Chapter 9
NINE
The second event was hosted at Spanky’s River Street, located right on the water. I was a big fan of hanging out at a place called Spanky’s because … well … that’s just obvious. Who didn’t want to hang out at Spanky’s?
Brody. That was who. Brody didn’t want to hang out at Spanky’s. He looked at the sign three times before venturing closer to the establishment. I knew that because I was getting out of my Uber when I noticed him.
“Are you afraid of the bar?” I asked as I sidled closer.
He glanced over at me. “I’m just … wondering.” He tilted his head. “You don’t think this is a fetish bar, do you?”
I burst out laughing. “Is that why you’re standing out here like a big loser?”
He frowned. “I’m just concerned. Half the authors in our group write romance so…”
“Do you think all romance involves spanking or something?” I was honestly trying to figure out where he was coming from.
“No. I just…” He looked to be struggling.
I was amused despite myself. And because he’d made sure I’d gotten home safely on my own at the last event, I also felt protective of him. He’d helped me, so I wanted to help him.
“How many romance books have you read?”
He didn’t answer.
I prodded further. “You know you don’t have to be afraid of them, right?”
That was enough to earn a glare from him. “I’m not afraid of romance!” he barked loudly enough that Nathan, who was exiting his own Uber not too far up, jerked up his chin.
“Oh, there they are,” Nathan crooned. “I wondered if you two would be having another interlude this evening. You know, since the last one resulted in you going home together.”
Brody’s cheeks turned a mottled shade of red, and he looked as if he wanted to find a hole to crawl into and die. That only made my smile stretch wider.
“Can you not?” he hissed at his best friend. “I told you that wasn’t … whatever it is you think it was.”
I couldn’t stop myself from making things worse. For Brody, not for me. I’d never met a problem that I didn’t want to make worse for somebody. That was simply who I was.
With that in mind, I slipped my arm through Brody’s and tugged him in closer to my side. “You’re just jealous,” I said to Nathan, using my sultriest voice. “You wish someone would rock your world as thoroughly as I rocked Brody’s world last time.”
Brody sputtered. “We—”
I cut him off by grabbing him tighter. “There’s no need to be bashful, cuddle bear,” I cooed. “It was an amazing night for both of us.”
I was trying to make Nathan uncomfortable so he would lay off Brody. It didn’t seem fair that he was constantly the alpha in their friendship when he idled at douche so often. Nathan, unfortunately, could not be rattled.
“I told him I saw a spark between the two of you, and he claimed I was imagining it.” Nathan slapped his hand down on Brody’s shoulder hard. “You dog. I can’t believe you kept this from me.” He took a step toward the door. “I’m going to expect full details later.” He winked at me then walked away.
“He sucks,” I complained as I released Brody, glaring in his friend’s wake.
“I think you’re just used to intimidating people with your mouth,” Brody grumbled as he rubbed his arm where I had grabbed him. He was clearly unhappy. “Nathan does the same thing, so you have your work cut out for you there if you expect to beat him at his own game.”
“Thanks for the tip. I guess I’ll have to up my game.
” I took the opportunity to look him up and down.
He was dressed in simple khakis and a polo shirt—the same ensemble he’d worn to the previous event, except for the color of his shirt—and his hair looked freshly styled.
“Are you looking forward to tonight?” I asked for lack of anything better to say.
Brody shrugged. “The last one wasn’t as bad as I was expecting, so my anxiety wasn’t as bad for this one.”
“Until you saw it was called Spanky’s,” I teased.
“Yes, well…” He looked at the sign again.
“I’ll find some nice romance books for you that don’t include spanking,” I promised, looping my arm through his again.
Even I was surprised when I did it. He was warm, though, and I liked feeling the firmness of his arm. He wasn’t one of those Hollywood hunks with endless muscles or anything, but his body was solid, telling me he worked out regularly.
“Thanks,” he replied dryly. “I’m pretty sure I can pick out my own romance books.”
“Yeah?” He was so easy to tease. “Who is your favorite romance author?”
His eyes were like heat-seeking missiles when they found mine. “Maybe it’s you,” he said in a low voice. “Have you ever considered that?”
My throat was suddenly dry. He looked so intense. What was happening here? Why did it feel as if we were the only two people in the world? That wasn’t right. This man had deemed me his mortal enemy. There was nothing sparking.
No way.
No how.
Nothing doing.
“I…” My voice was gravelly as I tried to figure out something to say.
Brody chuckled. “I generally don’t read romance. I mean, not just romance. I actually like romantic suspense. That’s the balance that’s best for me. I need more than just the romance, but I get why others swing the opposite way.”
“Right.” I forced myself to focus on the night ahead. “Well … should we get you a drink, or will that have you thinking about spanking too much?”
He scowled. “You’re going to turn this into a thing, aren’t you?”
“Yup.” I wouldn’t even try to deny it. “I totally am.”
SPANKY’S LOCATION WAS THE BIG DRAW, but they had a solid menu of bar food to go along with their cocktails. I was hungry—there’d been no time to eat before I left the house—so I ordered appetizers for our little area of the bar, along with my drink.
“Bring some of the fried pickles, nachos, and buffalo wings,” I said to the server. “I also want a burger with pepper jack and ketchup and onion. Nothing else.”
Brody, across the table from me, made a face. “What about lettuce and tomato?”
The question threw me. “What about them? I’m sure they exist here if you want them.”
“Yeah, but … you can’t have a burger with just ketchup and onion on it.” He looked appalled.
I smiled. “Obviously, you can.” I glanced back at the server and was struck by the way she was looking at Brody. She was practically drooling. “I’ll have the Spanky’s Sunkist as my drink and a glass of water, too, please.”
“Hmm.” The server, realizing I was talking to her, dragged her eyes back to me and frowned as if trying to remember exactly what she was supposed to be doing. “Right.” She jotted down the rest of my order. “Anybody else?” Her eyes immediately went back to Brody.
For his part, he seemed oblivious to her interest. “I’ll have the Blueberry Mule. I’ll have the shrimp po’boy with fries as well.” When he lifted his chin, he was smiling at me.
“No oysters?” I teased.
He shook his head. “No. I don’t want to offend the digestive sensibilities of an entire city.”
“I still maintain that an oyster po’boy is a crime against humanity,” Nathan interjected.
I’d forgotten he was in our general area until he spoke. He had a big personality, so it seemed weird that I would forget him. I had, though.
It’s because you’re completely focused on Brody.
I tried to ignore my internal voice. I was not completely focused on Brody. I just… knew he had social anxiety, and I wanted to make things easier after he’d helped me following the previous event.
You’re totally hot to trot for him.
I gritted my teeth and refused to acknowledge snarky inner me.
You’re warm for his form.
I’d recently gone down a rabbit hole of ridiculous old sayings because I wanted to use them for a character in my book. Now they were stuck in my head.
You want to him to rock out with his cock out.
I slapped my forehead. My inner voice was a bitch when she wanted to be.
“Bree?” Brody’s tone was full of concern, and I had to jerk up my chin. He was watching me with worried eyes. “Do you have a headache or something?”
Or something. “It’s nothing. I’m just hungry. I haven’t eaten since breakfast, and I’m a beast when I get hangry.”
“I can vouch for that,” Hayley said.
Brody didn’t look convinced, but he nodded. “Okay, well, the readers will be here in ten minutes. Hopefully, you’ll have time to eat before then.”
I DID NOT GET TO EAT MY DINNER. That was a bummer and a half because the burger looked amazing. Unfortunately there were twice as many readers at this event as the one before, and I only had time to eat a few pickle spears. Nathan, on the other hand, ate all my nachos and wings.
We were coming in on the final stretch of the evening—a time when I thought I would be able to wind down and maybe order more food—when I met Blair Bernstein. She wore a name tag—the only one at the entire event, because she’d made it—which ensured that everybody knew exactly who she was.
“Hi!” Her voice was chipper to the point of being screechy. She bounced over when the seat next to Brody and across from me became vacant. That seat hadn’t been empty for more than two minutes the entire night. “I’m your biggest fan.”
I assumed she was talking to me since she was sitting across from me. That was how it had gone the entire evening. Fans sat across from their preferred author.
“Thank you.” I offered up what I hoped was a warm smile even though I was exhausted and wanted to call it a night. “What’s your favorite book?”
“Druid’s Serenade.”
I was slaphappy, so it took me a moment to register what she was saying. Then I realized that her adoring look wasn’t for me. It was for Brody.
“Oh,” I said, swallowing a laugh. “You’re here for Brody.”
Blair didn’t even look at me. “You’re my favorite author ever,” she gushed to Brody.
“That’s very flattering,” Brody said. “I appreciate that. I do it all for the fans.”