I walked inside the door she was holding open and smiled at her tiredly. “You mind if I take a seat for a minute?”
“Sure, go ahead.” Amber gestured toward a place in the corner of the room.
“You have any tables?” I asked, hoping beyond hope that she did.
I’d seen Trick getting closer to me since I’d slowed to a walk, and there was no doubt in my mind that he was taking Ignacia here.
“No.” Amber looked sad.
I groaned when she told me that there were no tables available.
“Dang it,” I grumbled.
“I’m sorry, Swayze.” The hostess, Amber, smiled at me apologetically. “If I could give you someone else’s table, I would.”
I knew she would. Amber was sweet like that.
The door behind me opened, and I knew that Trick had finally arrived.
I limped toward the spot where Amber had gestured, but stopped when I saw a familiar figure in the dining room.
Grinning like a fool when I saw the man sitting there by himself, I walked up toward him and plopped down at his table.
“Hey, Bruno.” I smiled.
Bruno’s eyes lifted from the menu he was perusing, and he grunted. “What’s up?”
“Do you mind if I sit with you for a minute?” I pleaded. “I think my foot is going to fall off.”
His eyes raised to meet mine. “Is that right?”
His gaze flickered toward the front where Trick was now being led to the table.
Directly next to us.
Son of a bitch.
“Yep,” I squeaked. “That’s right.”
CHAPTER 10
Yeah, breakups suck. But have you ever left the restaurant without your to-go box?
-Swayze to Trick
TRICK
I wasn’t sure why I was standing outside waiting for my date. A date that I hadn’t even wanted to go on.
However, my dick needed something more than my hand, and since I had vowed that I wouldn’t be touching a certain curly-haired blonde across the street, someone else would have to do.
Which was where Ignacia came in.
After her ‘welcome to town’ spiel, I’d seen Ignacia a second time at a grocery store of all places. She’d been squeezing the melons right next to me when she’d caused a stack of them to fall down onto the ground.
I’d helped her pick them up, and I’d grinned because for the first time since I’d arrived in this backwater town, a person didn’t look at me like they were scared.
Whether it was because she didn’t know me, or because she did and didn’t care, I wasn’t quite sure. But when she’d offered to ‘show me around town’ I’d taken her up on the offer. Because beneath her ‘show me the town’ she’d also had a ‘I’d like to show you my bed, too, when we’re done’ kind of vibe going on. And I needed some.
It’d been quite a long fucking time, and it was getting to the point now where I didn’t know if I would even be able to perform.
Though, the way that my dick got hard at the sight of Swayze, I didn’t think that I’d have a problem.
“How long do you plan on staying here?” Ignacia asked as she glanced around the old shop windows of downtown.
“Permanently,” I answered. “This side of town isn’t great just yet, but it’s getting there. The three buildings in the block that my bar is on are completely remodeled per Souls Chapel city code. It’s only a matter of time before…”
My voice trailed off as a figure darted out from the alleyway three up from us but across the street.
I narrowed my eyes at the runner and felt things inside of me start to heat and stiffen.
“Ugh,” Ignacia grumbled. “She would be wearing that. She’s so desperate.”
I looked away from Swayze long enough to make sure that she was seeing what I was seeing, then glanced back at Swayze.
“Pardon me?” I said, my mouth practically watering.
Jesus, she was beautiful.
I couldn’t stop myself from staring at her.
Tonight, Swayze’s long hair was up in a high ponytail at the top of her head. Each step she took caused the ringlets to bounce and sway.
The little band of color around her head kept the fly-away hairs from sticking to her face.
That band of red matched the red tennis shoes she had on her feet.
But it wasn’t the rest that my eyes were attracted to.
It was the tight black shorts that showed off her shapely ass, and the tight black tank top that molded to her skin and showed off everything that the shorts didn’t.
Each step she took caused a ripple of muscle and fat to jiggle her ass, and I nearly moaned.
God, I wanted to be up close and personal to that. Preferably when I was fucking her from behind…
“Can’t stand her,” Ignacia grumbled.
I frowned and watched as Swayze turned and crossed the road to our side, making it much easier to see her.
God, I could see the outline of her thong underneath of her shorts.
“Why?” I found myself asking but not looking away.
“When she first moved her business here, I was on the ‘welcome committee,’” Ignacia explained. “I’d come over to her office and introduced myself, given her a welcome basket full of goodies, and she acted like such a bitch. I swear, it was like I was shitting in her front office and not giving her a basket of baked goods.”
That didn’t sound like something Swayze would do.
Sure, she was abrupt at times, but I had a feeling that she wouldn’t be downright rude unless the person had deserved it.
“And since we’re both on the board for the city, she purposefully opposes everything that I promote,” Ignacia continued.
Ahead of me, Swayze came to a sudden halt, and she leaned over and gathered her breath for a few seconds before she continued to walk forward.
The way she walked, though, signaled that she was hurting. I could tell by the way that she was trying not to put pressure on her left foot that the keg had fallen on two days ago, that it was likely still bothering her.
“And she plays the pity party so well,” Ignacia grumbled. “I mean, how is it that she can have every man in a two-mile radius now looking at her because she’s limping?”
It was then that I realized that in my focus on the woman in front of me, I’d momentarily forgotten to pay attention to my surroundings.
Ignacia was correct, too.
Swayze’s limping had caught quite a few people’s attention. But not just male attention. Female as well.
Up ahead, the woman holding the door to the restaurant that I’d called to make reservations at for Ignacia and me, was staring at Swayze.
Another couple had been heading to their car when the woman called out a greeting to Swayze.
“I swear,” Ignacia grumbled. “It’s like that limp of hers makes her automatically better to talk to. To discuss things with. To look at. It’s so fucking annoying.”
What it sounded like to me was that Ignacia was making shit up because she didn’t like her.
Swayze passed through the door of the restaurant, and Ignacia sighed. “And, of course, she would be going to the same place we are. How can she even wear that in there? The place is fairly formal.”
I fucking hoped not. I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt.
Granted, Ignacia was much more dressed up than I was, and generally people didn’t care what men were wearing compared to women, but I still wasn’t even dressed for ‘nice.’
My jeans had a beer stain on them from earlier when I was replacing keg lines.
I’d intended to change them, but Ignacia had gotten there early, and I’d forgotten.
“Guess that maybe we should find somewhere else to eat,” I suggested. “Because I’m not all that dressed up.”
Ignacia looked at me with horror on her face. “I wasn’t talking about you.”
I gestured toward my clothes. “I’m not dressed up. You said it was pretty formal… I didn’t k
now that.”
She waved away my concern. “No, no. You’re dressed just fine.”
Frowning, I caught the door to the restaurant and held it open for Ignacia, who offered me a large smile as she passed by me.
I felt a rock settle in my gut upon seeing it, and knew instantly that this was a mistake.
I should’ve followed my gut and stayed away from her.
I also should’ve just pulled my head out of my ass when it came to Swayze.
But apparently, I was incapable of making decisions when it came to her that would benefit me.
Trying to keep my attention off of Swayze and her tight as fuck shorts, I looked down at my hands as Ignacia announced our arrival.
“Oh, great.” The hostess who’d greeted Swayze with such excitement dulled her tone upon seeing Ignacia. “Right this way.”
I looked up in time to see the hostess leading us to our table. Right next to where Swayze had taken her seat. With Bruno.
A man that also worked with me and was in the same motorcycle club as me.
Son. Of. A. Bitch.
I gritted my teeth and took the seat that was next to Bruno and offered him my hand.
Bruno took it.
“Patrick,” Bruno grumbled. “How’s it going?”
“Good,” I lied. “How about you?”
Bruno turned his eyes to Swayze and a grin lit his mouth. “Can’t complain anymore.”
Swayze snorted and settled herself into her chair, smiling over at Ignacia. “Hello, Ignacia. How are you?”
Ignacia curled her lip at her. “Been better. You?”
Swayze shrugged. “Same.”
Bruno’s eyes met mine with a lifted brow as if to ask, ‘What the fuck was that?’
I shrugged.
I knew that Ignacia hadn’t given me the full story. I also knew that Swayze was likely a nice person. I just couldn’t see her as being a bitch.
Not to anyone but me, that was.
Which meant that Ignacia wasn’t telling me the entire truth, and whatever she’d done to Swayze to cause the animosity had likely been her fault.
Yeah, I was seriously regretting the invitation I’d extended toward her, that was for sure.
I didn’t like two-faced people, and Ignacia was starting to really make me think that she was one of them.
Gritting my teeth, I resigned myself to a shitty evening, and leaned back in my chair, pissed off that Bruno was sitting with the person that I really wanted to sit with.
The person that was trouble.
The person that I couldn’t stop thinking about.
“What are you getting?” Ignacia asked.
“Beer,” I murmured distractedly. “You?”
“Oh, I was trying to decide between…” She started to spout off what she was thinking about getting, but I tuned her out as I looked over at Swayze again.
The waitress smiled when she came up to our sides, stopping way closer to me than I would’ve liked.
“What can I get y’all to drink?” she asked, her eyes on me.
They flicked toward the man behind me, and I saw her eyes widen.
She looked at me, then at the tattoos on my forearm and hands, then glanced quickly at my cut.
She took a hasty step back.
I sighed. The thing was, I would’ve never, not ever, thought about harming the woman. But the way she was acting, she fully expected me to blow up at any second, lighting her world on fire.
“Everyone’s scared of us,” Bruno muttered. “Welcome to life.”
“I’ll have a glass of red wine,” Ignacia said. “He’ll have a…”
I rolled my eyes and said, “Beer. Dark. Whatever you have on tap. I’d also like to place an order for cheese sticks, marinara sauce, and garlic knots.”
The waitress hastily wrote that down and started to back away, but I held up my finger. “She wants to order, too.”
The waitress looked over at Swayze and looked like she took a deep breath, finding comfort in talking to someone that wasn’t a felon.
“I’ll have the same thing as him, plus a Dr. Pepper,” she ordered.
My brows rose.
“You’re gonna eat all that by yourself?” Bruno asked, taking a drink of his beer.
She shrugged. “I’m hungry.”
Ignacia snorted. “It’ll go straight to your ass.”
Swayze turned narrowed eyes onto Ignacia. “I’m sorry, but is having an ass a bad thing?”
No. No, it sure the fuck wasn’t.
“I dunno,” Bruno grunted out. “I guess it depends on what kind of ass you have. I mean, I like mine big, but not wid…”
“Don’t you fucking dare.” Swayze narrowed her eyes. “I will shove my fist down your throat.”
So, they were or were not friends?
I couldn’t tell.
Then again, when it came to Bruno, I wasn’t sure that anyone could be ‘friends’ with the man. He was too… distant.
He didn’t like people. I hadn’t even seen him with a woman that he hadn’t offended in some way—just like he was about to do with Swayze—immediately upon meeting them.
When I’d first met Bruno, he’d said all of two words to me.
When he’d helped me get my shit from storage and move into the apartment above the bar, he hadn’t even allowed me to buy him lunch. He’d helped me move, then immediately left.
Even now, a few months after getting out and being around Bruno, I wasn’t sure that I knew him any better.
I also wasn’t sure that I liked the fact that he hadn’t protested in the least about Swayze joining him for dinner.
“…know what you’re eating?” Bruno asked. “Because I have to leave in about twenty minutes.”
“I think that I’m going to get a steak, baked potato, and smothered fried green beans,” she answered.
That actually sounded pretty fucking good.
I decided that I would have the same thing.
Putting up my menu, I looked across the table at Ignacia.
She was frowning hard at the menu.
“Something wrong?” I asked curiously.
“There’s no ‘light’ menu. There’s only fried chicken salads, which might I add, you might as well be eating full fat at that point,” Ignacia commented. “I mean, it’s not like I really dislike fried chicken or anything…”
“I can go ask,” the waitress offered.
“How about you just ask if they’ll give you the salad and then order a small steak to have with it?” I asked. “Put the fried chicken on the side.”
“Steak’s pretty high in fat as well…” Ignacia started.
Swayze sighed. “Just order the damn steak, Ignacia.”
Ignacia offered Swayze a glare. “How about you stay at your table with your date, and I’ll stay at mine?”
The waitress squeaked and left after that.
I looked over at the man at my side.
“She wasn’t scared of me until she saw you,” I grumbled over the small gap that separated our two tables. “Do you know how hard it is to walk into a grocery store and not roll my eyes? Seriously, I was…” I trailed off when I realized what I was about to say.
I was in the military. I signed up to protect people like her.
I looked guiltily at Swayze, hoping that I didn’t make her feel bad, but one look at her closed off face and I knew that my words had struck home.
“Sorry,” I grumbled.
She sighed. “I sent you to prison for twelve years, Patrick. I realize that I did that. Nobody but me. So yes, you’re allowed to be upset that you went from a flourishing military career to felon.”
“Technically,” Bruno pointed out, “he was getting out of the military. He wasn’t exactly ‘decorated’ after four years in.”
“He has a point,” I agreed.
Swayze glanced at Bruno, then back down at her menu that the waitress didn’t take.
“Do you think that it’d take them forever and ever to get dess
ert cooked? Should I order it now or…” Ignacia’s voice was grating on my nerves.
I tuned her out again because Swayze bent over and removed her shoe.
“I’m gonna run to the bathroom.” Ignacia stood up. “If the waitress comes back, tell her I’d like vinaigrette dressing. I forgot to add that.”
I ignored her.
Even if the waitress did come by, the only thing I’d remember to tell her was that I would need extra marinara for my garlic knots.
The moment Ignacia was out of sight, I was once again staring fully at Swayze.
I couldn’t stop the concern that was filtering through me at the sight of her pulling her shoe off with a grimace.
With Ignacia out of the picture for a few minutes, I got up and walked around the table where Swayze sat, looking down at her foot. I hunkered down only a few inches away from her and stared at her foot.
“That looks bad,” I admitted. “You should probably be taking a few days off of that.”
Bruno stood from his chair and leaned over the table to get a better look. “Agreed. That looks like you broke it.”
“Not broken,” she admitted. “I wouldn’t be able to walk on it if it were broken.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I had a broken femur when I was twelve and played the rest of my soccer game on it. I’m pretty sure that you can endure pain and ignore broken bones if you want to. But yeah, I would go get that checked out for sure.”
She sighed. “I’ll get it checked out in a few days if it’s still bothering me.”
She started to slip her sock back on, but when she went for her shoe, I stopped her. “Leave it off.”
When she would’ve still put it on, I pulled it from her hand and went back to my seat just as Ignacia was rounding the bend and making her way toward us.
“Did you know that you both have a fork tattoo?” Bruno asked, eyeing Swayze’s bare leg.
I grimaced.
Yeah, I’d noticed that, too.
“Really?” Swayze asked curiously.
“Really what?” Ignacia grumbled as she retook her seat.
“Swayze and Trick both have a fork tattoo.” Bruno paused. “On their legs. Thighs to be specific.”
Ignacia turned to look at me, her eyes soft for a moment.
“I know what Swayze’s is for. It’s obvious she likes her food. But why do you have a fork tattoo?” my date asked sweetly.
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