by Codi Gary
“Who you calling bitch, Wayne?” Apparently, tequila gave Jenny balls of steel because she stepped between them and was puffed up like an angry terrier.
“This isn’t your business, Tiny Andrews. Why don’t you go home to mommy?”
Jenny’s face flushed. As the youngest Andrews child, she was often made to feel like a child, and Ellie knew she hated it.
“What is your problem, Wayne?” Ellie asked.
“I hate stuck-up sluts who think they’re better than me.”
Ellie’s skin was too thick to take offense to an insult from a worm like Wayne Coulter. With a snarky smile, Ellie said, “Oh, Wayne, about 99.9 percent of the population is better than you.”
Wayne’s hand gripped her arm hard. “What did you say? You better apologize or I’m going to smack that smart mouth of yours and teach you the manners your mother forgot.”
“Don’t you talk about my mother, you redneck bastard,” Ellie yelled, trying to jerk her arm out of his painful grip.
An arm went around Wayne’s throat, and Ellie looked up to meet Mike’s hard eyes. Wayne released her arm, and Mike jerked him off his feet and slammed him to the ground.
Ellie saw Dalton lift Jenny out of the way just as Graham grabbed Mike and pulled him off a dazed Wayne.
“Go home and cool off, Mike,” Graham said.
Dalton had Jenny up on the barstool next to him, and she didn’t look happy about the big man’s protection.
Mike stood up, his gaze never leaving Ellie’s. “Let’s go. Come on, Jenny.”
“I’ve got her,” Dalton said.
Jenny gave him an arch look. “Oh, you do, do you?”
“Jenny, I’d really like to drive you home, if that’s alright with you. There are some things I need to tell you.”
Whatever Jenny saw in his expression, she said, “You guys go ahead.”
“Fine. Ellie,” Mike said, his tone hard and commanding.
Ellie followed Mike to the door, her stomach turning a bit as they stepped outside and she was hit with a cloud of smoke wafting from a group of people huddled together bullshitting.
“Ugh.”
Mike came back and put his arm around her, leading her toward his SUV.
“I hate that guy,” Ellie said when they got to his car. She leaned against the cold metal, and laying her hot cheek to it felt amazing.
“Wayne Coulter?” Mike asked. At her nod, he laughed. “I’m sure you aren’t the only one to think Wayne is a piece of shit, but you were antagonizing him, Ellie. You could have been hurt.”
“There you go, being sexist again. Why can’t a girl take care of herself?”
“I’m sure you could if you were sober.”
“I had one shot!”
“Then why are you provoking Wayne and starting shit in your place of work?”
“Whoa there, judgey asshat, I started nothing. That prick told me I should get on my knees for him, and I told him where to go. Then, he threatened to smack me. So, if there is something wrong with me defending myself, then there is something wrong with society. I have the right to have a fun night with my friend without some dick harassing me.”
Mike actually looked shame faced. “I agree, whole heartedly, but there are guys out there who don’t care. If you come at them and make them look stupid, they will hurt you.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time.”
Mike grimaced. “I’m sorry, Ellie. I just want you to be careful when you’re on your own.”
“I am a single woman. I am on my own 99 percent of the time, and if you think I’m going to let a guy bully and degrade me because of what he might do, then you are delusional.”
“Okay, fine, but you also jump to a lot of conclusions and tend to emasculate in extreme ways.”
“Really? Cause that doesn’t seem to affect my dating life. I have guys asking me out all the time. I just have to crook my finger and guys come running.”
Mike took her elbow but instead of helping her inside, he continued to watch her, his mouth flat. “Why didn’t you call one of them to come get you, Ellie?”
“Because I wasn’t ready to go home and Jenny had already asked you to.”
Mike’s hands circled her waist and he lifted her up onto the seat. He helped secure her seat belt, and before he shut the door, he said, “Or maybe you didn’t call anyone else because you knew I was the only one who would show.”
Chapter Twelve
Mike drove toward Ellie’s place, feeling like a total dick. He glanced over at her, but she was turned away from him, staring out the window.
He almost laughed aloud as he realized that he could be back at Wendy’s apartment now, probably having sex, and instead, he was driving home a girl he hadn’t even liked a few days ago.
For some reason, when the time had come for him to make his move on Wendy, he hadn’t even been tempted. Yeah, Wendy was beautiful, but that was all that was between them. There was no zing.
He had a stronger connection to Ellie, and there was no way he was going there.
“Look, I’m sorry for what I said. I know you could have gotten a ride home.”
“Damn right I could have,” she murmured.
Mike grinned at her sass. “Do you really mind that it’s me?”
Ellie hesitated. “No.”
The car went quiet for several ticks, and Mike realized that he wasn’t ready to go home alone.
“Are you tired?” he asked.
“Not really.”
“Want to come over for coffee and a movie?”
She seemed surprised by his offer. “Sure.”
He turned the car around and headed back to his house.
“I take it the drink didn’t go well with Wendy?” she asked.
Mike wasn’t sure how to explain that there wasn’t a spark between him and Wendy without sounding like Mr. Sensitive. He was supposed to be turning into a bad ass. Bad asses did not pass on sex with hot women.
“It was fine. We just called an early night.”
“Hmm, so she didn’t try to drag you back to her place and have her way with you?”
He pulled into the driveway and parked the car before he answered. “She offered, but I took your advice and am making her work for it.”
“Well, good for you.”
Mike looked at her closely. Had she sounded jealous or was he imagining it?
She climbed out of the car, and he followed suit. He could hear Smalls howling as he unlocked the front door. He’d left him alone for only a couple hours tonight, with a stop back home in-between, but apparently, he was lonely.
Just like me.
The minute they got inside and Mike flicked on the lights, Ellie made a beeline for Smalls’ playpen and picked him up.
The puppy licked her chin excitedly as she crooned, “Oh, baby, did the mean man leave you all alone?”
“Hey, it wasn’t that long. I was at home checking on him when I called you.”
Ellie sat on the couch with Smalls, stroking him from head to tail. “I believe you. I mean, how could you neglect this sweetness?”
She held the puppy up, furry cheek to plastered cheek, and Mike chuckled. “I’ll go make the coffee while you snuggle him.”
Mike filled the filter hallway, listening to Ellie talk to Smalls as if he was a baby. It had been a long while since he’d had a woman in his three-bedroom house, besides Gracie and Gemma. Not that Ellie was anything more than a friend, and hell, he wasn’t sure if he’d be accurate to call her that. He hardly knew her.
“You got your bachelor’s degree, didn’t you?” he asked.
Ellie turned to look over the back of the couch at him. “Yeah. I got it in December.”
“In what?”
“Business.”
“What do you plan to do with it?” The coffee started dripping into the pot behind him as he caught Ellie’s disgusted look. “Whoa, did I say something wrong?”
“No. I just get that question at least once a day, and I d
on’t know how to answer.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I have no freaking clue what I want to do.”
“Then why business?” he asked.
“I really have no good answer except I figured it was the most unspecific degree I could get while still having one.”
“Ah.” Mike pulled down two coffee mugs.
“What does ‘ah’ mean?” she asked.
“Nothing. Do you want half and half, sugar, or milk?”
“Just half and half, please. Seriously, that clearly meant something. Be honest.”
He finished fixing the coffee and carried their mugs into the living room before he answered. “I just wondered what you were actually passionate about. Don’t get me wrong. It’s great to have a degree. But if you never do anything with it…”
“I’ll do something with it.” She placed Smalls on the couch between them, and took the coffee from his hand. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll move to New York and become a professional makeover specialist.”
Mike laughed. “Why New York? Seems like you’d get more business in small towns like this, full of nerds and fashion failures.”
“Yes, but the stores where I can spend their money are better.”
“I wouldn’t know. I’m not much for shopping.”
“Most guys aren’t.” She took a sip of her coffee and hummed.
“You like it?”
“Yeah, you buy the good stuff,” she said.
“It helps when your best friend runs a coffee shop.” A rush of guilt overwhelmed him thinking about Gracie and her business. “Can I ask you a hypothetical?”
“Shoot.”
“Let’s say you were offered a lot of money to do something, but in the end it would hurt someone you care about.”
Ellie tapped her white tipped nails against the coffee mug. “Completely hypothetical, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“I guess I would decide whether possibly losing that person was worth the cost.”
Mike grimaced. “Thanks.”
Ellie set her coffee cup down on the coaster he’d set out. “If you want a different answer, give me a real question.”
Mike pulled Smalls sharp little puppy teeth out of the edge of his T-shirt, contemplating. He didn’t know her well enough to trust her, but he couldn’t talk to any of his friends objectively about this.
“Fine. Wendy is opening an internet café with coffee and food…right across from The Local Bean.”
Ellie’s eyes widened. “Oh, damn.”
“Yeah, but she’s offering me a thousand dollars per computer, which I really need.”
“Okay. Well, my answer would be not to take the job.”
“I already took the job. She gave me half down this afternoon.”
Ellie jerked away as Smalls jumped up at her face. “Give the money back.”
“You did hear the part about needing this money, right?”
“Even if you lose your business, you are fantastic at what you do. You could work at Google or Microsoft or wherever they build computers. But if you screw over Gracie, you are going to make all your friends choose sides and they might not pick yours.”
Mike was suddenly queasy. He had considered that Gracie might be mad at him, but he hadn’t considered how that would affect all of his friendships.
And what if she didn’t forgive him? She was the queen of grudges.
“This issue is I like being my own boss…I don’t know if I want to give up and go work for someone else.”
“And there is no other way to bring in the money you need?”
“Not that I can think off. I’d have to get some huge contracts to keep me in business.”
Ellie surprised him by reaching across the couch and taking his hand.
“Then I would just tell Gracie, before she hears it from someone else.”
Mike’s hand tingled where she clasped it, and he stared deep into those warm hazel eyes. They drew him in, and he was leaning toward her pink, glossy lips…
A sharp pinch on his chest, right on his nipple, made him scream. He fell back against the arm of the couch. Smalls’s little jaws were still locked on his flesh through the T-shirt.
“Son of a bitch!” He extracted the puppy and held him over his head. “Maybe I should call you demon instead?”
Uproarious laughter made Mike lift his head to find Ellie bent over, gasping with mirth.
“Glad you think it’s funny.”
“It…was…hysterical.”
Mike shook his head and sat back up with Smalls clasped to his chest. “You’re going back into your pen if you can’t behave.”
The puppy’s pink tongue darted out frantically, as though he was trying to apologize with kisses.
“Oh, God, I needed that.” Ellie wiped at her eyes. “Do you still want to watch the movie, or have I overstayed my welcome?”
“No, but I get the feeling you’re one of those terrible people who laughs at videos of people getting hurt.”
“No contest,” she said, grinning.
Mike turned away from her beautiful, beaming face, wishing he didn’t like her smile quite so much.
“Okay, we have mostly action films…”
“Define action,” Ellie said.
“The Italian Job, Premium Rush, The Lord of the Rings trilogy.”
“The Lord of the Rings is action?”
He whipped his head around, his jaw just about hanging on the floor. “LOTR is all action.”
“Sorry, I’ve never seen it, so…What are you doing?”
Mike was already putting the first disc into the DVD player. “You just admitted you’ve never watched a fantastic, epic movie trilogy, and this must be rectified.”
“I doubt I’ll like it…”
“Orlando Bloom is in it.”
“Sold.”
Sometimes, having two best friends who were girls paid off.
Mike woke up with a start hours later, the credits for The Return of the King rolling. He remembered getting up and putting it on, but that’s about all after that.
Something on his shoulder drew his attention and he looked down to find Ellie leaning against him, out cold. She shifted slightly, a light snore escaped those soft pink lips, and he smiled.
And then noises loud enough to drown out a train whistle followed, making him start. Mike chuckled, wondering if anyone had ever told Ellie she snored like a three-hundred-pound trucker?
Mike figured she was probably okay and comfortable enough if she could make that sound.
Mike grabbed his cell off the table next to him, trying not to disturb her and checked the time. Four-thirty in the morning.
He could try to lift her up and carry her back to sleep on his bed, but would she take that the wrong way? The last thing he wanted was for her to think he’d proven her theory about him true.
Finally, he gently stroked her hair. “Ellie? Wake up, honey.”
“What?” Her voice sounded raspy and she blearily looked up at him from her place on his shoulder.
“I should probably take you home.”
“What time is it?”
“Almost five in the morning.”
Ellie jerked upright. “Are you serious?”
“Pretty much. It’s more like four-thirty.”
“Wow. I can’t believe I fell asleep.”
Ellie stretched her arms up, bringing the halter she was wearing up. The morning wood Mike had been sporting grew and pressed painfully against the jeans he’d slept in.
And then she did something most unexpected.
She leaned over and brushed his lips with hers. It was so brief he hardly felt it, but the contact caused an electric shock and he pulled back.
“Ouch, you shocked me,” Mike said, rubbing his lip. Ellie’s hands covered her mouth as she smothered her laughter and stood up.
“I’m sorry; I was just trying to say thank you. For the coffee and movie. It was nice to hang out and watch a movie without fighting off
unwanted advances the whole time.”
“And nothing says thank you like static electricity and an unexpected kiss.” Mike stood with her, trying to be funny to hide the fact he wanted so much more than that little peck she’d given him. He wanted to sweep her up and trace every inch of her lips and mouth with his tongue until she was putty in his hands.
The unexpected lust made him want to rush her out the door as fast as he could.
“Don’t make a big deal about it,” Ellie said. “It was just a little kiss. What I just gave you is something I’d give to my brother if I had one.”
That rankled Mike and he growled, “I am not your fucking brother.”
Ellie blinked at him, obviously thrown. “I don’t have a brother. I was just likening it to that platonic, not-big-deal kind of thing.”
Mike spoke harshly. “No, I’m telling you that I am not your brother. I am not your gay best friend. I am a straight man you hardly know, and I am attracted to you.”
Her jaw slid open and she stared at him in horror, and he was disgusted. Did she really think she could just go around kissing and teasing men and no one was going to take her seriously?
“So the next time you get the idea to thank me or taunt me, don’t do it. I know you’re used to being able to control men and keep them in check, but I’m not one of those guys. I thought you understood that, but apparently you need another lesson.”
He leaned closer, his hand moving up to tangle in her messy hair. His mouth moved right next to her ear and he felt her shiver. “You’re out of warnings. Next time, I’m going to show you this thing is anything but brotherly.”
“What thing?”
Mike’s hand traveled around to her lower back and his palm pressed her forward until he was sure she could feel every inch of his excitement. At her sharp intake of breath, Mike said, “This thing.”
Ellie didn’t move or try to pull away, but if he didn’t get away from her, he was going to kiss her. Maybe more.
But she isn’t what you’re looking for. Remember?
Mike pulled away from her, his hand sliding off her back with regret. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Thirteen
Ellie woke up late the next morning and stumbled to the kitchen for a much-needed cup of coffee. The smell of eggs and bacon made her mouth water, and she smiled.
