Chapter 20
Farrah
Last night had not gone differently.
Now here I sat at Hops I wasn't ready to unpack that just yet.
I was still working my way through what to do about Ryan—the room would have to wait.
With Hadley still with my parents, I had the night to myself, so I ordered another martini when Aria left. The bar was beginning to fill up, helping drown the endless ramblings and anxiety churning through my mind.
"Is this seat taken?" A deep voice cut through the noise.
One I would know anywhere.
I turned in my seat, letting my eyes slowly drift up, taking in denim molded to thick, strong thighs, a navy-blue t-shirt stretched across a broad chest and sculpted biceps, light chestnut brown hair short on the sides but tousled in that sexy, effortless way on top, and deep emerald eyes fixed solely on me.
Walker bent down so his lips were close to my ear.
"With the way you just eye fucked me, Wildflower, I'll take that as a no.
" He settled into the seat next to me, and a shiver moved through me before I could stop it.
Stanley walked over and placed a beer in front of him without a word, then disappeared to help another patron.
I scoffed, "Don't flatter yourself, Ace." The old nickname slipped out before I could stop it.
Walker's eyebrows shot up his forehead, and a satisfied smirk crossed his lips. "Oh, I'm Ace again." He nodded. "I like that."
Stanley was making my martinis particularly strong, so I blamed the slip-up on the drinks. I took another sip. "What are you doing here? Hot date?" I glanced around him, looking for some hot curvy woman lurking nearby.
He chuckled, shaking his head. "No, no hot date. What about you? Where's Ryan?" I detected a slight edge to his tone.
"I went out with him last night. I just met Aria here, but she had to run off to a date, and I'm kid-free tonight, so I thought I would take advantage."
And take advantage I did.
Walker and I were about three drinks and a shot or two in, just trading stories like old friends. I switched over to water for a break and nearly spit it out when Walker told me an insane story about Addison and Dean.
"So yeah, they fucked in bathroom number three down that hall." He tilted his head toward the hallway of bathrooms.
"No shit? Really? Rule-follower Addison? I never would have thought she had it in her." I smiled. "Good for her."
Walker shook his head like he was trying to forget a memory. "Yeah, Dean seems to bring that side out of her. I caught them fucking in one of the stalls at her barn the other day." He shivered. "I'll never get that image out of my fucking head."
My eyes went wide. "Oh my God, shut up! Wow." I smirked. "I like this side of Addison."
Walker scoffed. "I love that she’s happy and all, but if they could stop having sex in public places, that would be ideal."
"Fair enough." I twirled my straw around in my water glass. "Okay, I think it’s time for us to play House Hunters. But new rules, if you get the budget wrong, you have to take a shot, and if you get it right, I have to take a shot."
Walker narrowed his eyes in challenge. "All right, I'm game.
" Walker and I used to watch House Hunters on HGTV, and guess what the couple's budget was based on their jobs.
We were always entertained by the fact that the more ridiculous the job, the bigger the budget.
It evolved into a game we played when we were out.
We would pick random couples we saw, make up their occupations, and then the other would try to guess the budget.
It was a silly game, but it always ended with us barreling over in laughter.
I glanced around the bar and zeroed in on an unsuspecting couple that looked to be in their 50s.
The large man had a long beard that fell well past his chin, and the woman had bright red hair.
I nodded my head in their direction. "He’s a butterfly wing inspector, and she’s a jellybean taste tester. "
Walker's head fell back in laughter, the sound soothing every open crack in my heart. "Wow, Wildflower. Where the hell did you come up with those?" He shook his head. "All right. Budget is $1.2 mill."
I shook my head, "So close, but no."
"$1.3 million?"
"Nope. He hasn't quite made it to management level yet, so their budget is $750,000."
"Damn it!" Walker narrowed his eyes before he kicked back his tequila shot. "My turn."
"Give me your best shot, Ace." I leaned back in my chair, tucking my hands behind my head. I was always better at guessing the budget than he was, and he hated it.
Walker looked around the bar. He nodded in the direction of a younger couple, who looked to be in their 30s. The man was sporting a man bun, and the woman's platinum blonde hair fell well past her butt. "He’s a used toothbrush salesman, and she makes sweaters for hairless cats."
I could feel the tears spill down my cheeks, I was laughing so hard. "How on earth did you come up with that?" I wiped my face, still laughing.
Walker shrugged. "I'm a creative guy."
"You've gotten better at this game. All right. Budget is $1.1 million." I was still giggling.
Walker slammed his fist on the bar. "Damn it! How the fuck do you do that?" I caught Stanley's attention and pointed to Walker's empty shot glass. Stanley just shook his head with a smile and filled up the glass with more tequila.
"It's a gift. Now drink up, buddy."
After a couple more rounds of House Hunters, the shot count came in at me two shots, and Walker four shots.
"I really liked having you and Hadley over at the barn. You should come over sometime and ride with me… like we used to," Walker randomly blurted out before dropping his eyes to his drink.
Memories of Walker and me racing his family's horses through the fields on their property flooded back.
Whoever won had to clean all the tack. I was pretty sure he let me win most of the time.
We also used to take one of the trails down to the river that flowed behind the main house and eat lunch by the water most days during the summer.
It was where he kissed me for the first time in high school, where he told me he loved me.
Most of our memories involved horses.
I cocked my head to the side and smiled. "I'd like that."
Seeming relieved at my response, Walker sat back in his seat and draped his arm casually across the back of my chair. "I know you ride at Addison's, but figured you could use a break from the hunter/jumper life and kick it western with me occasionally."
My hand found his thick thigh and slowly drifted up before I lightly squeezed. "Sounds fun." His gaze dropped to where my hand rested, and his fingers began to softly play with the strands of my hair that fell over the back of my chair. Walker's touch felt familiar and safe; I reveled in it.
Unfortunately, my bladder had other plans, causing me to break the contact. "I've got to go to the bathroom; I'll be right back." Walker simply nodded, but his eyes were all fire. It was probably best I put some space between us for a minute. Let us breathe.
After I stopped off at the bathroom, not bathroom number three, I decided to slip out of the back exit and grab some air for a minute before returning to Walker.
Drinks were flowing, I was feeling good—maybe too good— and we were definitely beginning to let our guards down.
I was worried where this was headed. I figured if I got some air to cool off for a minute, maybe the air between us would cool off too.
I took a deep breath in, but quickly spun around when I heard the back exit open behind me. Walker stalked towards me, causing me to back up against the brick wall. He placed both of his hands against the wall on either side of my head. "Are you avoiding me, Wildflower?"
I tipped my head up, seeing the desire burning in his green eyes. "I would never." My words were laced with sarcasm.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly before he leaned down, his nose brushing against mine, "Good," he all but whispered.
He removed one of his hands from the wall and placed it on my throat, then coasted up until he was holding my jaw.
His eyes dipped to my mouth, his tongue peeked out, and he ran it across his bottom lip.
I leaned into his touch as my heart rate kicked up to a dangerous level.
"I've missed you, Wildflower," he murmured softly before his mouth came crashing into mine.
The kiss started out slow, almost tentative, like he was seeking permission, but the moment I opened for him, moaning as I leaned into his chest, all bets were off.
It turned desperate. Hands were everywhere, grabbing and seeking connection as if we couldn't get close enough.
Tongues were tasting, exploring, and greedy.
I slipped my hand down between us, cupping the thick bulge in his jeans.
Walker groaned into my mouth as his hands moved beneath my ass, hoisting me up and wrapping my legs around his waist.
The sound of someone clearing their throat doused us in a bucket of ice water. We immediately pulled away. Walker set me back on the ground, our chests heaving, the moment shattering as I glanced nervously to my left to see who had caught us.
"Well, this is a surprise." My brother Nolan had his hands on his hips and a shit-eating grin on his face, a mischievous glint in his eye.
"Yeah, didn't have this on my bingo card," my other brother, Nate, chimed in.
I closed my eyes to wish for both patience and teleportation powers. "Why are you two even out here?" I said through clenched teeth.
Sensing the tension, Walker walked over to Nate and Nolan, giving each a handshake and a half-hug.
“Hey, guys. I was just saying goodbye to Farrah.” He turned back to me.
“I’ll see you around.” He threw me a wink, the kind that said we aren't done, before heading back toward his truck and disappearing around the side of the building.
My annoying little brothers both started laughing. "That was some goodbye." Nate couldn't help throwing in.
I rolled my eyes and bumped them both with my shoulder as I walked past them towards the parking lot. "It's none of your business."
Nolan: Our dear sister was outside the bar with her tongue down Walk's throat tonight
Grayson: I really hope you’re talking about Farrah and not Aria… then we would have bigger issues
Nate: Ha! That would be some crazy shit but no, it was Farrah.
Me: You two are dickheads. Mind your own business
Nolan: We were. It's not our fault you were openly making out in a public place. You made it our business. We didn't ask for this
Me: I can't with you, Nol
Aria: Tonight? This happened tonight? I leave you at the bar and you end up making out with Walker? Damn girl, that's one way to figure out if you still have feelings for the guy
Me: …I don't want to talk about it…
Aria: You should probably talk to Ryan though.
I tossed my phone on my bed and headed to my closet to change out of my clothes.
As I lifted my shirt over my head, I inhaled deeply.
I could still smell Walker on me, the intoxicating mix of warm spices, citrus, and a hint of leather.
I sighed as I touched my lips. As amazing as that kiss was, I wasn't sure what it meant.
But I knew Aria was right, and I needed to talk to Ryan.
This wasn't fair to him. We weren't exclusive, but I knew that was where Ryan wanted to be, and after that kiss with Walker, I also knew there was no way I could go there.