28. Isaac
28
ISAAC
J okers was not my kind of place. It was dirty, poorly lit, and drafty. The floors were filthy, and the whole place was dusty and sticky.
Why was it so sticky?
It seemed like the kind of place Hannah Jane would turn her nose up at. But the way she talked about this run-down shack of a bar, it was home for her.
At least I was too busy judging the hole-in-the-wall bar to be worried about contracting tetanus or getting some kind of bacterial infection from all the chipped wood.
Hannah wasn’t hard to find. She was surrounded by the women of the poker club, dressed like— oh, for fuck’s sake. I was already hard.
Her ass was hanging out of the bottom of a pair of denim shorts, and she had a red plaid shirt tied between her breasts, showing off her toned abs and irresistible décolletage. She looked like she had come straight out of an episode of The Dukes of Hazzard.
She pushed away from the bar and hurried over, her cowboy boots clomping against the old wood floor. She jumped, and I caught her easily, grabbing her ass as she wrapped her arms around my neck.
I squeezed, flexing my fingers into the soft globes of flesh. She kissed me first, frantic and desperate. I tasted tequila on her breath. Or was it whiskey?
I sat down in a dark corner of the bar with Hannah straddling my lap and kissed her again. She tasted like vodka and lime this time.
“How much have you had to drink?” I rasped, tugging at the knotted fabric between her breasts.
Hannah giggled. “A little.”
I pulled away and eyed her suspiciously.
“A lot.”
I pecked her lips. “Sober up.”
“Why?” She pouted.
“Because we have some unfinished business to take care of at home.” I threaded my finger through the narrow gusset of her shorts and tugged. My knuckle dragged against her cunt.
Hannah sucked in a sharp breath. Her eyes closed, and the heavy rise and fall of her chest stopped on a dime.
I leaned in closer. My breath tickled her cheek as I whispered, “I warned you.”
Her throat constricted. I could feel her wet heat marking her thin panties. Her teeth sunk into her lower lip.
“Naughty girl,” I growled. “You like this, don’t you?” I tugged on her shorts, silently threatening to rip them off of her. “You like the rush. The thrill. You get off on it. You like pushing my buttons just as much as I like pushing yours.” I slipped my finger under her panties and grazed her clit.
Hannah gasped.
And then nodded.
“Our friends are thirty feet away,” I murmured against her parted lips. “Think you can get off before one of them gets close enough to know we’re not just making out?” I slid one finger into her wet pussy, and then two.
Hannah moaned into my mouth. “God, that feels good.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw two of the girls leave the bar and eye the dance floor. “Twenty feet away, Princess. Get there.”
Her muscles clenched. They squeezed. They struggled to hold as I stroked her walls and toyed with her clit.
“Ten feet.”
“Please,” she begged. Her knees clamped around my hips, and she rode my hand like a seasoned cowgirl.
“Get there, Han,” I ordered. “Come for me.”
She shattered in my arms. Her heart pounded violently inside of her chest. I felt the rhythm match my own as she pressed against me. I kissed her softly this time and stroked her cheek.
“Hey, you.” She smiled. “You made it.”
I pecked the tip of her nose. “Just doing my girls’ night duty to get you home safe.”
Hannah tugged on my tie. “You’re a little overdressed for Jokers.”
I shrugged.
She fiddled with my cufflinks. “A lot overdressed.”
“Go have fun with your girls.” I chided as I pushed her off my lap.
Hannah didn’t have a choice. Before she could protest, Kristin grabbed her arm and dragged her out to the dance floor. I made a quick pit stop in the men’s room before sinking down into the booth occupied by Luca, Chase, and Steve.
“What’s that?” I asked, pointing to the thing strapped to Steve’s chest.
He raised an eyebrow. I couldn’t see his mouth behind the beard. It was like staring at a bear. I didn’t know if he was going to maul me or walk away.
“ This is a baby,” he said sarcastically as he smoothed his hand over the miniature girl’s head full of brown curls. “You may have heard of them before.”
Luca snickered. “You should hold her. Aly’s a sweetheart.”
Someone needed to warn Maddie that Luca was a kid person. He adored his nieces and nephews, and it was only a matter of time before he would want his own brood.
“Hell no,” I clipped. I looked back at Steve and shrugged. “I mean, no offense.”
“I wasn’t offering,” he muttered.
Chase tapped his fingers on the table before clearing his throat. “So, uh… Considering H.J. hasn’t thrown you out on your ass yet, I’m assuming things are going well?”
Luca eyed me suspiciously.
I gave him a what the hell look and turned my attention back to Chase. “Yeah, man—things are… They’re good.”
“Good,” he said casually, appeased with my answer. I couldn’t think of anything other than the inkling in the back of my mind that he was setting me up for a curveball. “You serious about her?”
And there it was.
“Yeah. I mean, I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.”
It was the truth. I could have literally been anywhere else in the world, but I was here.
Honestly, I would have preferred to throw Hannah in the back of a car, drive to the airstrip, and whisk her away somewhere that didn’t have neon beer signs on the fritz, blinking a desperate SOS, and restrooms that had attendants—not a damp roll of paper towels shoved on top of the broken dispenser. The tin bucket of peanuts on our table looked like it had never actually been washed. The light switch being held up by duct tape was a nice touch.
I took another look at Luca. He looked comfortable here. These were his people.
I used to be his people. The two of us would tear up the city—ladies draped on our arms, and paparazzi waiting at every corner .
The only headlines I had garnered in the last month were wondering if I was hiding out in rehab.
Nope. Just in a monogamous, committed relationship in the middle of fucking nowhere like some kind of geriatric pansy.
My answer seemed to appease him. “Good to see you settling down. Enjoying life in the slow lane,” he said, tipping his glass toward me.
The itch to hit up an exclusive club full of exotic dancers was back, and Chase knew he had put the idea in my head. I wanted to punch that smirk clean off his face.
I strangled the glass in front of me. The water wasn’t clear. Honestly, it looked more like cloudy rum than tap water. I was going to walk away from this place with a tapeworm. Or some kind of backwoods river disease. I couldn’t decide which was worse.
Erica walked over and stretched her arms out with gimme fingers. Steve handed the sleeping baby over and watched with hearts in his eyes as Erica cooed.
“I think I’m ready to call it a night,” she said softly, trying not to wake the baby. I didn’t know why she thought whispering was necessary. The little grub worm was sleeping like a rock through some twangy redneck crooner on the jukebox. It was so loud the walls were shaking.
Steve paid the kid behind the bar and waved goodbye to the rest of the girls. Chase was next. He corralled Melissa and Kristin into his truck while Bridget waited outside for her boyfriend.
Hannah Jane and Maddie were halfway through a very competitive game of pool. We could hear the two of them shit-talking all the way across the bar.
Luca stretched out in the cracked booth seat across from me. Suspicion was written all over his face.
“Why does it seem like you’re the one not on board with me being with Hannah?”
Luca shrugged. “Because I know you. ”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
He grinned behind his grimy glass of water. “I love you, man, but I know your vices. I’ve seen what you’re like when you get stressed. I mean—I’ll give credit where it’s due—you’ve stuck around longer than I expected. I’m just waiting for you to get bored and move on.”
Now it was Luca I wanted to punch in the face. “Did you ever stop and think that maybe she and I are good for each other?”
“She’s good for you,” he amended. “I’m not so sure it goes the other way around.”
“I love her.”
He narrowed his eyes in on me like he was trying to figure out what angle I was playing.
There was no angle. I just fucking loved her. Was that so hard to believe?
“Fuck you,” I sneered. “What happened to bros before hoes?”
Luca laughed. “If I’m picking between you and Maddie, the answer’s Maddie all damn day.”
“Gee, thanks,” I grunted.
“And if you’re stuck between me and Hannah Jane, I’d throat punch you if you didn’t choose her.”
I let that stew in my brain as I craned my head around the top of the booth to check on Hannah and Maddie. Those two were inseparable. Yin and yang.
“This is her home,” Luca said. “You either get on board with that and get comfortable here or let her go.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. It was rare that Luca pissed me off, but he was edging dangerously close to my last nerve. “I can’t just up and settle down like you did. Even if I wanted to.”
“Maybe not,” he clipped, rising to his feet and moseying over to the bartender to square up. “But you can stop acting like an entitled prick whose shit doesn’t stink and give Beaufort a chance. ”
I watched him wrap an arm around Maddie and squeeze her ass before they headed out the door.
I shoved my hands in my pockets and walked across the bar. Hannah was securing her pool stick back in the rack. I settled my hands on her exposed waist and pressed a kiss to her temple.
“Hey.” She smiled. “Wanna play?”
I pushed her against the wall, pinning her down with my hips. I cradled her cheeks in my hands and kissed her. “I can think of something else I’d rather do.”
“Me?” she guessed.
I grinned against her lips before grabbing her hand and dragging her to the middle of the empty dance floor. The bartender shouted something about ‘last call,’ but I wasn’t the least bit concerned. If he tried to throw us out, I’d buy the bar and then fire him.
“Dance with me.” It wasn’t a request.
She rested one hand on top of my shoulder and laced the other with mine. I slid my hand onto the exposed skin on the small of her back and pulled her flush against me. We swayed to whatever old country song was playing.
It was different than when we danced together at Maddie and Luca’s wedding. Back then, I wanted her in my bed. Now, I just wanted her.
“You ready to call it a night, Princess?” I asked.
She smiled softly. “Are you afraid I’ll turn into a pumpkin?”
“Something like that.” I rested my forehead on hers. “You look adorable. Probably should’ve told you that earlier.” I tugged on the knotted flannel between her breasts. “I like this.”
She shrugged. “I can get away with it since I basically have no boobs.”
I cracked a smile. “A mouthful is a mouthful.” Hannah giggled, and I pulled her closer. “I love your tits,” I added.
The song switched over, but we didn’t stop dancing. All around us, the last remaining patrons filtered out, and the bartender started flipping chairs on top of the tables.
“Thanks for being here tonight,” she said softly.
I kissed the top of her head. Her hair smelled like strawberries. It was surprisingly sweet, but I couldn’t think of anything I liked more. “I, uh, I’ll try to be a little more inconspicuous next time. Leave the suit at home.”
She wrapped my necktie around her hand and tugged me down to her eye level. “I like you just the way you are.”
“I don’t exactly fit in here,” I admitted.
“Neither do I,” she countered. “But they made space for me anyway. There’s space for you here, too. You just have to want to be a part.”
I knew what she was getting at. I had been officially inducted into the poker club—polar plunge and all—but I rarely showed up for poker night. I was in their group text, but I didn’t contribute much of anything.
I knew everyone’s names and who was with whom, but they were still Hannah’s friends. And Luca—he made it clear where his loyalty was.
I tried to pay for her, but she fought me on it.
“You know,” Hannah said as she cleared her tab. “That’s twice tonight that you’ve referred to my house as home .”
I hummed something noncommittal. “I hadn’t noticed.”
I had noticed, and it made me throw up in my mouth every time I said it.
I opened the door to Hannah’s car and let her get in before walking around to the driver’s side and getting behind the wheel.
“So, I have a weekend off coming up,” Hannah said as I crossed the little bridge into downtown Beaufort.
That piqued my interest. “Really?”
Hannah’s schedule sucked ass.
Her days off always landed in the middle of the week when I was slammed. Her weekends were packed, March through December. So, a weekend off was something special.
“Mhmm,” she said as I pulled onto her and Chase’s street. “I was thinking, maybe you could come down and spend the weekend here if you’re free. I could show you around. It might be warm enough to go to the beach.”
The car dipped into a pothole before bumping up the lip of Hannah’s driveway. My driver had left my bag on her porch beside the wicker furniture.
The ferns hanging from the top of the porch were new, I noted. She had changed the red outdoor pillows dotting her furniture to a crisp sky blue. Her doormat was new, too. It sported swirly letters that said I hope you brought wine.
I waited for her to unlock the door before following her in. “What if you came to me?” I suggested. “We could do the city again or go out of the country and get away—just the two of us.”
She ignored that. We went upstairs and changed clothes. I hadn’t stayed in the guest room since the hurricane. There was no need. I was comfortable here. I could kick off my shoes and breathe.
Like she was reading my mind, Hannah said, “You know, you can leave your stuff here if you want, so you don’t have to pack and haul it in and out every time you come over.”
“Why, Miss Hayes.” I chuckled as I hung my suit in a garment bag and pulled on a pair of joggers. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”
She rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “No, I’m not ready to give up my claim on the bathroom sink just yet,” she said as she scrubbed off her makeup. “But I want you to be comfortable here.”
The bathroom sink had more products scattered on it than a cosmetic store. I liked that she was taking her makeup off, though. It took her nearly dying from the head cold from hell, but she finally seemed comfortable enough around me to not be on all the time. That made two of us.
I stood behind her at the sink and wrapped my arms around her waist. “I’m comfortable wherever I am as long as I’m with you.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. My bullshit meter was legendary. Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I didn’t know if I was lying to her or myself.