Chapter 13
13
BAILEY
W hen we got to the bar, Hank’s hand rested on the small of my back as we walked through the space looking for an open table. The strength of his hand brought me a sense of safety and groundedness I hadn’t felt in a long time. When we found a spot to sit down, he pulled my chair out for me and helped me into it, just like a true Southern gentleman. Sitting across from me, I studied his face while he ordered his drink.
His jaw was strong and cut at a sharp angle, making him look fierce and intimidating. It made me smile to myself because if you knew him, you knew he was a big softy and very, very shy. At least around me he was. I loved how, even though his hair was cut shorter, his curls couldn’t be stopped. They were tamed and mild, but still noticeable when you looked close enough. His caramel toned skin gave him a warm presence and you could tell he worked out by the way his clothes wrapped around him. I squeezed my thighs together as I started to think about how it would feel if I were wrapped around his body.
He watched as I ordered my drink and gave me an inquisitive glance when I ordered a mocktail instead of something with alcohol in it.
“I thought you asked to get drinks?” His eyebrows furrowed together in the center of his handsome face.
“I got a drink. A drink is a drink even if it doesn’t have any alcohol in it,” I pointed out. He gave me a small nod, succeeding to my point.
“Do you not drink?”
“I do, but not very often and usually only when I’m home.” I wanted to move away from this topic as fast as possible. I had my reasons for not wanting to drink but I wasn’t ready to share those reasons with him yet.
“Fair enough.” I could tell he still had questions but was nice enough to not push the subject any further. His phone was sitting on the table and started to buzz as our server came back with our drinks. He flipped it over, checked the message quickly, and set it back down without answering it.
“How’s your week been?” I took a sip of my drink and glanced at his phone when it buzzed again. He didn’t pick it up this time and answered my question.
“It’s been fine. Like I told you at dinner, I work for my friend’s security firm overseeing a team that covers high-profile events, celebrities who come to town, things like that. We have some summer festivals coming up we are working to plan and get organized for—” He stopped mid-sentence to turn over his phone that was nearly exploding on the table at this point.
“Someone’s popular,” I chuckled, finding amusement in how frustrated he looked looking at his phone.
“It’s my stupid friends,” he sighed, looking at his phone quickly. I could tell he was trying not to be rude by being on his phone.
“Is everything okay? You can reply if you want, it’s okay.”
“Yeah, everything’s fine, they're just talking about our campaign tomorrow night.” As soon as he said it, his eyes widened and he looked at me. Almost as if he’d said too much or shared something he didn’t want to share. The hue of his cheeks turned a slight shade of pink.
“What do you mean, campaign ?” I gave him a smirk and leaned over the table towards him.
He let out a sigh and took a pull of his drink before speaking again.
“You promise not to laugh?” His eyebrows were raised and he looked at me nervously.
“I promise. Cross my heart and all that jazz.” I ran my finger across my chest and loved how his eyes lingered on it for a few seconds too long. He let out another deep breath before speaking.
“My friends and I, all the guys you met at the bar last time, we meet up every Wednesday and play Dungeons and Dragons. It’s something we did growing up until I left for bootcamp. We started back up around the same time I came home. It’s how we make sure we see one another, hangout, blow off steam, you know.” He took another pull from his drink. “Some guys get together and play cards or watch football. My friends and I get together, play Dungeons and Dragons, and drink beer.”
I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh once he had finished explaining. Not because I thought his Wednesday night plans were lame or stupid, but because I loved how much it clearly mattered to him. Here was a guy who was an ex-soldier, went to the gym every morning for at least an hour, worked at a high-intensity security firm, but was spending his evenings playing board games with his friends.
Hank Martínez was a total nerd and I kind of loved it.
“You told me you wouldn’t laugh,” he teased. I felt his hand shake my knee under the table as he gave me a face.
“I’m not laughing at you, I swear. I’m laughing at how cute I think you are. This thing with your friends clearly matters to you. I think that’s really endearing. Most men don’t have strong friendships as adults. I love that you do.” I held his hand under the table and swiped my thumb across the back of it, drawing small circles with it.
“They might be idiots, but they’re my best friends. More like my brothers.” He pulled his hand away from mine and rubbed the back of his neck.
“I think that’s amazing. I love that you have them. And I love that you get together every week. Tell me more about this game, I’ve heard of it before but I don’t know much about it.” I took a sip of my drink and straightened up in my seat, ready to learn anything and everything about his Wednesday night ritual.
“You don’t have to be nice, I know you probably don’t care that much.” He gave me an incredulous look.
“Uh, yeah I do. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t wanna know.” How dare he question my interest?
After studying me for a beat, he dove into explaining the ins and outs of Dungeons and Dragons. I had no idea how involved it was. I’d heard of it before, but Hank and his friends took it to the next level. They all had their own characters, they made up new storylines, and he told me they would sometimes play for up to four hours at a time. I couldn’t even think about the last thing that kept my attention for more than forty-five minutes.
“So, do you like, use funny voices when you play?” I teased. At this point, we had been at the bar for almost two hours and had both had several drinks. He was on his third beer while I was still sticking to strictly alcohol free mocktails.
“Uh,” he laughed, “yeah, sometimes. It’s not normally me who does, but Conrad has been known to pull out a voice every now and then.” The way he spoke about his friends made my heart swell.
“I love that. I think the relationship you have with your friends is sweet.” I set my chin in my hand and propped it up on the hightop.
“Yeah, they’re good guys.” I watched him get lost in a thought as he finished his drink. When he set it down on the table, his eyes met mine.
“Do you want another one?” he asked, looking at my empty glass.
“No, I think I’m good.”
“You wanna get out of here then?” His eyes burned into mine as we held each other's gaze.
“Sure, let’s go.” We both stood at the same time and he reached his arm toward me to pull me closer to him. I watched as he threw some cash on the table and as we walked through the bar, he kept his hand on the small of my back just like he had before. There was an ever present protective energy about him that I could feel as I walked closely next to him.
After exiting the bar and heading back down the street towards my apartment, Hank suddenly pulled me around the corner of a building and into a small alley. For the briefest of moments, my mind flashed to a different time that I had been pulled into a dark alley, just like this one. My eyes squeezed shut as the sound of my cries rang in my ears and I felt my body tense up as the weight of a stranger held me down. My heart started to race and my breath was starting to catch in my throat when the sound of his concerned voice pulled me back to reality.
“Hey, are you okay?” When I opened my eyes and they focused, I realized that his arms framed my face and my back was against the wall. I glanced around the alley, realizing where I was and who I was with and could feel my body started to relax again.
“Yeah, I–I’m okay.” My hands found his ribcage and pulled him closer. I wanted to feel his body on mine. I needed the protective energy I felt with him to surround me.
“Are you sure? I didn’t mean to scare you.” His voice was steeped with concern and the look on his face mirrored that of someone who had just harmed a small child.
“It’s okay, you didn’t scare me. You just surprised me is all,” I lied. It wasn’t that he’d scared me, but the move reminded me of a different time that fear had taken over my entire body. A time where fear and hopelessness were all I felt.
“A good kind of surprise I hope?”
“A very good kind of surprise.” My voice was low and my eyes flashed between his eyes and his lips. I wanted him to kiss me. I needed to know that feeling once more.
He paused for half a second before he finally pressed his lips to mine. When our lips met, all the memories that were fighting for a space in my head disappeared. I leaned into him and he pushed back into me. It was as if we couldn’t get close enough to one another, our tongues clashing together like waves off the shore. My hands grabbed at his shirt, pulling him closer, and with no effort at all, he looped his arms under my legs and hoisted me up in his arms. He held me there, between his abdomen and the wall as I wrapped my legs around his center. When he pressed against me, I could feel him through his jeans. A sudden heat washed between my legs and I coiled my legs around him even harder. I loved how his hands wrapped around the side of my neck and held me in place. He was strong but soft, a shy man finally taking his shot. And he was doing it like a pro.
He held me against the wall without wavering until someone walking by noticed us and whooped. We both laughed into each other’s mouths, breaking away from each other just long enough to catch our breath. I loved how his eyes were all fire and passion, that he wanted this as much as I did. He dropped his forehead to meet mine and took a breath.
“Should I put you down now?” He leaned in and kissed my neck, sending a shot of lightning down my spine.
“Not unless you want to,” I played.
“Do you want me to?” He kissed the other side of my neck.
“Mmmm no.” I laughed as he nipped at my ear.
“Then we can stay like this forever.”
“I don’t think my legs can manage that.” I laughed into his neck. My thighs were starting to burn from holding myself between Hank and the wall.
“Alright, let’s put you down then.” When my feet reached the ground, his hand met my chin and tipped it up to look at him. A small smile was spread across his face and the way he looked at me changed something inside of me forever.
It was as if he saw me for everything I was, but didn’t mind all the things I lacked.
“I just need you to know, I think you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. Thank you for coming out with me tonight.” He leaned in and kissed me softly, a stark difference from the hard and passionate makeout session we’d just shared.
“You make me feel like the most beautiful girl. Thanks for taking me out tonight and telling me about your friends. I hope that I can get to know them more. I hope I can get to know you more.”
“I think we can make that happen,” he promised before pulling me out of the alleyway.
He walked me home, hand in hand the entire way, and once he dropped me off, I couldn’t wait for another chance to see him again.