Fuck, does it hurt.
“Is that why you did what you did?” Bryce asks.
I blink away the bad memories and shake my head while reaching for my beer on the table. I don’t want to talk about this. It doesn’t change anything. “I just want to have a little fun for a while. Forget about some things. Okay?”
His eyes search my face for a moment, and I think he’s going to press the matter, but he surprises me by saying, “Okay.”
High on cocaine, I pull the same girl onto my lap and whisper into her ear, “I think we need some alone time.” She giggles.
My brother leans back as lights dance around us, over our faces and across the floor. Naked women walk around, giving Bryce lust-filled eyes. He needs to lighten up a bit. Have some fun. The music from the club vibrates my bones, and drugs numb the pain. If only for a moment, I can forget my issues and be guilt-free.
“You wanna play, Bryce?” One chick smiles and bends down in front of my brother.
One of the girls I’ve got starts kissing me, reminding me that I’m here. I’m not back there anymore, and I never will be again. The rush of the cocaine sends my body into happy mode, and I let go of dark thoughts. I feel Bryce stand up beside me.
“Where are you going?”
He looks over at me and down at my pants, which are undone.
Oops.
“Have fun, brother. I’ve got someone I need to talk to.”
What?
I move the girls away and stand up. “Wait, you’re leaving all of this?” I say disbelievingly.
“Yeah, I saw someone I know down there.”
I peek out the window and spot her sitting at the bar. My brow lifts in surprise. “Harrison?”
My brother looks a little uncomfortable as he rubs his buzzed hair.
“What’s the deal with that? You haven’t fucked her yet?” I ask.
He narrows his eyes. “It’s not like that.”
“Not like that?” I step back, eyes widening. “What other way could it be for you?”
Is he serious?
He grabs his nape. “I don’t know. This one’s different.”
I can’t even help the fucking smile that spreads across my lips. I never would have thought it. Never.
“Holy hell.”
“What?” he responds.
“I never thought I’d see the day.” I know I look goofy, but I can’t control my grin. I blink and sniff because I’m drunk and high, and damn, I feel good.
“The fuck you talking about?” Bryce says.
“My big brother is hooked on a woman.”
He shakes his head. “Leave it alone. And don’t mess up my place,” he says, walking away from me.
I laugh and look to the women who were just all over me. “All right, girls. Let’s take this party upstairs.”
Chapter Fifteen
Harlow
Sunlight slips in between the blinds in the kitchen. I’ve gone for my morning run, and now I’ve got to go to the grocery store to re-up on supplies, and by that, I mean wine, sunflower seeds, and peanut butter. I’m a woman of simple tastes. I grab my keys and grocery bag before heading out. I look down at my outfit when I hit the sidewalk.
Shit.
What if he’s there again?
I almost run back up but decide against it.
Who cares if he’s there?
The grocery store is only a block from where I live. It’s convenient. I love the city.
Everything is right at your fingertips, no having to jump into your car and go miles and miles for something as simple as a loaf of bread. Plus, I grew up here. Atlanta is my home.
I was raised by two loving parents who became even more doting after my Chloe was taken. There’s no lack of love in my life, and I have to say, sometimes it drives me a little nuts. I think the only thing that helps them sleep at night is the fact I’m trained to use a gun.
I turn the corner and walk across the street, looking out for cars and the idiots who don’t know how to drive them. Heading inside the store, I inhale a little relief when I feel the cool air brush against my skin. I turn to walk through the produce aisle, my feet stop, and my face blanches.
Grocery Store Boy is only a few feet away from me. So, he comes here every Saturday, too, then?
Did he just move here, or have I just never noticed him before? Nah, I would have noticed.
I swallow, contemplating going a different way, but then he turns around and looks right at me.
My heart kicks up, and my back feels hot. His eyes narrow only a tad, and I beg my feet to freaking move. They listen after the third time. I smile a little and walk over to the apples. Picking up a few, I place them into my bag, aware of his eyes on me.
Dammit, why didn’t I change clothes?
I’m usually not the type to care, but for some reason, I really care right now.
I move over to the grapes. I’m a firm believer in being able to pick something up and eat it immediately.
No cooking. No cleanup.
More time to focus on work.
“So, you’re one of those?” I hear. I turn around to see Grocery Store Boy.
I move my eyes to the side, like what are you talking about?
“I am?” I ask.
“Bring your own bag,” he says, pointing to my bag.
I look down at it. “Oh yeah. Trying to be a better human one step at a time.” I smile.
“They do come in handy as bathroom trash bags, though.”
I shrug. “My trash can has this inner thing you can take out, dump, and wash if needed.”
He nods with a smirk. “Cool trash can.”
“I guess,” I say with my own grin.
God, he’s cute, like, far away you can tell this man is a looker, but up close?
Wow.
He’s rocking a five o’clock shadow. His hair is buzzed, his eyes a beautiful shade of blue.
I look to his shopping cart. “So, you come here every Saturday?” I ask.
“Um, yeah. Well, I do now. Just got home from overseas.”
“Overseas? Business trip?”
“Army,” he says.
“Oh, wow. I can see that,” I say, taking in his physique. He looks Army.
“Name is Jace.”
“Good to meet you, Jace,” I reply, shaking his outreached hand.
My phone starts to ring, and I realize it’s in my sports bra.
Shit.
I scrunch my face as he watches me reach into my shirt and pull my phone from my bra.
Jesus.
He smiles, and it knocks me off my feet. It lights up his whole face. It’s beautiful and almost makes me forget what I’m doing.
I look at the screen, seeing it’s Monroe. “Umm, I’ve gotta take this,” I say, snapping back to reality.
“Sure,” he replies. “See you next Saturday.”
“Yeah, yeah, see you then,” I say, walking off and quickly answering the phone. “Yeah?”
I don’t mean to be rude to Jace, but Monroe is my person now.
He’s agreed to keep me informed.
“So, we got photos from the library. Can’t see his face. Can’t see anything really.”
“What about the parking lot? Did we get any photos of his vehicle?”
“Nope. It appears he walked there.”
“You’re kidding?” I ask, scrubbing a hand down my face. I look over, seeing Jace looking at me. He looks away quickly, and I lower my voice.
“This is bullshit,” I say. “How is he doing this?”
“Not sure. We’re looking at all addresses near the area, and if we don’t find anything, we’ll start looking at flights in and out.”
“Yeah, good idea,” I reply. “But I don’t think he would be dumb enough to live close by.”
“Oh, I’m sure he’s not. He’s been doing this for a long time. He’s gotten good, but we’ll find him, Dalton.”
“I hope so. Thanks for keeping me updated.”
“Tal
k soon,” he says, hanging up.
I exhale and put my phone back into my bra.
“You look like you could use a drink,” I hear. I turn around to find Jace standing behind me once again.
“Do you usually eavesdrop on people’s conversations?”
“Relax. I didn’t hear anything. Your body language said it all. Have a drink with me.”
I narrow my eyes.
“Come on. I’m a pretty cool dude. Let me buy you a drink.”
I exhale again and look around. “Okay. One drink won’t hurt.”
He smiles again. “Wanna finish up here and I’ll meet you later?”
“Yeah. Hudson Grille on Peachtree. Do you know where that is?” I ask him.
He nods. “Sports bar. Okay.”
“One-thirty good with you?”
He grins. “See you then.”
I smile back before he walks off.
I hit my forehead and lean my head back. What the hell did I just agree to?
It’s been years since I’ve had drinks with a guy I was interested in.
It’s just drinks, and the game will be on, so we can watch that, too. It’s a win-win.
My therapist, Davy, and Mom will be happy.
Chapter Sixteen
Jace
I’m a little shocked she agreed. I feel like the girl’s been wound up so tightly she might combust. She looked hella stressed on that phone call, and while I was being honest, I couldn’t hear what she was saying, I still felt like I needed to rescue her.
Seeing her from afar was nice. I mean, she’s got a great body, but seeing her up close like that? She’s beautiful, man. I saw her jogging in place not too long ago, but it was through a tinted window.
Her freckles only add to her beauty. They’re not overwhelming, just scattered like stardust across her cheeks.
Her eyes are this gorgeous shade of brown flakes mixed with green specks. It makes me think of Granny Smith apples dipped in caramel.
I like this chick. We could be friends.
It would be nice to have a friend.
We could fuck, too.
That would also be nice.
After I unpack my groceries, I prepare some meat for supper tonight, letting it soak in a marinade before I get ready to meet her at Hudson’s.
She picked a sports bar. I thought she’d pick somewhere fancy. I don’t really know why I thought that. She just seems like she doesn’t know how to have a good time.
That sounds bad, but I get that vibe from her.
That’s okay. She’s going to be hanging out with me now. I’ll show her how to have a good time.
I slide the food into the fridge and reach for my phone to touch base with my brother.
“Hey, man,” Bryce says, answering on the second ring.
“Hey, what’s your day looking like?” he asks.
“Eh, not much,” he replies. “I went and hit the bag a little. Headed back to the apartment now.”
“Have you seen Harrison anymore?” I ask him.
“Mind your business.”
I smile, knowing he has. “All right, well, I’ve got a date in a little while. So, my night will be occupied in case you wanted to hang out.”
“A date with whom?” he asks.
“Mind your business,” I throw back at him.
He laughs. “Yeah, yeah. Talk later.”
I laugh and hang up the phone.
___________
I pull up in the parking lot of the bar. I’m not sure what she’d be driving so I go inside, realizing I don’t have her number or her name. I walk inside and search the bar. A few men occupy the stools, but there’s two at the end that’s open, right near the TV. Score.
I walk on down and hop on the seat. “You here with Michelle?” the bartender asks me.
I quirk a brow. “Umm, yeah?” I say it like it’s a question because I don’t know her name. He looks at me funny.
“Yes, he’s with me.” I turn to look and blink. She’s in jeans and a Braves T-shirt that’s tied on the side. Her hair is down, which I haven’t seen yet, and she’s got a ball cap on.
Damn, she’s probably the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen, and that’s saying a lot. I’ve been around a good bit of them.
“Hey,” she says with a nod before sliding onto the barstool.
“Can we get a beer?” she asks the bartender. “Whatever you have on draft.”
She’s ordering drinks for me?
I don’t have time to gather my thoughts here. She walks in, looking like a guy’s girl, completely comfortable with herself, and not a stitch of over-the-top makeup or clothes.
And she just ordered beer like she’s a regular here.
“Come here often?” I ask.
“Yeah, all the time.” She smiles.
“I can tell.”
“Oh, damn. I hope you like beer. I usually drink it when I come in here. Their wine is shit,” she says.
I chuckle. “Yeah, I like beer.”
“Good.” She adjusts her hat and looks at the TV. The Braves are winning and she seems interested.
“So, Michelle?” I ask her.
She turns to look at me. “Huh?”
“Your name. It’s Michelle.”
“Oh, yeah,” she says with an eye roll. “Sorry, I was focused on the game.”
I smile. “Jace,” I say.
She holds her hand out for me to shake. I do and she says, “We officially know each other now. I can stop calling you Grocery Store Boy.”
“Grocery Store Boy?”
“I had to call you something, and that was all I had.”
“So, you thought of me then?” I ask her with a smirk.
She gives me a smile as the bartender places our beers on the bar. “You want something to eat?”
She shrugs. “I could eat a burger.”
“Okay, two burgers, please.”
“Coming right up,” he replies. I know I have food in the fridge to cook, but it’ll hold off until tomorrow.
“How long have you been coming here?” I ask as her eyes go back to the TV.
“Years. It’s near my house. It’s just easy. I’m all about easy,” she says, looking over at me. She straightens her back.
“What’s your last name?” I ask her.
She blinks. “Why?”
“I’m an Army guy. We usually go by last names.”
“Oh, right. Um, can you call me Michelle, though? I’m not too fond of my last name.”
I lift a brow. “Yeah, sure.” Noting that she still never told me.
“Thanks.” She clears her throat. “So, what about you, Jace? What’s up with the Army?”
I grab my beer from the bar. “Nothing anymore. I served for eight years. Now I’m out.”
“So, you’re done?”
“Yeah.” I take a sip of my drink.
“What now then?” she asks.
“My Pops owns a horse ranch up north. I’ll probably work up there a bit until I figure it out.”
“A horse ranch?” she asks, surprised.
I nod.
“You ever rode a horse?” I ask her.
She licks her lips. “Nope. City girl through and through.”
“City girls can ride horses, too,” I reply.
She shrugs. “Yeah, but this one hasn’t.”
“Maybe one day I’ll get you on one.”
“I doubt it,” she says with a smirk before she grabs her beer.
“What do you do? How do you spend your time?”
“Oh, I’m a librarian.”
“Really?” I ask her. That doesn’t seem right.
“Yep. Lover of books.” She looks back at the TV just as one of the players knocks the ball out of the park. “Yes!” she says, lifting off her seat a tad and leaning on the bar. “Run,” she urges. My eyes go to her back, down to her ass. Her hair is pulled to one side, exposing her slender neck.
I swallow and grab my beer again.
She looks back at me.
“Did you see that?” she asks with a big grin. “We just scored three runs.”
“I saw,” I reply. Her excitement for the game is contagious, or maybe it’s just being around her.
She’s different.
She’s actually got a brain in her head and has some interest. It’s clear she works out; she likes sports and she’s into books.
Nothing like I’d normally sleep with, which is oddly refreshing.
Moments later, we get our burgers and she eats like she hasn’t all day.
“Sorry,” she says with a mouthful. “I skipped breakfast.”
“You’re not bothering me,” I tell her. She grabs a napkin from behind the bar, and I get to stare at her ass again. I look up at the TV when she sits back down. “What do you do for fun?”
“Fun?” she replies, wiping her mouth.
“Yeah, you know, the thing that people sometimes like to have.”
She rolls her eyes. “I know what fun is.”
“Okay,” I say. “So what’s fun to you?”
“This,” she says.
“This?” I reply, looking around the bar. It’s full of men and beer and loud TVs.
“Yeah, I’ve been coming here for years. My dad and I spend a lot of time here, and the boys…” She stops herself. “Some of his friends like to come in here, too.”
I nod. “So, it’s like the local hangout.”
“Exactly. Besides that, I really don’t do anything.”
“You’re not into clubs?”
She shakes her head. “Nah. Not my scene.” “You?”
“Yeah. I go every now and again. My brother owns Red.”
“Really?” she asks, lifting her beer. She signals to the bartender and he walks over. “Water, please,” she says before looking back at me. “That’s pretty cool—that your brother owns a club. Free drinks?”
I laugh. “Yeah, it’s one of the perks.”
“Are there more?” she asks, taking a sip of her beer. She wipes her mouth again. I can think of plenty of other perks, but I choose not to tell her.
“Nah, that’s about it.”
She nods as her water is placed on the bar. “Thanks,” she says the bartender.
“Sure thing, Michelle,” he replies. I find it a little odd how he said her name. Like he was spelling it out or something.
“What do you do for fun?” she asks me.
“Well, I go to Red and…” I look up, trying to think of other things I like to do. “I ride dirt bikes out at the ranch, and I like to go to the gun range from time to time.”
Give Me Redemption (Give Me Series Book 4) Page 7
