Under My Skin (Shady Falls Series Book 2)

by Shelly Davis

  Because I didn’t tell her.

  Pulling out of Grant’s arms and pushing through the crowd, I moved back to my table, grabbed my sweater and Jen’s keys. I was leaving. I didn’t care. All I could see was her all over him and I couldn’t take it. Bile rose in my throat again. I was gonna puke.

  “Mia, where’re you going?” Grant came up behind me. He took my arm and yanked me around. My head spun with the quick movement and I yanked my arm away from him and turned to leave.

  “I don’t feel well, Grant. I need to go home.”

  “You want me to take you?” He suddenly softened just a bit. He had his kind moments, but the lies and fakeness outweighed his random flashes of kindness.

  “Would you mind?” I held the keys out to him. “Can you take these to Jen and let her know you’re takin’ me home? I’m gonna go stand by the door and wait. I need fresh air.”

  He rolled his eyes like he was annoyed that I asked him to do something for me. But he agreed without complaining outright. “Sure, I’ll be right back.”

  I didn’t stay to watch his interaction with Jen and Jake. My attention was only on the door and getting the hell outta there before I either ripped her eyes out or I puked and cried in the middle of the damn dance floor. That would certainly get Jake’s attention. Ugh! Why couldn’t I just either talk to him or get over him?

  When Grant came back over to me, he seemed a little too happy to be leaving. His smile promised things I had no interest in exploring. Did he honestly think something was going to happen if I was ill? He couldn’t possibly be this stupid and horny.

  I stole one last glance across the dance floor and what I saw made my heart jump and set my stomach aflutter. Jake stood near Jen, but he was no longer touching or paying attention to the buxom woman. Instead his arms were crossed in front of his chest. His muscles bulged under his sleeves, his hands were clenched, and his eyes were locked on me. For a moment, it was like distance and time were gone and there was nothing between us. It seemed I could almost feel him in spite of the plethora of people and space spanning the distance. I wished he was the one taking me home, instead I felt Grant’s icy hand land on the bare portion of my back as he aggressively pushed me out the door.

  The ride home was quiet. I kept my head in my hands the entire time, feigning a headache, but also trying to hide the tears threatening to fall. Damn, actually seeing Jake with another woman was like a stab to the chest. The pain I felt was almost real.

  “Can I come in?” Grant asked when he pulled behind Bobby’s bar. He couldn’t be serious.

  “I’m sorry, Grant. I think I’m comin’ down with somethin’. I feel sick. Next time?”

  A deep grumble sounded through the silent car. “Whatever,” he growled, annoyance evident in his voice. Like taking me home deserved more than a goodnight. He didn’t say anything for a moment; he just sat there, showing polite indifference. But just under the surface I knew he was pissed, I could see it. I wondered what it would take for him to actually let his anger go. Could he be dangerous? “Feel better. I’ll call you,” he said from the driver’s seat. He didn’t move to get out of the car, nor did he even look like he was even contemplating walking me to the door.

  Once out of the car, he peeled out of the driveway, kicking up gravel, dirt, and dust on his way through the lot. I actually had to duck away from the airborne debris. He was gone before I even opened the door.

  Chapter Nine

  Jake

  “Jen, I’m taking Mia home. She said she isn’t feeling well,” the short, pudgy dude said when he approached me and the hot as hell redhead with whom I was dancing. He handed her a set of keys and a phone.

  I hardened my face and glared down at the asshole. I knew he was the same drunk sonofabitch that I pulled Mia away from just weeks ago. Why the hell was she still with this prick? He felt her up on a dance floor, he flirted with anything with two legs and breasts. I didn’t understand her at all.

  My eyes scanned the room, looking for the face that haunted my dreams to be standing nearby, but I didn’t see her. I hadn’t realized she was there. Usually if she’s in a room I almost always spotted her, but I didn’t look for her tonight, of course the redhead did occupy my attention for a little while. My gaze drifted toward the door on the other side of the room and glimpsed an unruly mane of long golden brown curls on one of the most perfect little bodies I’d ever seen.

  “Is she okay?” the redhead asked, jarring me out of my thoughts. Jen … I might actually remember this one’s name, but it was only because she was Mia’s friend. I had no intention of going home with her before, but now I wasn’t sure I even wanted to dance with her.

  “I don’t know. We’d just started to dance and she just stopped. She said she was sick.”

  The asshole looked up into my face, eyeing me with a warning look. He straightened his back, attempting to make himself taller than his much smaller stature. Dude would need fuckin’ stilts. I snickered to myself. He might know this chick and he might have something going with Mia, but I was a damn good judge of character. This guy was an arrogant prick. Judging by the expensive suit, the watch on his wrist, and his posture, he was also a greedy fucker. He probably used money to get whatever he wanted. This asshole thought he was better than people, better than me. Hell, he probably thought he was better than Mia. Was this what Mia wanted? Money? She was never materialistic. But maybe she’d changed.

  I met his eyes and glared. Sliding my hands from the redhead, I crossed my arms across my chest. My muscles bulged under the tight cotton of my sleeves. I worked out because it was my job. I had to look the way I did to set an example, especially if I expected others to follow the exercise plans I prepared for them. Of course my physique worked well for me. It got me my conquests and it put assholes in their place. This cocksucker could think what he wanted about me, but he sure as hell would know he wasn’t shit as far as I was concerned.

  Jen took the keys, her voice turning concerned. “Okay, tell her I’ll call her tomorrow morning. Will you be there?”

  My fists clenched and my biceps bulged with the restraint it took to stand still. The thought of Mia spending the night with this arrogant douche irritated the shit out of me. How could she be attracted to such a pompous dick-wad?

  I snickered to myself. How many shitty names could I come up with for this cocksucker?

  “I don’t know. I’ll probably head back to Charlotte tonight. It’ll depend on her.”

  Jen nodded. “Tell her I said to feel better.”

  The short stub of a man looked at me once again, eyeing me like he had something to say or prove. Maybe he recognized me from that night. He was drunk off his ass, but he might remember. Maybe he recognized me from the gym, but he was usually too busy trying to get in someone’s pants.

  What I did know for sure was that he was one of those guys with a little man complex, I could just tell. I never understood why some smaller dudes acted like dicks with something to prove. He gave me one more warning stare before he walked away. The little dude was swallowed up by the mass of people who now clogged the dance floor.

  He reappeared next to Mia by the door. The fuckwad placed his hand on the bare portion of Mia’s back and guided her toward the door. Jaw tightened and teeth grinding, I fisted my hands tighter. She glanced back toward us, making eye contact with me for just a moment before disappearing into the night. She looked sad and defeated. The cocksucker better not have done anything to hurt her, or he’d regret being alive.

  “Sorry,” the redhead said. “I made my friend come out with me and called Grant to meet us so she wouldn’t be alone. If it were up to her, she would’ve stayed home by herself tonight.” She paused and smiled. “But enough about other people.” She turned and planted her ripe, plump ass right back into my groin. “I want to dance.” Leaning with her back pressed against my chest, she looked up at me. “Maybe more?” she asked, grinning.

  I found it curious that Mia preferred to stay home alone instead
of going out, and I was relieved to know she hadn’t called that scrotum-sucker. Maybe she didn’t want to be there with him. But why the hell would someone who’s supposed to be her friend try to hook her up with such an asshole?

  “Jake,” the redhead whined my name like she’d said it several times and I hadn’t responded. Maybe she had. But the sound her voice made when she whined made me cringe.

  I steeled myself before turning slowly. Mouth quirked into a smirk, I waited expectantly for her to continue with whatever she was trying to say. She didn’t need to know where my mind wandered. It was best if she thought I was ignoring her.

  “Well? What do you think? Night cap at my place?” She smiled winsomely, brushing her hand across my stomach.

  “Not tonight, babe.” I wouldn’t have gone home with her anyway, but I definitely wasn’t about to go home with someone Mia knew. I could do some pretty fucked up things, but screwing around with Mia’s friend wasn’t an option. Maybe this chick didn’t know Mia and I knew each other or our history. Or maybe this chick just didn’t give a shit about screwing around with guys her pals had been with. Either way, I wasn’t going there with her, no matter how hot she was.

  Standing in the middle of the now bustling dance floor, she stopped moving. Her body slumped a little and looked at me in disbelief. Her heart-shaped mouth hung open and eyes wide, she stood stoic as if waiting for me to say something more or change my mind. When words finally found her, they were full of the shock and a budding anger beginning to replace the sadness. “You have got to be kidding, right? Are you seriously turning me down?” She said the words like she had never been told no before, like she’d never been turned down. She was hot as hell, but so were a majority of the women in this place. Being turned down shouldn’t be such a shock.

  “Yeah, babe. Got shit to do in the mornin’. It’s an early night for me.”

  Standing there she gaped. “You have shit to do? That’s your excuse? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “Nope. I’m outta here. See ya around, babe.”

  “Fuck you, Jake. This is unfuckingbelievable.”

  Lip quivering, water began to collect at the rims of her eyes. I couldn’t believe this chick was getting so upset about being turned down. What the hell was it with her? I didn’t want to see the woman cry. Trying to be a gentleman, something I’d never claim to be, I decided to see if I could calm her down. “Look, I’m sorry. You want me to walk you to your car?”

  Nodding, a lone tear escaped her eye. She wiped it away quickly, as if she was trying to hide it.

  Once outside, we walked across the crowded parking lot to a little Fiat sitting near the entrance. She turned and looked at me once her doors were unlocked. Her eyes were still red, but it looked like the tears had dried up. “You sure you don’t want to change your mind?” she asked, pushing out her enormously large tits. I guessed some men could be manipulated by a woman’s body, but I wasn’t one of them.

  “No, babe, I’m not changin’ my mind. Look, I didn’t know you knew Mia. I ain’t messin’ around with one of Mia’s friends. I ain’t like that.” I pulled the door open for her. “Maybe I’ll see ya around sometime.”

  “This is about Mia? Why the hell would you care if I know her? It’s not like you’re fuckin’ her. Whatever you did with her was forever ago.”

  So this chick did know Mia and I knew each other, and she knew a whole hell of a lot more than I even gave credit. That made me feel two very strange things, curiosity along with annoyance. Why would this chick knowingly come on to me if she knew I had a past with her friend? Was it the reason Mia suddenly needed to leave? If it was, could there be a shred of feeling still inside of Mia?

  I was also pissed that Mia was tellin’ this chick about shit that didn’t pertain to her. I knew what I felt every single time I was near Mia. Those feelings never went away, no matter how many chicks I was with and how hard I tried to push her outta my head.

  “It’s not about Mia, it’s about me not gettin’ between friends. It don’t matter that I’m not fuckin’ Mia. We have a history, which you obviously know. We are around each other all the time. I ain’t gonna do anything to make things more uncomfortable than they have to be.”

  She smoothed her fingers over my chest once more. “No one has to know, Jake.”

  I shook my head. Now she wanted to keep shit a secret? Was she actually this desperate to get fucked and left? This chick had some serious issues. I was all for confidence and chicks knowing what they wanted and how to get it, but keeping secrets and acting desperate was a level of messed up I wasn’t willing to deal with. She could probably go back inside and have any prick she set her sights on. Why was she hell bent on being with me? Instead of asking, I just looked at her. Whatever issues she had were none of my business. “See ya around, babe.”

  “Jake!” she shouted. Ignoring her, I continued through the parking lot toward my Jeep. I didn’t turn or even acknowledge I heard her call. She wasn’t the kind of woman I usually spent time with anyway, she was too aggressive and too demanding for my liking.

  Twenty minutes later I found myself outside Bobby’s bar. I’d just gotten into my Jeep and drove. It wasn’t until I was outside his bar that I knew where I wanted to be. A place I could chill. No loud dance music accosting my ears, no half-dressed women showing everything they had in order to get guys’ attention. Just the same old regulars, sitting around, havin’ a beer, bullshittin’, and relaxin’. It was my idea of the perfect place.

  I walked in to find more than the usual crowd but nothing unusual for a weekend. Bobby was bartending alongside Emma, his regular weekend bartender. Emma was cute, she had short brown hair and big brown doe eyes. She was short in stature but had a big personality which everyone loved. Especially her very large and overprotective husband, Derek, who always sat at the end of the bar while she worked. He was big, almost as large as my brother Cade, but he was a good guy who only wanted to make sure his wife got home okay.

  Toni’s Uncle Bobby was a big man, at six feet six inches tall, not many were bigger. He had a broad, muscular frame, a shaved head and a goatee. He looked intimidating to most, but he had a friendly smile and welcoming personality.

  Walking past Derek, I nodded my acknowledgment before moving to the other side of the bar. George Thorogood’s One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer filled the air as I planted myself on a stool near the other end of the bar and waited for Emma to bring me a beer.

  Everything about this place said home to me. So much of it reminded me of the restaurant my parents owned in Shady Falls. It had a warm, inviting atmosphere and the customers all knew enough about each other to hold real conversations. The waitresses and bartenders were all friendly and made an effort to get to know their regulars. They knew enough about the people they waited on to make them feel special. It might just be a ploy for more tips, but it made people happy.

  I was so caught up in the music and relaxing I hadn’t noticed Emma place a beer in front of me. “How’s it goin’ Jake?”

  “Good, Em. What’s goin’ on?”

  “Nothin’. Hey, I was wonderin’, what does a membership cost at your gym? Derek’s been lookin’ to join.”

  “Tell you what, send him down and I’ll make sure I get him a good price on a yearly membership.”

  “Thanks Jake,” she smiled and winked. When I tried to hand her money, she said, “This one’s on me.”

  “Thanks, Em. Send him down tomorrow.”

  Smiling, she hurried to the other end of the bar, no doubt passing the information on to Derek. His gruff expression immediately morphed the moment she stood in front of him. His eyes instantly lost the hard edge they usually held, his expression softened and a huge smile came across his face. The entire time she talked, his eyes never once strayed from her face. Anyone could see how much he loved his wife. Derek didn’t look up until Em turned and smiled. He nodded his appreciation and immediately went back to talking to Em. A great couple, they had the kind of relati
onship my mother and father had; I wanted what they had. Maybe someday.

  The music morphed to Van Morrison’s Brown Eyed Girl as a familiar voice sounded at the end of the bar. “I need two Yuenglings and a Coors,” Mia shouted over the music so Uncle Bobby could hear. My brown eyed girl.

  “You got it. You’ve been a lifesaver, Mia. After your tables cash out, you’re done. You hear,” Bobby demanded as he placed the bottles on Mia’s tray. Her smile lit her face as she nodded toward the older man.

  From afar I could appreciate the way Mia slid across the floor as if she was on air. From my place at the bar, I was able to watch her glide around and serve her tables. She hadn’t noticed me, allowing me the time to appreciate her body and movements. Her elegance and beauty were unlike any other woman I’d ever known.

  Friendly and welcoming, she wasn’t flirtatious. She served her customers while laughing and joking with them. When her customers got up to leave, she returned to the bar, and waved Bobby over. I liked knowing she hadn’t noticed my presence yet. It let me look at her and take in all that was Mia.

  “Bobby, are you sure you don’t need me anymore?” Mia asked as she pulled off her apron. She no longer looked sick, she just looked … beautiful. Her russet skin glowed in the dim light of the bar. Her brown eyes sparkled, her smile lit her beautiful face as she sang the last lines of Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire.