d had enough. She turned to Mike and warned, “Mike.”
“Alright,” he sighed, acting like he was completely put out. “We’ll just be over there. Come on guys. We know when we’re not wanted.” They left, each of them giving Chaz a murderous look before leaving to go find a table. Luke’s was the longest.
“Well, that was fun,” Chaz said with a dry look. “Are they always like that? I thought they were gonna kick my ass.”
“Yes,” she grumbled. “They’re always like that. Sorry.”
“Doesn’t matter to me,” he shrugged. “I figure you’re a big girl and can make your own decisions. Well, figuratively speaking. You’re not a big girl anymore,” he laughed at his own joke.
Someone please get me out of here. This night was an absolute and complete clusterfuck and all she wanted to do was end it. But now that the guys were there, she felt like she needed to hold out a little longer.
The boys had finally found a table with Luke and Mike facing her. Luke, who was watching her, began talking to the other two, looking annoyed.
“So,” Chaz began, leaning in and taking her hand again as he had before. “We didn’t get to finish our conversation. What did you think of my idea?”
She cleared her head and finally looked at him. “I’m sorry, Chaz. I totally missed what you said before. Can you repeat it, please?”
“I said,” he said emphatically, “we didn’t really fully know each other back in the day, so I thought maybe we
could get outta here, head back to my place and get to know each other better.” His words dripped with promise as he stared into her eyes. His eyes drifted to her chest again then he gave her a knowing look. “Maybe see where this thing goes.”
She examined him closely and let a disbelieving smile about this whole situation play on her lips. “This thing? I didn’t know there was a thing.”
“Well, I’m just sayin’. We can explore the attraction here.”
“Is there an attraction here?” The only attraction here is between you and yourself, Chaz.
He looked only slightly annoyed at her comment, then said smugly, “Definitely. I know there’s one on your side, and there’s totally one on mine.” He looked around briefly then lowered his voice and leaned in. “I have a confession to make.”
Oh, goody.
“When we were in high school, I used to daydream about your tits.”
Her eyebrows went up, then she cleared her throat. “Well.” What did a woman say to that?
He chuckled. Then he bit his lower lip while he glanced at them for a second, only to bring his eyes up to meet hers a moment later. “They’re awesome.”
Janie took a moment to fully grasp what he’d just said to her. After ten years of not seeing each other and all of thirty minutes in each other’s presence, this is what the man says to her? Un-fuckin-believable.
She waited a beat then said casually, “You think?” She bristled inside preparing herself for the conversation ahead.
“Oh, yeah,” he said lecherously. “I’ve always thought so.”
She inwardly sighed and was about to end the evening when he continued.
“When we would be in Mr. Simone’s geometry class,” he began quietly and leaned forward, “all I thought about was how I wanted to fuck ’em.” He shrugged in what she could only assume he thought was a charming way.
They made eye contact and Janie blinked in surprise. His eyes met hers, glittering with intent.
“Have you ever let a guy fuck your tits, Janie Jugs?” he whispered, now smiling. “’Cause if you haven’t, you don’t know what you’re missin’. Let’s get outta here. I promise you this. We’ll have a good time, I can show you some moves, and you can suck me off while I’m playing with those gorgeous tits of yours,” he said, his tongue shooting out to lick his lower lip. “You can see what you missed out on in high school.”
She blinked again. Then all she saw was red. With great calm and ease, she purposely knocked the bottle of wine over.
Right into his lap.
He jumped up and sputtered, “Shit!” as he quickly wiped at his lap, spilling his own wine glass in the process with the glass shattering on the table. In Janie’s peripheral vision she saw ‘Alpha Men’ get up quickly and begin walking to her table, but she only had eyes for the asshole in front of her at the moment. Still sitting, she calmly spoke.
“Well, Chaz. I wish I could say it’s been fun, but alas, you haven’t changed a bit. Still the biggest dickwad on the planet, I see.”
“What the fuck? Bitch,” he whispered furiously, just as Luke arrived. Mike and Jem stood just behind him. Other patrons hushed to watch the spectacle, but Janie glared at the three important men in her life, willing them not to interfere or add to the scene that was already under way.
Her look stopped Luke, who kept his hands at his sides and stared holes into Chaz. “I think I just heard an extremely inappropriate word said toward the lady. It might be good to take a moment and rethink your vocabulary choice.”
“She knocked the wine over. On purpose,” he said, seething.
“If she did, then she had good reason,” Luke said dangerously low.
“Everything okay over here, Janie?” Mike finally asked her, but had his eyes on Chaz.
“Yup, everything’s fine. Chaz here had a minor collision with the wine. We’ve decided to end our date early so he can go home.” She turned to Chaz’s thunderous expression and said drolly. “Gotta get that stain out before it sets.”
“Why don’t I walk you to the door, Chaz?” Mike said.
“There’s no need, Mike. I think Chaz can find the door on his own.” Janie looked up at Chaz, then smiled. “And please, Charlie. Lose my contact info, would ya? I think it’s safe to say we’ll never need to see each other again. Like, ever.”
“And tell your brother he’s a fuckin’ douchebag,” Mike said with a crocodile smile.
Chaz threw up his hands as if to indicate he was leaving and without a fuss. He stepped around the table and when he was near her ear, he dropped his voice and whispered with a smile, “I just lost 100 bucks on you tonight with Romanowski. But that’s okay. I’m sure you would’ve been the worst fuck I’ve ever had.” He started to walk away, but Luke stood in his path when he saw Janie’s face pale.
“What the fuck did you just say to her?” Luke asked quietly.
“Don’t worry about it, Luke. I’m done letting stupid remarks from complete assholes rule my life,” Jane shrugged, still seated. Then she turned to Chaz. “At least I could lose weight. But you? People who are assholes, well, they just stay assholes,” she said shaking her head in sympathy. “So sorry you lost that bet for fuckin’ the fat girl.”
‘Alpha Men’ took a step closer as if one being, each of them swearing under their breaths in their own way. Luke clenched his fists and towered over Chaz as did Mike and Jem. They looked fierce.
“Let me leave you with this warning, you fucking useless piece of shit,” Luke said in a menacing tone. “If one negative thing is said or written publicly about her, including your fucking Facebook page, I will find you and make your life a living hell. Do you understand me? You don’t want to be on my bad side,” Luke said, deadly calm.
Jem added, “Nor any of ours, I can assure you.” Mike just glared. The three of them were a scary sight.
Chaz left without a word, which was a first, and Mike and Jem followed him to the door to make sure he didn’t lose his way. And just like that, normal bar banter resumed. The entertainment for the patrons was over.
Meanwhile, Luke stood next to where she was sitting, taking deep calming breaths, then said, “Cristo, Janie.” His voice was controlled, but his eyes were furious. No ‘expressionless Luke’ at the moment, that was for sure. “Are you okay?”
She wasn’t okay, but she would be. She avoided his eyes. “Couldn’t be better.” She grabbed her wine and downed it. Mike and Jem were walking back in.
“Let’s go,” Luke demanded. “You and I need to talk.” He reached down and took her hand. When she pulled her hand away and still avoided his eyes, his voice became even more calm, more controlled. More dangerous. “Now, Janie.”
Her eyes met his and she was momentarily stunned by the look. She swallowed, took a deep breath and stood up, grabbing her purse and coat.
Luke stepped back to make room for her, then stopped her with his hand on her shoulder. When her questioning gaze turned to meet his, she noticed he was looking at her legs and her new skinny jeans. He glared at her, giving her a disgruntled stare. “You had to wear them for this date? With my boots?”
“They’re my boots,” she pointed out as Mike and Jem arrived. “And I didn’t know I needed your approval on my wardrobe selection before going out.”
“O-kay. Now that the fun for the evening is over, why don’t we all sit down and have a little chat,” Mike said, taking her hand and leading the group to their table. Luke walked behind her, his body heat warming her back.
“I’m heading home,” Janie began, trying to remove her hand from his.
“No, you’re not,” all three of them said at the same time.
Janie let go of an exasperated sound.
“Come on, Janie. Hang with us. It’s been a while,” her brother said when they got to the table. “Besides, we need to talk about your choices in men.”
Luke stopped Mike from pulling out a chair. “Janie and I are both going to get going. We need to talk about a few things.”
; “No, we’re not,” Janie said, sitting down in a chair at the table. If she’d been eight, she would’ve stuck out her tongue. She let go of a mutter about pushy Neanderthals and sat back in the chair. Jem put up his hand to have the waitress bring over more drinks.
Janie imagined how this picture appeared to the other patrons, a young woman being rescued from the clutches of a bad date by three strapping men. She couldn’t help but shake her head.
Mike looked like he was having entirely too much fun.
“And we will not be talking about my choices in men,” Janie said to her brother. “Period. Second of all, none of you is even remotely qualified to talk to me about my choices in a partner,” she said, then added as an aside, “given that your past choices haven’t been anything to write home about.” She gave Luke a pointed look. “Or your present ones, for that matter.”
Luke raised an eyebrow at that, then sat back and crossed his arms, looking like he was about to get into it with her. “What’s on your mind, Janie? I’m dying to hear it.”
“I don’t feel like talking to you, Luke.”
“And why exactly is that?”
“If you don’t know, then I can’t help you,” she practically yelled.
“Oh for fuck’s sake,” he whispered furiously. “Are you for real right now?”
She turned to Mike and Jem who had raised eyebrows and smiles on their faces. She sputtered, “Are you going to let him talk to me that way?”
Instead of responding to her, Mike turned to Jem. “Where the hell is the popcorn when you need it?”
Jem shook his head and made a face. “Doesn’t really go with the Merlot. I think this may call for chips and salsa. Or chocolate. Chocolate would be great with the Merlot,” he said. Jem did love his chocolate and he and Mike continued their banter as if Luke and Janie weren’t listening to their conversation.
Janie didn’t smile and mirrored Luke’s body language, crossing her arms and leaning back. She turned back to Luke.
“What’s on my mind is that you’re a fucking liar who can’t keep his pants zipped.” And just like that she was done with the conversation and began to stand up.
Remembrance: A Contemporary Erotic Romance (Iris Series Book 4) Page 25
