Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8
O rdinarily, Scarlett would have felt a mounting excitement that afternoon as she prepared for her shift, knowing that she’d see Kyle later. And it never hurt that Friday and Saturday nights were the shifts when she made the most money.
But as she walked down the stairs and out the door onto the street, her heart and soul felt heavy. Although the snow had stopped earlier, the cold was settling in, taking hold so that everything was frozen in its grip. Even the short distance from the door leading to the apartments to the entrance of the bar chilled Scarlett to the bone, merely underscoring how she felt inside.
Tommy was out and he was looking for her.
Aside from actually finding her, that was the worst-case scenario.
He’d always been possessive, claiming her as his woman shortly after they’d started dating, making it impossible for her to even maintain male friendships. In fact, she couldn’t even talk with the men she worked with if Tommy was around for fear he’d beat them up out of unwarranted jealousy. A couple of women she worked with thought it was sweet and endearing, but Scarlett had found it stifling and annoying from the start.
For some reason, she’d thought he would change…that if he saw continually that she was faithful and loved him, he would relax.
But that never happened. She got the feeling that he would be even worse if he found her now.
Dangerous and relentless.
As she walked into the bar, the warmth from the heater vent above the door blasted down, as if trying to push the cold back outside. Tonight, she’d worn thicker socks, hoping to keep her toes warm, and two t-shirts, the Intent to Murder shirt underneath her Tequilaville one. If Kyle asked, she could lift up a corner to show him that she had it on, but she also hoped it would help her retain a little body heat.
Once they got busy, she might regret the extra shirt but not at the moment.
“Hey there,” Denise said as Scarlett walked through the bar. Things were picking up as they always did around five o’clock on Fridays but not so bad that Denise couldn’t handle it.
Scarlett said “Hey” back, hoping she’d gotten her tone of voice right. She didn’t need to share her anxiousness with the world. Quickly, she made her way to the back, hanging her jacket up in the office, and then she headed back to the bar. By the time she got there, Denise was busy pouring a couple of beers and chatting with a couple at the bar. Although Denise was always good at prepping what they needed, Scarlett wanted something to do and began cutting a few extra lemons, limes, and oranges for the night ahead. Before she could finish, she had thirsty customers.
It seemed like hardly any time had passed by the time Intent to Murder began setting up their instruments on the stage. She’d been surprisingly busy. Even though it was Friday night, it was December and it was cold outdoors after snowing most of the day. She’d expected people to stay home on this wintry night.
Instead, they were arriving in droves. That was good, because it pulled her focus from her problems and allowed her to lose her mind in her work.
She hadn’t expected Kyle to approach the bar until after the band’s show, because that was what he usually did. When he got close, she teased, “Oh, this can’t be good. You need a beer before performing?”
His laugh was contagious. Just the sound and the way his eyes crinkled lightened her heart and her mood, making her smile back. “Actually, I needed to talk to you before performing.”
“Why?”
Although his smile softened, his voice sounded sweet. “Your vibes are always positive…so I’m here to bask in the glow.”
He was joking, right? “Get out of here.”
“I’m serious. But…that’s not why I’m here. I think I might have warned you that I’m persistent. And if I didn’t, I guess you need to know. This isn’t an ultimatum, okay? But until you give me my marching orders, I’m going to keep asking if you want to go out on a date with me.”
She shook her head, her smile wide, because he was right about being persistent. For some reason, though, it didn’t bother her.
Maybe because she’d been considering saying yes all along.
“You can ask all you want, but you know what they say about insanity.”
“ Insanity? ”
“Yeah. You know, if you keep doing the same thing and expecting different results? That’s insanity.”
Melodramatically, Kyle clutched at his chest as if his heart were imploding. “Oh, that hurts, Tink.”
“I’m sure it does. Get your ass up there and entertain the customers, will ya?”
Taking her playfulness in stride, he winked. “I will be back.”
“I expect nothing less.”
Despite the busyness of the evening, Scarlett’s mind stayed on Kyle. It didn’t hurt that she could steal glances at him up on the stage. He definitely was sexy as hell and as sweet as chocolate. As she poured glasses of beer and shots and made all manner of mixed drinks, her mind compared Tommy and Kyle and she realized something important.
Kyle was as different from Tommy as night was from day.
What would it hurt to take a chance?
Besides, there was an added bonus—having a guy around on occasion might provide some level of protection, a little safety.
No…not really. Not with Tommy. The guy was a loose cannon and, when he was provoked, just about anything around him could become a weapon—chairs, lamps, forks, candles in jars, cutting boards, and hammers were just a few of the items Scarlett had seen him brandish in a rage.
Still, having a man like Kyle around would make her feel safer, even if it was only an illusion. Scarlett herself had no protection other than the pepper spray in her purse—which did her no good when she didn’t have it with her.
And it was high time to admit to herself that she’d found herself quite attracted to Kyle, the first man she’d even allowed herself to feel anything for in a long time. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to spend time in the company of a man. It didn’t hurt that he consistently made her laugh and smile. And, like he’d said about her effect on him, he made her feel better about herself.
All positives.
The only negative she could see was the possibility of falling in love. She couldn’t trust her own judgment. What if Kyle was only putting on an act? She’d seen that kind of thing before. He might be a real son of a bitch underneath the mask. But, more than that, she knew she’d have to leave Silver City eventually, and it would be harder if she had to leave a piece of her heart behind.
It had been hard enough leaving a good friend like Marin. What would she do if she had to leave someone she shared her heart with?
By the end of Intent to Murder’s set, Scarlett was torn…but she decided she would take a chance. She simply had to be smart about it.
Later, when Kyle approached the bar, the first thing she said was “Yes.”
His eyes narrowed in confusion. “What?”
“Yes. I’ll go out on a date with you.”
A slow smile crept over his face. “I thought you said I was insane to keep asking.”
“Maybe so—but maybe I felt a little sorry for you.”
“A pity date?”
Cocking her head, she said, “We can talk later. Do you need anything to drink right now?”
“Tink, you gotta work on your bedside manner. You call me insane, get my hopes up, and then shoo me away.”
If he hadn’t been smiling, she might have been worried that she’d hurt his feelings. “Come back when it’s slower and I promise to soothe your weary soul.”
What the hell was she even saying?
“You got a date. Wait—no. I don’t want to blow my one chance. Scratch that. I’ll be back.”
It was hard to focus the rest of the night. Fortunately, much of her job she could now perform by rote until it came to drinks she didn’t make too often.
After the headlining band finished and the bar switched back to pre-recorded music, it was still loud with all the people around, but they finally started filtering out around eleven o’clock—and, even though Kyle had come to the bar a couple of times for beer and then water, he’d stuck around.
Closer to midnight, it looked as if his bandmates had left, and Kyle walked over to her side of the bar again. Things had slowed enough that she was now cleaning up. Denise was tackling the bathrooms before leaving for the night; Al had already left; and there was one server remaining, wiping off tables and bringing stray glasses back to the bar. Even with the occasional order that Scarlett was bound to get, she could afford to give Kyle more attention now.
“Still think I’m insane?”
“Well, you do play a crazy mean guitar.”
Kyle chuckled and sat on one of the many empty stools at the bar. “I guess.”
“You do. Did you need anything to drink?”
“I wouldn’t mind another glass of water.”
“You got it.” Scarlett scooped a few cubes of ice into a glass and then poured water over it. As she slid it to Kyle on a cocktail napkin, she said, “On the house.”
“That’s awfully generous.”
“Well, I’d promised to buy you a beer—but I guess I’ll have to owe you.”
“Nah. Don’t worry about it. What you can do is tell me what kind of food you like.”
Scarlett couldn’t help but smile. “That’s an odd topic.”
“Not really. Not if I’m taking you out on a date. If you hate barbecue and I take you to a barbecue place, you’ll never want to go out with me again.”
“I guess that’s fair. But would you really take a first date to a barbecue place?”
“That was just an example.”
“Good. I was starting to worry.”
“But I’d do it if it was your all-time favorite.” The amusement in Kyle’s eyes was easy to see, even while he shook his head. “Any restaurants around here you like?”
Scarlett hadn’t really eaten out much—mostly because she didn’t want to waste money on it but she’d also found that she was keeping herself in a comfort zone. Aside from shopping for groceries, she stayed mostly around the historic Main Street area of Silver City instead of venturing out to the east side of town where most of the newer businesses were located. “Nope. Any place you recommend?”
“It depends on what you like—which brings me back to my original question. Are you avoiding it?”
Putting down the glass she was washing, Scarlett made sure to make eye contact with Kyle’s dreamy blue eyes. “Not on purpose. What was the question?”
“What kind of food do you like?”
“Oh, yeah. Um…well, I don’t hate barbecue.”
“But not for a first date.”
“Exactly. Uh…let’s see. It might be easier to tell you what I don’t like, because I don’t consider myself to be too picky. I don’t like steak houses—not that I don’t like steak, but I can’t eat a lot of it, and I’m not a fan of the atmosphere.”
“That’s fair. Anything else?”
“Hmm. No chains.”
“Like Burger King? I wouldn’t take you to a fast food place anyway.”
“Yeah, but I mean like Chili’s or—”
“Oh, yeah. Okay.” Kyle took a sip of his water. “Mind sharing why?”
“They cater to the masses. If I want a substitute or an accommodation, it’s harder in a place like that.”
“Makes sense. What else?”
“Uh…I think that’s it. What about you? What food do you like?”
“Pretty much anything. If it doesn’t eat me first, it’s fair game.”
Scarlett laughed again, rinsing another glass before putting it on the drainer. “That leaves a lot of options for you.”
“It does. Now…what do you like to do for fun?”
“All the questions. It’s like we’re on a date right now.”
“C’mon, Tink. I just wanna make this date something special. If you have a lot of fun, you’ll say yes to lots more.”
Were they actually considering not just a date but dating ? Although she hadn’t consciously thought that far ahead, she knew it was true…at least for her. Because one good date would lead to another and another. “Okay. Uh…I’m not sure. I’m still getting familiar with what Silver City has to offer.”
“You’re not from here.”
“Right. I just moved here earlier this year.”
A new smile crept up on the right side of Kyle’s face. “Watch me not grill you for info. I’ll save it for the date.”
“Ooh. I’m impressed.”
“You should be.”
A customer approached the bar and asked for two shots of whiskey and a draft. Scarlett took care of him in short order and then turned back to Kyle. “So what were we talking about?”
“What you like to do for fun—and you told me you’re still getting familiar with Silver City. So I’m going to give you some options and you can pick.”
Not only did that give Scarlett a little zing of excitement, but it again reminded her of how different Kyle was compared to Tommy. When she’d been with her ex, anything they did was what Tommy wanted to do. Scarlett’s opinions and wants didn’t matter. “Okay.”
“We could go to a movie or go bowling. Um…ziplining, but I’ve never done that before, so I can’t vouch for it. There’s a museum here and in Charlotte.”
“That’s close by, right?”
“Yeah. That’s where I live. It’s, like, fifteen minutes away. I’ve never been to either one of them, but it’s something. Um…pickleball.”
“ Pickleball? Isn’t that an old person game?”
“I don’t know. I just know everybody at work won’t shut up about it. I thought it might be kinda fun. Maybe not.” When she nodded, he continued. “Then there’s Razor Ridge Drive a few miles out of town to the west. Great view of town from up there.”
“You know what?” Scarlett asked, drying her hands on a towel. “All of those things sound lovely—so I’ll let you surprise me with that too. Is that okay?”
He practically beamed. “Okay—but only if you promise to be honest if you don’t like what we’re doing.”
“I trust you.”
Kyle cocked an eyebrow in the sexiest way and Scarlett felt something deep inside her perk up. Holy shit. That was the first time in a very long time that she’d felt something akin to desire.
Wow.
She was officially hooked.
“Do you trust me enough to give me your phone number…and maybe even your address so I can pick you up?”
“Shouldn’t we decide when we’re going first?”
“Whatever you want, Tink.”
It was definitely official. She wanted Kyle…but she wasn’t going to say that. She did, however, finally give him her number.