Cerys Chapter 2
I was so happy I let the girls talk me into a night on the town. After the past several weeks and then the other afternoon with Diaz, I needed it. After I moved to Needles and started at the hospital, I met and quickly became friends with Denise and another nurse, Norah. Through them, I met Millie and Julia. We all became fast friends. We might not get to go out much, but we did text and chat several times a week.
They loved to tease me since I was the youngest out of the group. Denise and Julia were both twenty-six and single. Millie was twenty-seven and a single mom to three-year-old Faith. Her dad had never been in the picture. He bailed as soon as he found out Millie was pregnant. Norah was twenty-eight and married, but she had no kids yet. She was married to Sam, the paramedic. At twenty-three, they liked to ask me if I was old enough to drink when we went out.
We were at Pour Decisions, our favorite bar. We thought the name was catchy and fun. They had a good customer base and a mix of people. We felt comfortable there. Any time we’d been in there, I felt safe. Maybe it was because of the owner, Cooper, and the staff he had. There was something about him that exuded protection. He was an intimidating man, with several of his family members working for him. Colter was his brother. Calvin and Chance were his cousins. All of them were big, fierce men, but they looked out for you.
After getting to know them, I asked if everyone’s name in their family started with the letter C. They laughed and assured me there were other letters. On Friday and Saturday nights, they had a band a lot of the time. On Thursdays, it was karaoke, which I didn’t care for, but others seemed to enjoy it.
Tonight, all four guys were there. I wasn’t sure if they were all working or not. They greeted us warmly when they saw us and started a tab. I was beginning to recognize the locals. For those I didn’t, I’d ask the others if they were local and ask them to tell me their names. As we checked it out, I found there were a lot of tourists there. I didn’t mind, as long as they behaved. Some would get rowdy or sometimes obnoxious overall.
We’d been there for about an hour when Denise nudged my arm. She smiled and lifted her chin toward my right when I glanced at her. “Look who just walked in?” she said.
However, her nudge wasn’t needed. I knew without looking who it was. My nerves had zinged, and I knew what it meant. Unable to resist double-checking and to get a fresh fix, I slowly turned my head to look casually. I found my gaze caught by Christou’s. He was staring intently at me. I gulped and promptly turned my head back.
“He’s still staring at you,” she giggled.
“Whose staring at her?” Norah asked.
“No one,” I said.
“Like hell, it’s no one. Mr. Hottie, Deputy Christou, just walked in, and he’s got his eyes on Cerys,” the witch tattled.
The cows whipped their heads around to look at him without a bit of shame or finesse. I groaned and sank into my chair. I wanted to crawl under our table but couldn’t fit with their legs and the post. I had to resort to threats.
“Stop gawking at him, you heifers,” I hissed.
They laughed and took their time turning back to me. I refused to look his way, knowing my face was red. “I hate you. That’s it. You’re no longer my friends. I’m getting new ones,” I mumbled.
“Bitch, you love us and would never find better friends, so don’t tell us that bullshit,” Julia told me with a squint. I pretended not to hear her.
“I swear. I love Sam, but I’d be all over that yumminess if I didn't,” Norah sighed.
“If he’d give me an indication he’d go for me, I’d be up there right now,” Julia added. Denise hummed in agreement. I cast them angry glances, which made them laugh. Only Millie didn’t say anything.
“See that! She does like him,” Denise crowed.
“Shh, keep your voice down. God,” I muttered.
“Cerys, whenever he comes into the ER, you get quiet and try not to look at him. We know you like him because if you didn’t, you’d flirt with him like you do with all the other guys. And based on what I see right now, he’s not opposed to getting some Cerys,” Norah said. At least she didn’t scream it.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. That man doesn’t like me. And if I went up to him, he’d laugh himself silly. A guy like him is into women like…” I scanned the room until I saw a woman across the way. She screamed confident, experienced, and sexy to me. I covertly pointed to her and continued. “Her. She’s his type, not boring, freckle-faced me.”
“Girl, I don’t know what you see when you look in the mirror, but you need to get a new one. You’re gorgeous. Men come onto you all the time. You’re not boring. Yes, you have freckles, but they’re adorable and lightly scattered over your nose and upper cheeks. You’re sexy and way better looking than that woman,” Julia declared. The other three all nodded and agreed.
I raised my drink to them. “And that right there is why I love you. Now, enough about him. Who’s ready to dance?”
They all cheered. After draining our glasses, we got to our feet. No way would we leave our drinks behind unattended. As for our table, people were good about not taking your spot, especially if you flipped over the sign on the tables that read Taken . On the opposite side, it read Not Taken . We flipped it to the appropriate one.
I lost track of how many songs we danced to before we decided to take a break and have another drink. I was hot, and so were they. We were almost to our table when I saw two women and four guys had taken it over. They were loudly laughing. And wouldn’t you know it? One of the women was the one I’d indicated was Christou’s speed.
I scanned the bar for another place to sit, but it had grown even more crowded while we danced, and none were visible. Denise marched right up to our table with the others on her heels. If it had only been me, I might’ve shrugged it off and stood until another opened. Not because I was afraid of confrontation but because I didn’t believe it was worth fighting over. If it had been, then I would’ve led the pack.
“Excuse me. I hate to interrupt, but it seems you’ve got our table. You look like you’re from out of town. It’s an honest mistake. I wish Cooper would put up a sign or something. When the table sign shows Taken , it means the people will be back, and it’s unavailable,” Denise said politely.
One of the men glanced up at us. He ran his eyes up and down her, then the rest of us, before he answered. “Get lost. There are no saving tables. If you wanted to keep it, then you should’ve kept your asses here,” he sneered.
“There’s no reason to get pissy. She explained nicely. She didn’t come over and say move your asses. She explained the sign, which is easily decipherable for those who can read. Don’t be a dick,” Julia said back.
The woman with him instantly snapped. “Get lost, bitches. We’re not moving. And if you don’t want your asses beaten, you’ll shut up.”
“And whose army is going to beat them? Surely, you don’t mean you and your friends,” Denise snorted.
It was rapidly moving to a fight. I tried to calm things down. “I’m sure we can all find a way to resolve this. The table is large enough. If you bunch up a bit, we can see if Cooper has any extra chairs we can use. It’s crowded tonight, so seating is at a premium,” I shared with a smile.
One of the men smirked at me and leaned back in his chair. “If you wanna sit here, you can sit on my lap. My buddy will take one of the others, but that leaves three of you out of luck.”
“We’re not sitting on your laps,” I told him, then turned to my girls. “Come with me.”
I wasn’t about to talk in front of this bunch any longer. They weren’t about to listen, and the man who’d spoken gave me the willies with how he checked me out. The two women were glowering at us, and the men with them were frowning. I was here to have fun, not fight.
My friends weren’t happy, but I saw they’d do as I asked. I swung around to head away from the table. I made it two steps before my arm was grabbed and yanked backward. I cried out in surprise. As I stumbled backward, I landed on a lap, and arms came around to squeeze me tightly. I wasn’t able to stand up. I wiggled, trying to get loose.
“Let go of her!” Millie yelled. Denise, Julia, and Norah were adding their demands that he let go of me to hers.
“Oh yeah, that’s it, baby, wiggle that ass all over my cock,” the guy groaned. I froze. Oh my God, he was hardening under my butt. I didn’t know what to do. I hated to cause a scene, but he wouldn’t likely listen to my pleas. I tried anyway.
“Please let go of me.”
His arms tightened more. Crap. I was about to ask one of my friends to get Cooper or one of the others when a deep, gravelly voice spoke. One I recognized and sent darts of heat and awareness through me. I wished the floor would open up and swallow me. Why did he have to be here?