One Wild Night

by Vivian Ward

  The bar was having a pretty busy night, and as soon as I walked in, most of the patron’s heads swung in my direction. I had heard a lot of whispers and saw lots of widening eyes before everyone looked away, not wanting to anger me I suppose.

  That was something I felt like I was going to have to get used to. Not only did I get in trouble for seriously injuring a man but I was a pretty intimidating character.

  I’ve always been large. People have always told me that I should have been a professional wrestler. People were intimidated, but I wasn’t there to cause trouble. I spotted an empty barstool and made my way over, being careful not to make eye contact with anyone.

  I sat my bag down and enjoyed the heat inside the building. I sat down on the stool, my feet still touching the floor and was able to relax for the first time all day.

  “What are you having?” the bartender asked.

  “A shot of Jack, a beer and the biggest burger you’ve got back there.”

  “Sure thing. Coming right up.”

  While I waited, I stared at the counter, looking at the lines in the wood and thought about all the stories it would tell if it could talk.

  I rested my face in my hand and anticipated my food making its way to me. I’m sure I looked as though I was deep in thought. In reality, I was thinking about absolutely nothing, other than how good the food was going to taste.

  As soon as the bartender sat my food in front of me, I felt like I was in heaven. I downed the double cheeseburger in a matter of minutes but still managed to savor every damn bite. I hadn’t had a good burger in years. Yeah, they served burgers for lunch in the prison every once in a while, but I’m not sure those round bricks were even made with real meat.

  The burger did a good job at satisfying my hunger and the shot of Jack that I chased it down with hit the spot. After that, I sat around and nursed my beer. I would have loved to order more shots, but I had to be smart with the little bit of money I had. It was going to have to last until I had paychecks coming in.

  About twenty minutes later, I felt a hard slap on my back. It was the kind of hit that would make anyone jump out of their seat to see who was about to start shit. I almost did that very thing but composed myself before turning my head to find out who did it.

  Instead of some asshole trying to start a problem, I saw my best friend Curtis standing there with a big smile on his face and his arms open for a hug.

  “Nick, you big son of a bitch!” he yelled loudly. “Get your ass over here.”

  I stood up, forgetting how much I towered over the top of him, leaned down and scooped him up, putting him in a bear hug.

  “Oh shit!” he groaned as I playfully squeezed the air out of him. “Put me down you beast.”

  I sat him down and shook his hand.

  “How’s things been going brother?” I asked.

  “I don’t have a thing to complain about,” he said as I downed the rest of my beer. “You ready to get out of here or are you wanting to hang around for another drink?”

  “Nope, I’m ready to get the fuck out of here. The only thing I need right now is a shower and a bed. I’m hoping you’ve got both of those for me,” I told him, grabbing my bag and throwing it up onto my shoulder.

  “You’re all set. I’ve got the guest room ready for you and it has a private bathroom. Kim’s cool with you staying with us for a while, but she doesn’t have a clue you’ve been in prison. I actually told her that you’re coming down from California so let’s just go with that story. Can you go with that?”

  “That’s fine with me. Hopefully, nobody will see me around town and know my story. Everyone in the damn bar seemed to recognize me when I came in,” I said, following him out the door and into his pick-up truck.

  “This bar is like a world of its own. I don’t think we have anything to worry about.”

  “You’re the boss. I’ll just follow your lead and go along with whatever you say.”

  “The less we say, the better off we’ll be.”

  We drove for about a half-hour and pulled up in front of his house just before 9:00 pm. It was the first time I’d seen it as he’d just bought it a couple years earlier, not long after he got engaged.

  As far as I could see, he didn’t have a neighbor for miles, which was a welcoming sight to me. The further I was from people, the less likely I could get myself in trouble. The way the snow sat on the roof made it look like a house you’d see in a greeting card or something.

  I followed Curtis into the house that he shared with his live-in girlfriend, Kim. I’d never met her either as, again, they met while I was in the joint. I’d actually known Nick since I was a little kid.

  We shared a foster home for a while until the cops raided it and found a meth lab being operated inside. Over the years, we’d always cross paths with each other and made sure to keep in touch.

  He’d even visited me in prison, which of course took place without his girlfriend’s knowledge. As far as she knew, I was just a hard-working guy from California who was coming to Minnesota to work with my old friend.

  When I walked through the front door, I had to duck my head to prevent from cracking my skull on the trim. The house was full of nice plush carpet, so I took my wet boots and socks at the door. My feet were still numb from the long, cold walk to the bar.

  “Follow me and I’ll take you to your room so you can get cleaned up before you meet Kim. I stopped at the store and bought you a few pairs of pants and some shirts. I knew you wouldn’t be fitting what you went in with, and I can see that I’m right.”

  “You didn’t have to do that, man.”

  “It’s fine. I’ll just dock your first paycheck,” he joked.

  He opened a door at the end of the hall, and I made my way inside. The room was small, with a full-size bed, a small dresser, a closet and a television.

  As small as it was, it looked like a presidential suite at a hotel compared to the accommodations I was coming from. I put my bag on the bed and sat down beside it.

  “Nick, I just want to thank you man,” I told him. “You have no clue how much I appreciate you doing this for me. I promise I won’t let you down and if you ever need anything, I’m in debt to you.”

  “No thanks are necessary. We might as well be family. You and I are brothers as far as I’m concerned. I want you to always remember that shit,” he said as I got out of my wet clothes and changed into clothes he had bought me. They were warm and, most importantly, they were dry. “Now if you’re ready, you can come out and meet Kim. I think Shay’s here as well.”

  “Shay? I haven’t heard that name before. Who’s that?”

  “Shay is Kim’s best friend. You didn’t hear this from me but wait until you see her. She’s hot as hell,” he said, smirking the entire time.

  I followed him back down the hall and towards the kitchen. I could hear speech and laughter echoing through that side of the house.

  One of the voices was feminine, while deep and husky. The other voice was soft and comforting.

  When compared to the sounds I was used to in prison, the soft voice had a certain comfort to it that made me smile for some reason.

  When I stepped into the kitchen, I was able to match the voices with the faces. The first woman I saw was a tall, thin woman with blonde hair hanging just past her shoulders.

  She was cute and had a decent figure, but not nearly enough curves for my taste. They didn’t seem to notice that we had entered as they were deep in their conversation.

  The blonde continued laughing, showing me that the husky sounding voice belonged to her.

  My eyes shifted to the other woman in the room, who was listening to the blonde with a smile spread across her face, amused by her friend’s reaction to whatever comment she’d just made.

  This girl was shorter than the blonde and had a creamy, coffee-colored. Her hair was black with brown highlights throughout, and it fell nearly to the middle of her back. She had beautiful straight, white teeth and her lips were plum
p and full.

  My eyes moved down to check out her body, and I loved the fact that even though she had a smaller frame, she had amazing curves. Her snug purple sweater showed off her large breasts while the black jeans she was wearing showed off her ample ass.

  I’ve never been a shy person, but I could feel myself getting nervous around this woman. I felt a little sick to my stomach and could feel a tightening in my chest.

  It had been a long time since I’d been in the company of a woman and this was quite possibly the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. The word beautiful didn’t even do her justice.

  She was, in my opinion, the perfect woman. The sight of her aroused me, and I had to try to think of something else in order to avoid a potentially embarrassing situation.

  I tried not to think too much about her since I had yet to find out which one of the women was Kim. It would suck to find out I was drooling over my buddy’s woman.

  The two woman noticed us standing there and broke away from their conversation before making their way towards us. The blonde led the way as she smiled and held her hand out towards me.

  “Hi there. You must be the Nick I’ve been hearing so much about. I’m Kim. It’s so nice to meet you,” she said, shaking my hand as I sighed.

  Thank God the blonde belongs to him.

  “Hi,” I mumbled, nodding towards her. My throat was suddenly dry, and I couldn’t manage to get out any other words.

  I turned my attention to the dark goddess that was standing next to Kim. She had her lips parted just slightly, and I imagined what it would be like to kiss them.

  Since she was closer, I could see that she had the prettiest chestnut colored eyes.

  I caught her checking me out. I followed her gaze up my chest until we locked eyes. When that happened, she looked away, seemingly embarrassed for some reason. She was either smiling at me or smiling to herself, I couldn’t be sure of which.

  The only thing I knew for sure was that I wanted her in the worst way. In all my life, I’d never come across a woman like her. I’d never wanted anything as much as I wanted her. I didn’t even know her but felt like I needed her.

  I didn’t care what it took or what I had to do, that girl was going to be with me. Going forward, I had a purpose in life. My purpose was her.

  Chapter 2

  Shay

  I’d never met this man in my life and, for some reason, I felt like a school girl standing in the playground in front of her crush.

  “And you are?” he asked in a low, throaty growl. His voice left me feeling some type of way. It had a hypnotizing quality about it. So hypnotizing, in fact, that it took me a bit to even realize he was talking to me.

  “Hi,” I responded, my voice little more than a mumble. “I’m good, umm, I mean Shay. My name’s Shay.”

  Oh no, how stupid did I just sound? This guy asked me my name, and I replied by telling him how I was doing? What in the hell is wrong with me?

  I gave myself a good talking to in my head before looking down at the floor, embarrassed of the blunder I just made.

  I thought for sure that Nick was going to think I was the world’s biggest idiot. When I looked back up, I only hoped that my cheeks weren’t glowing red since I could feel the heat in them.

  When I met his eyes again, he looked as though he was staring straight into my soul. He had dark eyes and a rough, yet attractive face.

  He had some scruff on his face and neck as if he hadn’t shaved for the last week. I didn’t mind that, though. I’ve always been a fan of a little facial hair.

  I also couldn’t help but notice how big this guy was. He was absolutely massive, which was another trait that I always looked for in a man. As far as I was concerned, the bigger he was, the better. Big guys have always made me feel safe and secure but I’d never been around a guy like this one.

  His brown hair was thick and a little longer than I usually liked in my men, but it seemed to work for him. The way it curled just over the top gave him a bit of unexpected boyish cuteness, but this dude was all man.

  Once again, I found my eyes looking up and down his massive body.

  Pull yourself together, Shay. You’re acting like a horndog and you don’t know a thing about this man other than his name.

  I didn’t know what my problem was. I’d been in a few bad relationships in the not so distant past, and the last thing I was looking to do was to get involved in another one.

  At the same time, I couldn’t help being drawn to this guy, which was something I never did. There was just something about Nick. When my eyes returned to his, he was still looking down at me.

  What the hell am I supposed to do now?

  I held my breath to ensure nothing stupid came out. He curled his lip upwards just a little before looking away.

  Okay, what was that look about? Was that a smile? Was he grinning at how stupid I was acting? Nice, Shay. Real nice.

  I looked over to Kim, hoping she could give me a little bit of backup, but she was just smiling a knowing smile in my direction.

  The wink that followed told me that she could tell exactly what I was thinking. She knew that I was feeling like an idiot. She’s also seen some of the guys I’ve dated so it wouldn’t be hard for her to tell that I thought Nick was attractive as hell.

  She could tell, and she thought it was hilarious. If she weren't my best friend, I would hate that woman.

  My heart was beating so fast that I could literally hear my pulse echoing in my ears. It was so loud that I had no clue what Curtis and Kim were saying to one another. I was relieved when Nick and Curtis left the room.

  “Okay, what was that all about?” Kim whispered, trying as hard as she could not to bust out laughing.

  “What do you mean?” I replied, hoping she wouldn’t realize I was just playing dumb.

  “Don’t give me that,” she retorted, knowing me far too well to fall for my shit. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

  “I have no clue what you’re talking about,” I insisted as I grabbed my purse from the kitchen table and grabbed my coat off the hook. “What I do know is that those roads look like they’re getting bad quickly so I need to head home.”

  “Uh-huh, I see,” Kim said, still smirking at me in a way that told me she knew what was going on in my head.

  “You stop that right now,” I demanded as I walked towards the door. We still on for tomorrow?”

  “As long as the streets get plowed. Drive safe and call me when you get home.”

  “I will. Bye.”

  “Bye.”

  I walked out the front door and into the cold night. It was much colder than when I initially arrived, and it took me a little by surprise. The snow was falling as far as the eye could see, covering everything in white, fluffy beauty. I took in a deep breath and let the crisp air fill my lungs. It was refreshing.

  I’ve always loved the cold. When you ask most people what their favorite season is, most of them will say summer or spring. Not me, though. Winter is my season.

  I wished I could live out in the country like Kim and Curtis. It’s always so peaceful at their place. Not at all like the little apartment I used to live in. As an assistant manager at the gas station I worked at, I didn’t make enough to live in a place like Kim had. It would happen one day.

  I just had to be patient as I worked my way up the chain to become a general manager in the next few years.

  I really did need to get home before the weather started getting worse. We were supposed to get increasing snow as the night wore on. I got into my blue SUV and backed out of the driveway, thinking about the man I’d met just minutes before.

  It sounded like he was going to be staying for a while. Surely I’d be seeing him again before all was said and done. At least I hoped so.

  They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression. If that was true, I could only hope my second impression was a lot better than my first. It wasn’t possible for it to be any worse, that’s for
sure.

  During my slow drive home in the snow, I thought more about Nick, particularly those eyes of his. Just thinking about him made me feel butterflies in my stomach. You’d think I was a love struck teenager instead of an adult in my mid-twenties.

  It had been a long time since any man made me feel that way. In fact, I wasn’t sure if any man had ever made me feel that way before. I certainly didn’t remember it happening.

  Nick was so big and strong. If you looked up what it meant to be a man in the dictionary, I was positive his picture would be used as the example. Before long, I felt the wetness between my legs and squeezed my thighs together. Taking care of that need would have to wait until I got home.

  Nick

  Back in the room that I’d be staying in, I parted the blinds just enough to be able to see outside so I could watch as her car pull out of the driveway and onto the snow covered streets.

  Get home safe, beautiful.

  I found myself wondering what her home looked like. Was it something like I was currently in or closer to something I was used to living in before prison?

  Was she going home to spend an evening by herself or did she have someone to go home to?

  I contemplated that for a minute then realized what a stupid thought it was. Of course, she had someone to go home to. There was no way in hell a girl like that was going to go home to an empty place.

  I didn’t see a ring on her finger, but I’d be shocked if she didn’t have a boyfriend at home and a waiting list of men just waiting for the opportunity to get a chance with her.

  I thought for a minute that I should add myself to that waiting list before realizing how stupid of an idea it was. She wouldn’t want to be with a guy like me. When she looked at me, she didn’t have interest in her eyes, did she?

  She seemed like a good girl. She was probably way out of my league. I was an ex-con after all. Of course, she didn’t know that. The thought made me smile to myself.