by Amelia Shea
She grabbed her book from her bedside table; hopefully she could get back to sleep soon. Reading at night usually made her sleepy. If not, her day would officially begin at three a.m. Asshole!
She was finally able to get to sleep around six. A good five hours had her up by eleven. She was pretty productive. She went and gassed up her car and grabbed a newspaper to start her job hunt. She bought three papers in hopes that she would have more options. She realized it wasn’t a smart move when she saw all the same job postings in every paper. Sadie had Internet access through her phone, she’d try that tomorrow, she thought.
Sadie awoke several hours later to her phone beeping. She rubbed her eyes and scooted up on the bed. She grabbed the phone and smiled as she looked down at the screen.
Stone: Catching a later flight, shit came up.
The message was from a few hours ago. She immediately started typing.
Sadie: Hi! Just got your message, I was sleeping. Have a safe flight, see ya later!
Stone: Sweet dreams?
Sadie: Yep! You were in it.
Stone: oh yeah? Was I naked?
Sadie: LOL……I’m not telling!
Stone: Tease. The guys will pick you up tonight and drive you to the bar. I’ll meet ya there.
Sadie: I can drive myself.
Stone: I know you can but they’ll pick you up.
Sadie: No. I’ll drive myself, Stone.
Stone: You gotta a problem with my brothers?
Sadie: NO! I just don’t know them well and I don’t think T likes me very much. Please, I’ll just drive myself. Ok?
Stone: Yeah. Pack a bag, ur in my bed tonight.
Sadie: Ok!
Stone: later
Sadie: Bye!
Apparently she was staying at his place. The thought of being with him again excited her.
She packed her bag. She wished she had the money to go out and buy something for tonight but she didn’t. She packed a sexy nightie she bought when she was with Tyler. The night she planned to wear it was the same night she caught him cheating. So technically, it was new, which made her feel better about wearing it for Stone. She gathered her toiletries together and clothes for tomorrow. She was all set for her sleepover.
Her phone beeped as she was preparing to leave at six fifty-five. DL’s bar was off Main Street in the center of town. It took about twenty minutes to get there. Roxanne texted her they were going to be there at seven. She purposely decided to leave late. She didn’t want to get there before them. She was never very social to begin with but in a bar setting, she was totally out of her element. Add seeing Stone and not knowing how to act…Were they a couple or just casual? Throw into the mix his brothers, who may or may not like her. Was it too late to back out?
Sadie checked her phone. She had missed three text messages in a span of five minutes.
Roxanne: Where r u?
Roxanne: Sadie!!!!!!! Come on, girl, we’re here!!!!! Time to get our drink on!!!!!
Bogs: Weather man says it’s going to be a cold one tonight. Don’t wear a jacket!
Sadie laughed at the messages. She headed out the door not responding to them, she’d be there in twenty minutes anyway. Her phone beeped again. She glanced down at the screen and smiled.
Stone: Not here in 10, I’m coming 4 U.
This text she responded to, telling him that she was leaving now. She paused before sending and quickly added another sentence and hit send before she could second guess her message.
Leaving now. Can’t wait to see you!
She had never been one of those people who couldn’t walk in somewhere alone. She went everywhere by herself. It built character. But she didn’t do it by choice. It had never been an issue in the past. However, at this moment, she really wished she had someone to walk in with. She was feeling anxious about seeing Stone. Sadie didn’t know how she was supposed to act. Should she go up to him and kiss him? Should she just hang back and wait for him to come to her? This was so confusing!
She walked into the bar and it was packed. She searched for the group but there were so many people she didn’t see them. She knew they were here. Sadie walked further into DL’s bar when a couple of guys entered the door behind her, the door she currently blocked.
She’d been there a few times. It was an average local bar. A large bar lined the wall. A few pub tables scattered and in the back were two pool tables and a dartboard. They had pretty cool bar pictures though. Old signs from the forties that still lit up. They had signs for every beer and liquor imaginable sprawled on their walls. Her favorite was the Pabst Blue Ribbon. She scanned the bar area again. Where were they?
“You came!” Roxanne practically pushed people out of the way to get to her. Sadie burst out laughing as she tripped some huge muscle guy.
“Oops…sorry.”
Sadie started to the back as Roxanne barreled into her and grabbed her for a bear hug. She jumped up and down with Sadie in her arms. She smiled back. This girl was infectious.
“Come on, we’re back here!” She grabbed Sadie’s hand and yanked her. “This night will be epic! Oh, and ignore the bimbos, it’s been torture dealing with them. I’m so glad you’re here.” She excitedly shouted over the loud music while dragging Sadie through the crowd.
She was confused about the “bimbo” reference until they got closer and she saw who was sitting at their table. Her step faltered. She knew these bimbos; they went to high school together. They were two years ahead of her but she knew them. In fact, Sadie had a certain dick in common with one of them. She had a sinking feeling this night was not going to end well.
They must have slid two tables together. They were all sitting around with beer and what looked like colorful girlie drinks in front of the girls. Stone and Bogs were at one end of the table. Next to Bogs was Gina, Jennifer, and Brandi, with T on her other side. There was an empty chair separating T and Stone. The empty seat had an empty shot glass and half a beer on the table in front of the chair. It must have been Roxanne’s seat.
As they came up to the table everyone turned and looked over. Stone smiled at her. She loved that smile. His eyes were burning into hers with a look that promised a night of pleasure. Her face flushed. She gave him a quick wave and tried to control the butterflies in her stomach.
She searched around to find an extra chair. Before she had a chance to go grab one, Roxanne shouted, “All right boys, either get another chair or lose a bitch ’cause my girl’s here and ready to get shit faced, fucked up, bat shit crazy with me.”
The guys burst out laughing while Gina and Jennifer giggled. Brandi gave Roxanne a nasty glare which went unnoticed by everyone but Sadie. She despised Brandi. Even before she was with Tyler, Sadie didn’t like her. She was a typical mean girl, always had been.
T got up and grabbed the chair she had been eyeing and placed it between his chair and the empty one. Roxanne ushered Sadie in front of her and she slid past T. She gave an awkward wave and obligatory ‘Hello” to the table as she glanced down at the empty chairs. The one closest to Stone had glasses in front of it. She couldn’t steal Roxanne’s seat. But did she sit next to T? That would be weird. She bit her lip with indecision when she heard, “Babe, over here.”
She glanced over at Stone who was signaling her to the seat next to him. She scooted over and took a seat. Roxanne sat down next to her. She smiled up at Stone. “Hi. I thought this was Roxanne’s seat.”
“The seat next to me is always yours. Remember that.” His voice was cool with a slight edge to it.
He gave her a dark look and leaned in. She thought he was going to give her a quick kiss but then he grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her forward. Sadie closed her eyes as his lips grazed hers. She kissed him back keeping it sweet until his tongue glided over her upper lip. She opened up to him and stroked her tongue against his before he nipped her bottom lip. Their lips were still pressed together when she opened her eyes.
He whispered, “Missed you, babe.” Her heart was beat
ing fast and chills ran through her. He missed her!
“Holy shit! Are you guys, like, together?” She would know that annoying voice anywhere. She looked over the table to Jennifer. She was staring at Sadie with a stunned smile.
“They’re not like together, they are together. Duh! Guys don’t kiss a girl like that unless they are very much together. Clue in.” Roxanne sniped and winked at Sadie. She laughed. Roxanne was awesome!
The drinking commenced and Sadie began to relax. Stone was holding her hand and rubbing his thumb on her palm. Just a simple touch had her counting down the minutes until they went back to his place. Stone was talking back and forth with Bogs and T, something about a football player that should start next season.
Roxanne hadn’t taken a breather from talking her ear off. She had begged, pleaded, and even offered up her future firstborn if Sadie went out on the floor to dance. She even tried to get Sadie drunk. Two beers and three shots down but she was still not dancing. You had to love a girl with conviction though. Sadie pretty much ignored the Bimbo Brigade, which was what Roxanne had dubbed them during their last bathroom run.
Brandi was all over T. Her hand was in his lap and she looked like she was moving it. Sadie wouldn’t put it past her to be jerking him off under the table, wouldn’t put it past T either. She was caught watching them when Brandi’s eyes met hers. Her tits were rubbing against his arm as she whispered something in his ear. She started giggling and glared over at her. Sadie returned the glare. She didn’t know what she said but she was sure it wasn’t nice, and the way she was looking over Sadie was sure it was about her. She needed a breather from this bitch. Sadie moved her chair back to get up when another chair screeched back and an angry voice shouted, “Is this her?”
At the end of the table, a beer tipped over, spilled off the edge and T’s chair was two feet away from Brandi’s. Their table had gone completely silent. All eyes were on T and his eyes were locked on Sadie. He was pissed off.
“What?” Sadie asked, darting her gaze between T and Brandi.
“Is this her?” He wasn’t just pissed, he was livid.
“Who?” She was confused and a little scared. Why was he yelling at her? What the hell was he talking about?
His voice was ice. “Is this the bitch that your ex was banging behind your back?”
Oh my God, he did not just say that out loud. All eyes turned to Sadie. Scanning over all the shocked faces, her face immediately heated up. She zeroed back in on T, who was waiting for her to answer. Dread washed over her. Half the table already knew the answer but it was still embarrassing. Sadie didn’t want everyone to know she was a loser who got cheated on with a skank like Brandi. She shouldn’t care what anybody else thought but she did. Why was he doing this? God, this guy was such a thoughtless arrogant prick.
She coughed to clear her throat and quietly answered him. “Yeah.”
T’s eyes moved from Sadie’s to Brandi.
“Out!”
“Huh?” Brandi said with a nervous giggle. Her confidence waned.
“Bitch, you know I’m talking to you, I’m fucking looking right at you! Get out, get lost, or fuck off. Take your pick, just leave!” T’s eyes were dark and his body was rigid. He was angry and scary as hell. If she were Brandi, she would have been halfway home by now.
No one at the table uttered a word, they all watched the shit show going on. Brandi swiveled in her seat and looked to her girls to back her up. But no one moved. In fact, her “girls” refused to make eye contact with her.
“Bitch! Get the fuck out of here. I like my girls easy not skanky. Now, fucking leave!”
Brandi gasped and looked truly offended at being called skanky. She found this ironic and tried to suppress her laughter. Brandi jumped up, grabbed her bag, and glanced over once more to Gina and Jennifer who were still having a staring contest with the table.
“Fuck you, asshole!” she shouted. Sadie watched as she made her way through the bar and out the door.
The table sat in complete silence. People around them had stopped their conversations to watch their table. Sadie’s mind was still reeling when Roxanne stood up and declared it tequila time. She headed to the bar and grabbed Stone to follow. He leaned down and kissed her head before walking off to the bar.
Wait! What happened? T just kicked Brandi out of the bar because she slept with her ex. Why would he even care? It made no sense. She was pretty sure T didn’t even like her. He did threaten to kill her once. So why was he sticking up for her? Sadie should just be happy Brandi left and enjoy her night but she couldn’t let it go. It was a bit of a mind fuck.
Sadie moved down to Roxanne’s seat and tapped on T’s shoulder. He stopped talking with Jennifer and glanced over his shoulder.
“Why’d you do that?”
“Do what?” he asked with a scowl. Yeah, he definitely didn’t like her, she thought.
“Why did you make her leave?”
“What, you want me to get her back? I thought you’d hate the bitch that banged your man. But hell, I’ll bring her back if you want.” His tone was sarcastic.
She shook her head. “I don’t want her to come back. I just don’t understand why you made her leave. It makes no sense.”
“What makes no sense?”
“You bitched her out in front of a bar full of people and told her to fuck off. Why?”
He released an exasperated sigh. “Because I know I’d be mad as hell if that happened to me. Aren’t you fucking pissed that bitch was sitting at your table, whispering shit about you? You think I’d let her sit there and say shit to me about you?”
“Why would you care? I thought you hated me,” Sadie countered. She was confused as to why he’d stick up for her.
He turned his chair completely around to face her. “I don’t hate you. I don’t even really know you, Sadie. Maybe that’ll change, maybe it won’t, but that really don’t matter. As long as Stone wants you then I’ll do anything to help you or back you up, for Stone. He’s my brother; I’d do anything for him. If you are who he wants then that makes you mine too.” He snickered as her eyebrows shot up. “Relax, Sadie. Stone doesn’t share. I just mean what’s important to him is important to me. And that’s you.”
Her eyes widened, she was blown away. He just told her that she was important to Stone. Her! She pondered this for a few seconds before she realized everything else he said. It all started to make sense now. The giggles overtook Sadie. “So, basically what you’re saying is because Stone likes me, you like me. And whoever I hate, you’ll hate too?”
“Yeah.”
She burst out laughing, she didn’t even try to control it. “That’s very first grader of you.”
He rolled his eyes. “Are we done?”
Still laughing, Sadie nodded. He shook his head and muttered something about never getting tied down to crazy bitches, which made her laugh even harder.
*
“This is the best night everrrrrrr!”
Stone heard Roxanne shout over the loud music blasting through the bar speakers.
He watched Sadie on the dance floor. There were about twenty people on the too small space. Mostly woman but a few guys were out there. He never let her out of his sight. Any guy who got too close would quickly get acquainted with him. Luckily for them, they stayed away. He did see the male appreciation of Sadie as a few guys passed by her. He couldn’t fault them, she was beautiful. It still pissed him off and didn’t stop him from glaring at them.
“Are we kicking someone’s ass tonight?” Bogs teased and nodded his head to a guy sitting at the bar staring at her.
“I got other plans for tonight,” Stone said.
Stone looked out on the floor again. He smirked at the sight of Sadie and Roxanne. They were both so drunk he didn’t think their moves could be considered dancing. But they were having a blast. All the guys refused to dance. He didn’t dance ever. It wasn’t his thing but watching Sadie out there, shaking her ass, he might have to reconsider. The
other two girls had joined Sadie and Roxanne. He couldn’t remember their names and didn’t care anyway. When they had all come back for drinks he heard them, insisting that they always liked Sadie and Brandi was a bitch. Sadie kept quiet but he could tell by her face she wasn’t buying it. His girl was smart, she knew better.
“I’m outta here.” Stone said.
“Yeah, all this loud pumping is irritating the piss out of me. How do they even listen to this shit?” T complained. He got up from the table and stretched his arms.
Bogs laughed. “Old man.”
T glared at Bogs and gave him the finger.
When the music changed over, Sadie strutted back to the table with the others. Stone got up and threw a few twenties on the table. It was time to get out of here and back to his place with Sadie. He was done sharing her with Roxanne, tonight she was all his. As the girls got closer to the table he noticed a small pout on her face. She looked bummed they were leaving. He caught her eye and winked. She blushed. The night for them was far from over.
Roxanne seemed to be a little less understanding of the party being over.
“Please, T, one more drink. C’mon, it’s my twenty-first friggin’ birthday,” she whined.
“Rox, it’s two o’clock in the morning, they did last call an hour ago. Sweetheart, they want us out. Now, let’s go. Get your stuff and let’s get out of here,” he patiently reasoned.
Roxanne frowned like a child but gathered her bag. His cell beeped with an incoming text. He walked a few feet away and read the text.
We’re close.
To anyone else reading it, it would have sounded cryptic but to Stone it said everything he’d been waiting to her. This would be over soon.
Stone was texting back when he felt a hand on his arm. He expected to see Sadie but instead, it was one of those girls from their table.
“Hey!” She purred.
“What do ya want?” Stone’s tone was firm, his eyes focused back on his cell.
She moved in closer. “So, Jen and I wanted to know if you want to party with us back at our place.”
