by Adele Niles
I had to get this back under control.
In the meantime, he was staring at me like I was losing my mind.
I said, “Sorry, sorry. Um, do you need anything? A glass of water, or a snack?”
“No, I’m good.” Garrett frowned, hesitantly reaching out to touch my shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Great,” I said. “I’m fantastic. That was the best sex I’ve had in a long time.”
“Really?” He smiled.
God, it was adorable.
“Really,” I said. “That was great. I feel really good.”
“Are you sure? Because you seem tense.”
I was very tense.
It wasn’t like I’d done this before.
I took a deep breath. “I’m good. I promise.”
“Bailey. If something’s wrong…”
I looked at him, sighing heavily. I just needed to do it. Rip the bandage off. Maybe he would agree to keep this quiet at work. “So, you work with a guy named Ryker? Ryker Hart?”
Garrett made a face. “Unfortunately.”
Unfortunately.
That sounded like it would work out in my favor.
“So…you’re not friends?”
“Hell no. He’s a pain in my ass on a good day.” Garrett shook his head. “He’s obnoxious and arrogant.”
I wondered what that said about me. I’d dated him for a long time.
But maybe he’d changed.
I’d certainly changed since he and I had broken up.
Garrett shifted uneasily. “I, uh…I gotta ask, though. Why are we talking about Ryker? I mean, is everything okay? Are you…wait…”
He stopped, looking into the middle distance.
“Holy shit,” he said softly. “Bailey. You’re…you’re Bay.”
Bay.
The only name he ever called me.
“Yep. That’s me.” I sighed heavily. “I’m Bay.”
He looked up at the ceiling as if hoping for an escape or some kind of divine intervention. “Oh, shit.”
“Ouch,” I whispered, shutting my eyes.
Garrett stammered nervously. “No, I mean—I mean, I still like you! I just—the way he talked about you? I was pretty sure you weren’t real. That he’d just made up some dream girl.”
I opened my eyes to look at him and laughed, shaking my head. “No. I’m not a dream girl, and I’m pretty sure I’m real.”
“You seem real enough to me.”
I looked at him and smiled.
He was sweet. Really sweet. I’d never been with a guy who was so kind.
I said, “I didn’t know you were an artist.”
“Yeah. I’ve been there a year. Well, a little over at this point.”
“That’s cool.” I smiled almost shyly at him. “I guess I kinda have a thing for tattoo artists.”
Garrett laughed. “So, me working with Ryker isn’t a deal-breaker?”
I shook my head. “No. Not at all.”
It wasn’t every day that I met a guy this nice. Especially in a town like Richland.
And he was my type, for sure. Tall and tan with a lot of ink.
But still, probably off-limits. That would be common sense.
“You wanna stay the night?” I asked fighting that common sense.
Garrett nodded. “I can stay. I’ll have to clear out in the morning so I can clean up before work, though.”
“That’s fine. I get it.” I smiled. “No worries.”
“Cool.” He nodded. “Are we still on for our date tomorrow?”
“Absolutely.” I smiled and moved to lie back, wondering if that answer was really a lie. Could I actually date someone that is that close to Ryker?
Garrett settled down beside me, sliding one arm under my head.
It was comfy.
“Sleep well, Garrett.”
“You sleep well, too, Bailey.”
I stared at the ceiling, wondering what I had just gotten myself in to.
Chapter Seven
Garrett
I got a Lyft back to the bar the next morning and drove home, head pounding. I drove with the windows down. The fresh air helped a little with the hangover, and it was cool enough that I didn’t feel like I was going to puke in my car. By the time I’d showered, eaten some bacon and eggs, and drunk a half-pot of coffee, I was starting to feel a lot better.
And I had a little time before work. It was one of the days where the shop opened later, so I got to relax a little.
And my favorite way to do that was to draw.
I sat on the couch with another cup of coffee, the back door of my duplex open to let the clean morning air in. It was mostly quiet outside. Birds chirped in the trees, and a dog barked at something a few streets over.
I did a few warmups, then settled in to start drawing.
I didn’t think about what I was working on, just let it happen. Lines on paper started to take shape, almost without any direction from me, and soon the sketch started to take form.
Bailey, half-asleep and smiling in the early morning light.
She was gorgeous. I liked her smile, the scattering of freckles across her nose. I liked her laugh. I liked that she was happy to go beer for beer with me, even if it meant she felt like shit the next morning.
But she’d been with Ryker. And if what he said was true, they’d been together for a while.
The fucker managed to make me feel like second-best, even when he wasn’t actively part of the situation.
I leaned back for a moment, sipping my coffee. I had to get over that. I had to get over letting him making me feel so inadequate.
He and Bailey had broken up. And she’d chosen to take me home with her.
It had nothing to do with Ryker.
And besides, she didn’t seem to want anything to do with him. She’d looked happy when I told her that Ryker and I weren’t friends.
I kinda wanted to keep it that way.
The less I talked to him, the better. Especially if I was dating his ex.
But at the same time, they’d been broken up for five years. Ryker was with Sydney now, and everything seemed good between them.
Maybe I needed to dig into that a little. Just a little. Make sure there was no trouble in paradise.
I flipped my sketchbook closed and left it on the coffee table. I had another one at work that I used for designs; this one was just for me.
And if there was a drawing of Bailey in it, I definitely didn’t want to bring it to the shop.
The door was already unlocked when I arrived. I let myself in, peeking first to see who was there.
Ryker.
Shit.
He glanced up at me, but was on the phone, listening intently to whoever was on the other end. He turned his back and I walked into the shop.
Fine by me. I could set up for the day in peace while he was distracted.
But I couldn’t help overhearing his side of the conversation.”
“Mm-hmm, yeah, we can do that tonight. Wait, it’s happy hour with the guys.”
Right, that was tonight. Shit.
“Well, I mean… Yeah, you know what? Let me make an appearance and then we can go get dinner in Malone. Yeah, I know the place you like. Of course.”
Ah.
He was talking to Sydney.
No wonder he didn’t want to look at me.
“Of course. Yeah. Well, of course it’s going to be great. You organized the files, didn’t you? And you remembered to change the wording on that clause? Then you’re golden. Don’t sweat it, cutie.”
Cutie? It was hard to imagine that word coming out of Ryker’s mouth, but he’d just said it.
If he ever stole my clients again, I’d tell the whole shop about his conversations with Sydney.
“Yeah,” he said. “Okay, I’ll see you tonight. Have a good day. I love you, babe.”
He hung up the phone and turned, looking at me. “You didn’t hear that.”
“I didn’t hear shit,” I replie
d.
“Good.”
A tense silence fell between us.
I wasn’t going to apologize. I hadn’t done anything wrong. Anybody would have been angry to have their clients stolen.
But working like this for another full day was going to be awful. And I didn’t want to be in a bad mood when I met up with Bailey later.
Bailey.
If Ryker found out, he’d never forgive me.
I had to smooth things over so his anger wasn’t compounded by the argument yesterday.
“Hey, man, uh…about yesterday…”
Ryker looked up. He sighed and rose, grabbing his wallet from his back pocket.
He removed a hundred-dollar bill and held it out.
“What?” I shook my head. “I don’t want your money, dude.”
“No, look, I talked it over with Syd and it was a shitty thing for me to do. So here’s half the cut. I gotta make a little for my time, but…they were your clients.” He nodded toward the bill. “Take it.”
I rose and went to grab the hundred, slipping it into my own wallet.
It would pay for a nice dinner and some good wine tonight.
“Sorry.” Ryker shrugged. “I don’t apologize often, so appreciate it.”
I chuckled. “Nah, I get it. Sorry for yelling at you in front of Bradley and Zoe.”
“It’s cool. You have every right to be pissed. I would’ve lost it if somebody took my clients, too. Really, you handled it pretty well.”
I smiled. “Yeah, well, next time it happens, I’ll kick your ass. I don’t care who’s in the shop.”
“C’mon, you’d beat me up in front of my girl?”
“Any day of the week.”
Ryker laughed. “Fine. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“Good.”
Just like that, the tension was gone.
Mostly, anyway.
I’d still hooked up with his ex. An ex he’d talked about a lot before meeting Sydney.
That was something I wanted to check in on, and there was nobody here to listen in. I cleared my throat. “How is she? Sydney?”
“Ah, she’s great.” Ryker lit up in a way I’d never seen. “She’s so smart. She got this huge case ready for the office and she’s nervous about it, but I know it’s gonna be great.”
I smiled. “Good. So you two are good?”
“Yep. Going on a date tonight. She likes this Mexican place in Malone. They have pretty great margaritas, so I don’t mind going.”
“Ooh, the big city. Cool.”
Note to self, avoid Mexican places in Malone tonight.
I shifted uneasily. “So, you’re not thinking about Bay anymore?”
Ryker looked at me like I’d spit on him. “The hell are you bringing her up for?”
Shit. I had to cover my tracks, now. “I mean, you don’t talk about her like you used to. That’s all.”
“Okay, well—”
The door opened.
Bradley walked in, carrying a box from Bakeology. “Morning, assholes!” he called. “I brought muffins for the team. The gluten-free one is for Zoe, so don’t touch it.”
Ryker gave me a cold look. He leaned forward, voice lowered.
“I’m so over her. She’s not worth another second of my time. She’s selfish and one of the shallowest bitches I’ve ever met in my life, and I pity the next guy she gets with. She’s gonna suck his soul out and kick him to the curb when he needs her support.”
I backed away. “Jesus. Sorry I asked.”
But he was over her.
That was all I needed to know.
I turned, shoving my wallet back into my pocket, and headed up front. Bradley stood behind the counter, looking over the schedule for the day.
“Which one’s the gluten-free?” I asked.
“The one that looks like a rock, dude. The others ones are banana nut.”
“Cool.”
I grabbed a muffin and looked back at Ryker.
Bailey hadn’t seemed selfish or shallow to me. She’d seemed sweet and fun. She was exactly the kind of girl I wanted to spend more time with.
And if Ryker was over her, then I was in the clear.
I smiled as I took the muffin back to my station, ready to start what I hoped would be a very good day.
Chapter Eight
Bailey
That clinking in the kitchen was going to drive me crazy.
That, or make my head explode. One or the other.
My head was throbbing. My stomach felt like it was on a roller coaster while I was lying in bed.
But at the same time, there was a deep, wonderful feeling of relaxation that came with having enjoyed a really good orgasm the night before.
Still, though—the clinking was going to kill me.
I rolled my miserable ass out of bed and went to brush my teeth, desperate to get the taste of cheap beer out of my mouth. When that was done, I started for the kitchen.
I ended up collapsing on the couch, curling up in a ball.
A moment later, Jackie was by my side, holding aspirin in one hand and a huge mug of coffee in the other.
She really was a good friend.
“So how was last night?” she asked.
Bless her, she was talking quieter than normal.
I gave her a thumbs-up, then reached for the aspirin and coffee. I swallowed the pills, washing them down with a long drink from the mug.
“Sounded like it was a good time,” she said with a wink.
“Wait, what?”
Jackie shrugged. “It just sounded like you and what’s-his-name were having a great time.”
“You heard us?!”
“We live in the same house and the walls are thin, Bailey.”
“But you were still at the bar when we left!”
“Yeah, and I came home. Right about the time you were screaming his name.”
“I wasn’t screaming!”
“You sure about that?”
My face went hot and I looked away from her.
She laughed. “Don’t worry, okay? I’m not upset or anything. I’m really happy that you had a great time. You deserved it. You deserved to celebrate.”
Well, she was right. I did deserve to celebrate. Still, “Sorry we were so loud. That was rude to do to you when you’ve been so generous with letting me stay here.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she said, patting my arm. “It didn’t bother me in the slightest. But I have to know, was it good? Like, was he good in bed?”
Slowly, I nodded. “Like…amazing. Really good.”
Jackie grinned. “I’m so jealous! I wanted a piece of that, but he was only looking at you.”
“It’ll be you who gets the hottie next time,” I said.
“Fine with me,” she said with a laugh. “Seriously, though, it was nice to watch—he only had eyes for you from the beginning.”
I felt warm inside when she said that. I didn’t want Garrett to look at any other women. I liked him looking at me. Even though of his connection to my ex.
“Yeah, well…” I hesitated when I remembered the feeling when he told me where he worked.
“So, you’re going to see him again, right?”
“Um, no. Never again, well, maybe. I dunno.”
I sighed and looked at Jackie.
“Well, it sure sounded like the sex was good,” she said with a huge smile on her face.
“It was amazing, but, there’s a downside.”
“How can there be a downside? He’s smart and gorgeous and he doesn’t make weird sounds when he finishes. Sounds like a catch to me.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “You’re weird.”
“I guess I’m just a simple woman. It doesn’t take a lot to make me happy. But what’s the downside?”
I sighed again. “You remember Ryker, right?”
“Of course. I barely saw you toward the end of high school. You were with him all the time.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I
t turns out that he works with Garrett.”
Jackie blinked. “Well, that’s not surprising. It’s the only good tattoo shop in the area, and a guy with that much ink in Richland has to be an artist or at least get work done there.”
“You couldn’t have brought that up last night?”
She shrugged. “You were having fun. I didn’t want to ruin it for you.”
“Jeez, Jackie. You could’ve saved me a heart attack. I thought I was going to die when he said he worked at No Regrets.”
“Sorry. I didn’t know it was that big of a thing.”
Of course it was that big of a thing. She knew how my breakup with Ryker had gone. We definitely hadn’t split on good terms.
I opened my mouth to reply, but my phone chimed in the bedroom.
I looked to Jackie, giving her my best puppy dog eyes. “Jackie?”
She heaved a dramatic sigh as she stood up. “I got it, I got it. Don’t worry.”
“You’re an angel!” I whisper-shouted after her.
She left the room and came back a moment later. “I didn’t know it was serious enough for you to exchange numbers.”
Had we exchanged numbers? I vaguely remembered doing that in the car on the way back here. I held my hand out for my phone and opened the text.
Good morning, I just wanted to make sure you’re feeling okay. I feel like garbage, lol. Are we still on for tonight? Any preferences on where we go?
I smiled at my phone.
He really was a great guy.
Jackie raised her eyebrows. “What? What did he say?”
I turned the phone toward her, letting her read the text. She grinned.
And then she snatched my phone out of my hand and started to type furiously. She got up, moving away from the couch and out of my reach.
“Jackie! Wait, what—what are you saying?!” I started to stand up, but the room shifted around me and I dropped back to the couch.
“Nothing,” she insisted. “Just telling him how great last night was!”
“Jackie, no—”
“Yes!”
She tapped on my phone screen and tossed my phone back to me. “You’re welcome, Bailey.”
I flipped the phone over and read the message she’d sent.
Hey! Last night was great. I feel like I got hit by a truck, but not too bad to go out tonight. I’m good with whatever, but I will say I LOVE Italian food! Maybe we can have a repeat of last night? ;)
