Forty - River
“Oh my God, bitch,” Ode breathes, staring out at the sea of people chanting below the stage. Her hands slap at my shoulders over and over, leaving a slight burn behind her hits.
“Stop,” I cackle, lightly pushing her away from my side.
“But bitch!” she hisses, hitting my shoulder. “My bar.” She shakes her head in disbelief as her dark eyes continually dart around. I swear tears form in her eyes as she chokes back a small sob.
Dead End is still an active place. It’s a bar. People come from all over town to eat Leon’s spectacular dishes, drink beer, and talk with friends. Even with my help in getting small bands to play every weekend—because yeah, this is my home. I can’t leave them down and out with no options. From afar, no matter where I am, I’ll always help out the place that gave me every chance under the sun. Still, they haven’t been this packed since Whispered Words left the area.
But here they are in all their glory, slowly setting up their equipment in front of the large, cheering crowd. The volume rises with every person who enters with excitement running through their veins. Nothing beats a free pop-up show with no cover charge. Luckily for Leon and Ode, I’m footing the bill. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. Besides, this was all Ode’s idea.
“I think we might be over capacity,” Ode murmurs in awe.
“You mean my bar,” Leon chortles, handing me the biggest plate of chicken nachos I’ve ever seen.
“Yes...yes, his bar!” I quip, salivating at the plate steaming in front of my face.
“I will snatch those nachos away, you traitor!” Ode quips, coming in for my precious chips slathered in melted queso cheese, calling my damn name.
I haven’t eaten since we went to an Italian restaurant a few hours ago. The food was amazing. Like out of this world orgasmic. Especially for Central City. Granted, it was on the edge of town near their old stomping grounds. People stared and pointed as the boys walked in. And even more when I trailed behind them, scrunching my nose.
I’ve never been the type of person to care what others think about me. Where the hell would that get me? Nowhere. I am who I am. And my roots started in this very city. I’ll always give back to the people and places that raised me from the ashes of my demise.
But Leon’s nachos? Nothing beats them. Not even a five-layer lasagna with extra cheese and garlic bread at a snooty five-star restaurant. Especially when he adds creamy cheese on top with shredded bits of cheddar below, leaving it a melting pot of cheese, meat, and lettuce on top. It’s his specialty he loves to call…
“You love my cheese-on-cheese!” he says, grinning as he leans against the bar, placing his elbows on the top. “This is so surreal, Riv. You. Them. All here again.” He blinks several times, staring up at the now empty stage, devoid of human life. The only sign they were there is the instruments glistening in the blue and yellow spotlights. “They treating you right, baby girl?” he asks, raising a brow.
I shove a chip into my mouth, stuffing my cheeks. Nope. Nu-huh. Don’t want to have this conversation again.
“She’s afraid they’ll leave her again,” Ode, the loudest traitor, says. “Which I get, by the way. They were jackasses to the extreme. I still don’t want to trust them.”
Can’t she see I’m stuffing my face and don’t want to talk about this again?
“Give her some tequila; she’ll spill everything,” Ode, my former best friend, says with a menacing grin. I snort when she walks behind the bar, standing beside her brother. Reaching behind her, she grabs the most expensive tequila they have and slams it on the bar.
“Mmhmm,” Leon hums, grabbing three shot glasses and filling them with tequila. “Take your shot.” Sliding the small shot glass in front of me, he watches intently as I swallow my bite.
“Remind me why I call you family?” I quip, tapping a finger on the tiny glass filled to the brim with the devil’s golden liquid.
“You love us,” Ode says with a grin, holding up her shot glass. “Let’s toast!”
“To my sister from another mister fighting for love and happiness,” Leon says, grinning when we clink our glasses together.
“Weak toast,” Ode grumbles, bumping her elbow into his ribs.
“It was perfect. Thanks, guys,” I laugh, downing my shot.
It’s time to let go of everything. My hurt. Anger. Resentment. I wash it away with the burning liquid scorching my throat. This is a new adventure. Our past may guide us into the future. But I’m so tired of looking back and remembering how I felt when they left without a word. I’m ready to forgive and move on.
Reaching across the bar, I grab the bottle of tequila and refill our glasses with a grin.
“Oh, Riv’s getting wasted,” Ode laughs, grabbing her filled glass again.
“This is to new beginnings. New adventures. The door to the past is closed, and I’m ready to open the new door to my future. Here’s to us,” I say, clinking my glass against theirs. Tossing my head back, I down the shot again, groaning at the slight burn.
“You got this, baby girl,” Leon says, squeezing my hand. “Or I’ll hide them in my basement.” He grins, staring behind me as the crowd goes wild.
Butterflies fill my stomach when Rad pushes through the crowd. His grin lights up the room as he takes pictures with every person who asks him with joy until he gets to me. Those molten lava eyes catch mine, and he winks. He fucking winks, and my insides melt.
I blame the tequila.
“Is that nachos?” Rad asks, settling next to me on a bar stool with hearts in his eyes. “I love your damn nachos…” he trails off when he reaches for a piece. It’s the hand slap heard across the world. Or that’s what it seems like when he gasps. “Ouch, Pretty Girl. Sharing is caring!” he shouts with mock horror, putting a hand to his chest. “I swear we’ve had this discussion before. What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is yours.” He waggles his brows at the implication.
Where’s that tequila? Because at this rate, I’m going to need the entire bottle to make it through tonight without doing something stupid. Like jumping their bones in the bathroom. Or reclaiming my office.
Calm your tits. No boning. Not right now. We’re just now working on us and becoming an us again. Sex complicates everything.
Or makes you feel better.
Fuck my life. I blame this entire day on the amber liquid sloshing around in my stomach. It’s always the tequila’s fault.
“Yeah. It is. But I don’t share my cheese-on-cheese nachos. Get your own.” I give him my best stink eye, and he grins, rubbing his hands together.
“Yo, barkeep! I want some nachos,” he says, playfully pounding a fist onto the counter.
Leon frowns, leaning forward with a sour huff. “I’m not your damn barkeep, Mullet. How many times do I need to tell you that?”
Rad pouts, batting his eyelashes. “My girlfriend is stingy and won’t share. Won’t you help a guy out and make?—”
“An extra-large plate,” Kieran says, sauntering up with a hungry look taking over his face. And not for me, either. His eyes fall to my plate, practically salivating over my damn food. “Smells delicious.” He grins, swiping a loaded chip from my plate, and throws it into his mouth.
“Thief,” I grumble, shoving another piece into my mouth and humming at the spicy nacho taste.
I could live on these damn nachos. All I have to do is pack Leon up—aka kidnap him—and take him with me so he’ll make food every day.
“Oh my God, it’s Kieran!” someone suspiciously familiar in the crowd shouts.
I stiffen at the sound of her voice. That scratchy, shrilly, annoying voice haunts my damn memories. Oh, snap. It couldn’t be. Could it? My eyes dart around, searching for her mop of blonde hair. Several catches my eye, but none resemble her. Yet. If she thinks she has a chance, well, I’ll show her my damn territorial side and claw her precious little eyes out.
My hands feel around the pocket of my jeans, and I grin when my knife sits snugly against my thigh. Yeah, come at me, Tessa Boo. I have a three-inch treat in my pocket, ready to drive you away.
Rad blinks several times. A look of horror opens his mouth into the shape of an O. He claps a hand on Kieran’s shoulder, chuckling wildly.
“Sounds like you know who from high school…” he trails off, grunting when I suck cheese off my fingertips. “Pretty Girl. If I slather cheese on my cock, would you lick it off slowly?” He groans in a low voice, leaning forward to lick a line of cheese off the corner of my mouth. His moan vibrates against me, going straight to my pussy. Who flutters in anticipation. Fuck me. I need to push him away.
“I bite,” I hum with satisfaction when he kisses the same spot again, working his way toward my cheese-lathered lips.
“It’s okay, big man,” Rad mumbles, adjusting himself. “She doesn’t mean it.” He taps his dick softly several times like he’s petting a dog, giving me a lopsided grin.
“I do mean it,” I quip, leaning toward him with my face toward his crotch. “But maybe I could slather him in cheese and—” A large hand slaps across my lips with a grunt.
“Shhh,” Kieran grumbles. “Before you awaken more beasts.” His eyes trail down his own front with a wicked grin. “I might like that, though,” he whispers, flicking his tongue across my ear lobe as shivers roll through my body. “I could lay out as you slather my entire body in cheese and slowly lick it off.” He groans, heaving in a breath. “Have I proven myself yet, River Blue? Have I made it clear that I’m the only worthy knight for you? Because I’m getting desperate here,” he murmurs against my ear as his warm breaths cascade across my heated flesh.
Fuck. Me. Fuck. Tequila.
“You’ll always be my knight,” I murmur just loud enough for him to hear. “But getting on your knees for me again wouldn’t hurt.” I shrug when his eyes dilate.
“Good girl,” he whispers, kissing my cheek. “I’ll always get on my knees for you. Bloodied and bruised with lust in my eyes. You’re my forever girl. I just wish I had realized that years ago.” I swallow hard when his lips crash down on mine, shoving his tongue deep into my mouth. I have no choice but to moan into his mouth and pull him closer.
“God damn, that’s hot,” Rad murmurs, squeezing my knee.
“Don’t make me get the damn hose,” Leon grumbles. “I will spray you both and throw you outside. No sex in my bar.”
I pull away from Kieran breathlessly, looking around. He pulls my head against his chest, cradling me there. Where I’m meant to be. In his arms and surrounded by him.
Kieran and I have always been in the fates. No matter who was there to tear us apart. We’ll always find each other again. I feel it in the way my soul calls out to him. The way my heart attempts to push out of my chest when he’s nearby.
Fuck. I think I’m in love all over again.
“No sex? You weren’t here that night, we—” I slap a hand over Rad’s mouth. His laugh vibrates against my skin.
“Unfortunately,” Leon mumbles, scrunching up his face. “These walls are thin, is all I’m saying.” He eyes each of us before making his way down the bar to help more patrons who wave money in his face.
“Well, duty calls. Love you, bitch. Play good tonight, boys. Maybe I can convince my stingy brother to cough up some extra nachos to go.” She winks at us, sauntering away to help her brother man the bar. Along with the other servers meandering about and taking orders.
It’s a busy ass night.
“Better cool it,” Callum says, leaning in and stealing my food.
“I’m going to stab each of you with a fork,” I hiss, missing his hand with my slap. He chuckles, slowly putting the cheese-soaked chip into his mouth.
Eating nachos shouldn’t look so damn sexual. But here we are. I’m panting like a bitch in heat at the sight of the gooey cheese rolling over Callum’s lips and onto his chin.
Don’t lick it off. Don’t lick it off. Fuck.
I reach up, rolling my tongue across his chin and onto his lips. He startles, gripping my waist hard.
“Little Star,” he murmurs with lust-filled eyes dilating his pupils to the max.
“I dunno, Pretty Girl. I might like that. Or, and hear me out—I could stab you. With my dick. He’s incredibly hard right now. You won’t make me go on stage like this, will you?” He bats his eyelashes at me with a grin.
“Shut up,” Asher laughs, reaching across and grabbing another chip.
“You are a buzzkill!” Rad proclaims, eating a bite of my nachos.
“I guess this is a communal plate,” I grumble, taking another bite, no longer fighting their grabby hands.
“We have to fuel up,” Kieran says with a smirk, taking another bite.
“We do have a big show ahead of us,” Asher surmises, sitting next to Rad.
“The biggest one yet.” Callum smiles, kissing me again. “I can’t get over this,” he murmurs against my lips. My fingers play with the shaggy blond strands at the back of his neck.
“Over what?”
“That I get to kiss you whenever I want now. No more dreaming of having my lips on yours and wondering if it feels the same.”
“Well, does it?” I ask, raising a brow.
“Does it what?”
“Feel the same?”
“Better,” he whispers, kissing my lips again, lingering for longer than necessary as the world disappears. It’s only me and him standing amid the crowded bar. His warm hand wraps around the back of my neck, locking me in his grip. Not that I’d want to escape. “Kissing you is coming home. It’s my peace in the darkness of chaos. You ground me and make me better.”
“Marry them!” Ode says in passing, passing drinks to the guys.
“I agree, Pretty Girl. Marry us!” Rad waggles his brows.
“Maybe someday,” I quip, shoving the last nacho into my mouth.
Fuckers ate all my damn food. I side-eye their oblivious asses with disdain.
“Later,” Leon says with a grin, pointing to my plate as he takes it from the bar and hands it to another worker.
“Someday?” Rad asks with wide eyes, sitting rigid in his chair. “I’ll ask again tomorrow and the next day and the next day after that. I won’t stop begging until you become my wife.”
“Our wife,” Kieran mutters, reaching for a nacho and sighing. “We ate them all,” he grumbles.
“Yeah, you assholes ate all the good nachos. That’s grounds for divorce. Now, don’t you have a show to do?” I ask, playfully folding my arms across my chest.
A lightness takes me over as we grin at one another. It’s as if the past didn’t happen. And we’re back to where we started, like a full-circle adventure.
We’ll build and build until our future is secured on trust and love—a steady foundation.
We’ll never be perfect. We’ll fight. Shout. And make-up again. For some reason, I can’t ever get these four men off my mind.