She narrows her eyes at him. “Don’t you remember me?”
He raises an eyebrow. “Should I?”
I want to laugh in the girl’s face, but I refrain. She looks pissed. I guess she doesn’t realize that Jake screws several girls a week and he’s been at it for years. He doesn’t even bother to remember their names.
“Merilee Winters,” she states like it should mean something.
“Okay,” Jake says. “Can I get you something? Your drink looks a little low.”
Merilee looks incensed, like she can’t believe that Jake doesn’t remember her.
“We dated in high school,” she says. “You told me you loved me.”
Jake smirks. “If I had a dollar for every girl who I told I loved in order to get into her pants I’d be a very rich man.”
Her face turns to stone. If looks could actually kill, Jake would be writhing on the floor right now, close to death.
“You stole my virginity and dumped me for a cheerleader a week later.”
He nods. “That does sound like me.”
Merilee’s face is now red with anger. Steam would be coming out of her ears if that was humanly possible.
“You bragged to all of your friends that you couldn’t wait to get inside another virgin.”
Now I can feel my own face get hot. Thank goodness I never told Jake I was a virgin when we had sex for the first time. Plus now that I know what a jerk he really is, I’m so glad I never told him he’s the only man I’ve ever been with since then. Most people think I’m a bit of a slut because of the way I dress and my attitude, but I’m kind of an old fashioned girl when it comes to love and sex.
I just picked the wrong Wilde boy to fall for.
“Look…um…” It’s obvious Jake can’t remember her name, even though she said it just a few seconds ago.
“Merilee,” I whisper to Jake in order to remind him.
When he grins at me my heart begins to patter just a little bit faster. It always does in those rare moments when he completely turns his attention to me.
But just as quickly he turns his attention back to Merilee and her friends.
Now’s the moment when Jake really turns on the charm to win back the good favor that he thinks he deserves. In his mind everyone should love him, and nearly everyone does.
He leans on his elbow and looks right into Merilee’s big, blue eyes. I can see her shudder in response to his closeness. If she didn’t still have feelings for him this little show of hers would have never happened.
“I’m sorry if I hurt you, Merilee. I really am. I was just a high school kid. I didn’t know how to treat a lady back then.”
Merilee looks like she’s going to melt right off the chair. Any anger that she had towards Jake has completely evaporated now that she’s under his spell.
Her two friends are also lapping up his charm like kittens. Just two more of his cheesy lines and he could probably have sex with all three of them at the same time in the back room.
But even Jake isn’t that stupid. He doesn’t mess with girls who are married, and he doesn’t deal with girls who are engaged either.
“I’ll get you ladies whatever you want and it’s on the house.” When he winks at Merilee she looks like she might come completely undone. I pity the poor sap who is going to marry this girl. He’ll always be a poor substitute for Jake Wilde.
And there’s the reason I don’t date other men. Not that what Jake and I do can actually be classified as dating, but hooking up makes it sound like less than there is between us. Or at least what I hope there is between us.
But no other guy has ever even come close to being Jake.
As if my night couldn’t get any worse Regina Masters comes dashing into Haymakers. She’s completely out of breath, but she still looks as good as she always does. She makes me sick. I don’t know why, but I immediately look over at Jake. Of course he’s already eyeing her like she’s the newest food that just got put out on a giant buffet table. And Jake likes to get a taste of everything on the buffet.
Regina and I could be sisters, we look so much alike. We’re both well-built blondes with stunning blue eyes and don’t-mess-with-me attitudes.
“Don’t even think about it,” I whisper to Jake as we both watch Regina hurry over to join Merilee and her friends.
The four women make their way over to one of the tables in the back of the bar.
Jake gives me a strange look. I’m not surprised. He and I have an arrangement. He screws me and everyone else he wants to whenever he wants to and I deal with it. I never say anything about him being with other girls because I know that’s how he is, but I draw the line at Regina. She’s my nemesis and always has been. Ever since we were in high school.
“If you’re ever with that girl I’ll never touch you again.”
He furrows his brow. “Why?”
“Because I hate her. I always have and always will. She gets everything she wants and I don’t want her to have you.”
He looks at me again. This time his eyes search mine.
“I’m serious, Jake. I really do hate her.”
To my complete surprise he nods. “Okay.”
“Okay?” I know he just agreed, but I need to hear it again.
“Okay,” he repeats.
“Good.” I’m not sure I believe him, but at least he knows how I feel.
“You may not like Regina and her friends, but Tucker and Gracie haven’t arrived yet, so you’re stuck serving them.”
“That I can handle,” I say as I make my way over to the table.
As soon as Regina spots me she smiles. I know she’s not smiling because she’s happy to see me. She’s smiling because she’s thinking of all the catty remarks she wants to make and most certainly will in time.
It only takes two seconds for the first one to come out of her mouth. “Harley Davis. I can’t believe you’re still waiting tables at Haymakers. So much for being voted the Girl Most Likely to Succeed.”
“Regina Masters. I can’t believe you’re still in Old Town. So much for leaving right after graduation.”
She sneers at me. “You’re still here too. I’m not the one who got the big fancy Ivy League scholarships like you did. I got stuck at the community college, which is a complete drag. I decided to give up on an AA degree and go for an MRS instead.” Then she holds up her hand. “I’d say that plan is working out well. It only took three months to go from our first date until I got the big fancy engagement ring on my finger. In another six months I’ll be married. This is my ticket out of Old Town.”
I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut. Regina and Merilee are both engaged and I don’t even have a guy who’ll stop screwing other women. When I think about the strong possibility that the man I love—the man who I’ve always loved and always will—won’t ever settle down with me, it makes my stomach knot.
I want to get married eventually, and have a family, but I can’t imagine doing it with anyone else but Jake. Unfortunately I have an equally hard time imaging him down on one knee with an engagement ring in his hand proposing to me.
The last thing I want to show is any weakness in front of Regina. She’ll pounce on me like a lion pounces on its prey if she sees me flinch.
“Who’s the lucky guy?” I ask in a tone as condescending as I can make it without being a complete and total bitch. I’m still supposed to be waiting on them and I take my job at Haymakers seriously.
Regina waves the large diamond ring in my face again just for emphasis. “He works in the city. Pharmaceutical sales. We’re already looking at houses in Bridgewater.”
Bridgewater Township is a little more suburban and much more upscale than Old Town. Someone like Regina would definitely aspire to live in place that has a ritzy mall like Bridgewater does. She’ll be able to spend all of her husband’s big pharma dough at Bloomingdales and Macy’s.
“I want a house in Bridgewater too,” Merilee whines like a spoiled brat. She makes a point of flashing her sparkler at me a
s well.
“Aren’t they lucky?” one of their friends chimes in. She heaves a sigh for emphasis. As if the be-all and end-all of life is to get married and move to Bridgewater.
“The luckiest,” I reply and try not to sound as snarky as I feel. “So how did you meet Mr. Right?”
Regina fidgets uncomfortably in her seat for a second until she finally mutters, “Sidewinders.”
It’s a bar very similar to Haymakers in a town not that much different than Old Town. It’s just a little closer to the city.
I widen my eyes in fake shock. “You’re still working there?”
She glares at me. “Just for a few more months. Until we get married. Then I’ll be staying at home. Taking care of house.”
And probably popping out kids as quickly as she can.
I make a point of waving the order pad in my hand. I don’t actually need it. I can remember anything anyone orders, but it makes customers feel better when I write their orders down. They don’t seem to believe that someone who looks like me, a pretty blonde with assets in all the rights places, can possibly have a brain too. Most people don’t even believe me when I tell them that I was an Honors student in high school and salutatorian of my senior class.
“I think it’s time to celebrate our success stories,” Regina announces. Then she glances in my direction. “A round of shots for me and my besties.”
“Shots of what?” I ask.
She waves at me like I’m some kind of nuisance bug. “Something sweet and strong.”
“A round of Red Headed Sluts.” I snicker to myself as I head toward the bar to place the order. The Red Headed Sluts are going to knock these skinny blonde sluts on their asses. I can hardly wait to see them rolling on the floor.
Two
Jake
Those little pink cowboy boots drive me absolutely crazy. Every time Harley wears them I want to rip her clothes off and get a long look at her with nothing on but her thong, push-up bra and those sexy boots.
But who am I kidding? Harley Davis is all I ever think about—day and night. I’m addicted to her.
I’ve never used drugs in my life. I hardly even drink because I’m around the stuff so much. But I feel like I know what a drug addict must go through when he’s anywhere near his drug of choice. It’s a craving so strong, so utterly all-consuming, that it takes over your life.
Even though I know it’s wrong. Even though I know I need to break the habit. I just can’t give her up.
Harley deserves so much better than me. She’s brilliant and beautiful. She doesn’t need to be stuck in Old Town with a has-been like me. I peaked in high school and it’s been downhill ever since. I’ll be in Old Town the rest of my life, managing Haymakers, and that’s no place for a girl like Harley Davis. She could have anything and everything she wants. She could go anywhere and do anything. She could be anything she wants to be. She deserves a guy who is on his way up. An Ivy leaguer like my brother, Cooper. Someone who’s going to make something of his life.
If we ever got serious I’d be like a ball and chain tying her to Old Town. I could never live with myself if I did that to her. Not when she needs to spread those beautiful wings of hers and fly out of here.
I do my best to push her away at least a few times a day. And whenever I can swing it, I’ll invite a blonde beauty to the back room for a little joy ride. I always make sure Harley is watching when I score my latest conquest. I keep hoping she’ll eventually get sick of all of my philandering and take off running. It would break my heart into a million little pieces to see her go, but I know it would be the best thing for her in the end.
Most people in town, including my own brothers, think I’m a dog for screwing everyone who’ll take my offer. I can accept that. And it’s not like I don’t enjoy the action. I just can’t let Harley settle for someone like me.
Maybe one day she’ll see things my way.
“Four Red Headed Sluts.” Harley grins at me when she places the order.
I make of point of scanning the bar. “It’s been a while since I’ve bedded a red head. What table?”
She rolls her eyes at me. “The shots. Jägermeister, peach-flavored schnapps, and cranberry juice.”
“You used to think I was funny,” I joke as I grab four shot glasses from under the counter.
“You used to be a lot funnier. I think all that sex is starting to corrode your brain.”
“What sex? We haven’t been together in days.” I’ve been trying my best to stay out of Harley pants as much as possible. But she makes it extremely difficult between the little white lace push up top, her unbelievably tight jeans and those damn pink cowboy boots. She’s got me tied around her little finger. One bat of those long lashes over her big baby blues and I’m a goner.
“Whose fault is that?” She gives me a sly little smile and my dick springs to life.
I lean close and whisper in her ear, “Maybe when Tucker and Gracie get here you can help me with something in the back room.”
When she bites her bottom lip, something she knows drives me absolutely crazy, I have to put both of my hands deep in my pockets to tame the wild beast growing in my jeans.
“What exactly do you need help with?” she says seductively.
“Getting down and dirty.”
She narrows her eyes at me, but I know she’s thinking the same thing as I am: Where the hell are Tucker and Gracie?
As I pour the shots I keep thinking about the promise I made to her…that I wouldn’t hook up with Regina Masters. I know if I did it would completely and totally break her heart.
But maybe that would be the thing that would finally get her to leave me and Old Town for good.
“Is Regina still working at Sidewinders?” I ask as casually as I can. It’s a bar in a town closer to the city. It’s always been popular with the bridge and tunnel crowd. Apparently it appeals to commuters who stop in for a few on their way from Manhattan into one of the Jersey suburbs.
Harley’s eyes bore into me. “You promised.”
“I know. I was just curious.”
Her eyes are now angry slits. “Don’t be.”
As she places the shots on a tray and heads over to the girls’ table Tucker and Gracie hurry into the bar. Gracie hasn’t looked great the last few months and today is no exception. I’m sure that’s why they’re so late. She’s been out sick a lot recently.
Not that I’d ever complain about anything Gracie did to Tucker. He’d beat the shit out of me first and ask questions later. All of the Wilde boys are tall and muscular, but Tucker is by far the most massive of the four of us. And he’s highly protective of his girlfriend. If someone even looks at her the wrong way they’ll suffer Tucker’s wrath. He served in the Army right out of high school and was in the middle of a bombing in Iraq. He was one of the lucky guys in his unit because he’s still alive to talk about it. The only thing Tucker loves besides his girlfriend is lifting weights. He’s one big and scary looking guy. He’s definitely not someone you want to mess with.
“Do you think there’s something wrong with Gracie?” I whisper to Harley when she returns.
I’m surprised when she laughs at me. “Looks like you’re officially the last to know.”
“Know what?”
“You’re going to be Uncle Jake.”
It takes a few seconds for me to catch her drift. Gracie is pregnant. I thought all of the Wilde boys were good about using condoms.
Or maybe it wasn’t an accident…
When I look at Tucker I realize he’s the happiest I’ve seen him since he got back from the Middle East. And maybe even ever. He wasn’t exactly Mr. Sunshine and Roses before his stint in the Army.
He’s smiling as he talks to Gracie, and I notice that he’s extra careful when he touches her. She’s rounder than I’ve ever seen her. A small girl naturally, she looks fuller, and she’s kind of glowing.
For a split second I wonder what Harley would look like pregnant, carrying my child, but I quick
ly try to erase the thought from my mind. As much as I’d like to be a father someday—Harley has a much brighter future ahead of her than I could ever offer her.
Harley hurries over to Gracie and whispers something in her ear. Gracie nods and they both look over at the table where Regina and her friends are sitting.
Tucker gives me a nod, his usual greeting.
“We’re not very busy yet.”
He eyes me. “Let me guess. You’ve got some business in the back room you just have to attend to.”
“It’s an urgent matter,” I assure him.
“Right.” He rolls his eyes at me. “Whatever you say.”
I glance at my watch. “Should only take about ten minutes. Fifteen tops. Can you and Gracie handle that?”
Now he’s looking at me like I’m stupid. “Of course we can handle it. When have we not been able to handle it?”
“Gracie is pregnant,” I reply.
“News travels fast.”
“Thanks for telling me.”
He heaves a sigh. “We didn’t want our news to overshadow Cooper and Riley’s big wedding.”
“How long did you think you could keep it a secret?”
“Not very long apparently.”
“So are you going to make an honest woman out of her?”
Tucker grabs the collar of my shirt so fast it takes me a few seconds to realize I’m choking.
“I love Gracie,” he spits. “She’s my world. That’s all you need to know. And if you ever say anything like that again I’ll knock your teeth down your throat.”
“Okay. I got it. Will you let go of me?”
He gives me another cold look before he lets go of my shirt. “Don’t you have some work to do in the back room?”
I nod. As I make my way toward the back room I grab Harley’s hand and pull her back there with me.
She’s laughing when I close the door to the small office behind us.
“What’s so funny?” I ask as I gaze deep into her beautiful blue eyes. Sometimes I feel like I’m looking into an endless sky when I peer into them.
“You grabbing me like that and pulling me back here to have your way with me. It’s so alpha male of you.”
Wilde Times Page 2
