Chapter Seven
A Couple of Days Later
Bella
“Sorry I’m late.” I slide into the booth across from Ruby at Callahan’s Bar. Even though it’s a drive from Brookhaven, Callahan’s is a better option than the Rusty Nail Tavern.
Our bar in town is filled with loser drunks who creep on younger girls. Age-gap might be good in a romance novel, but these guys are not quality candidates in that department. Think 45-year-old pathetic men who should be at home with their wives and kids, but instead, they’re perched on barstools, craning their necks to see that extra inch of flesh when a girl leans over the pool table.
Ruby glances at her watch. “It’s about time you showed up.”
I sag into the cushions and sigh, “It’s been a long day. I don’t have time between studying and doing hair and makeup on the side.”
“You should drop this college thing you’re trying to do and go to Cosmo school. You’re an artist when it comes to clothes, makeup, and hair. I don’t understand why you think you’d disappoint your parents. They’ve supported Ben in his culinary arts school every step of the way.”
“I know.” My heart pounds against my ribs until a pang of pain shoots across my breast. The second the twinge happens; I exhale and will my stress to dissipate. “I appreciate your support, but I’m still figuring things out.”
“While you’re getting into more debt. How does that help anything?” Ruby motions the waitress over with her finger and grasps the glass in front of her. The drink is a pinkish orange over ice cubes.
“You know my parents are paying for most of it.”
“But not all of it.” She sucks down on the straw as the waitress takes our order–two Sex on the Beaches.
When we’re alone, she eyes me over the top of her glass like a disapproving librarian. “You’ve been going to college for three years, and if you don’t use any of it, you’ll be paying for nothing for twenty years.”
“I’ll use it.”
“No, you won’t.” She sucks down on her straw again. “Even if you start your own business, you’ll hire someone to do your books because you hate it. You’re going to die from boredom if you stick with this career path. You need excitement. Stimulation. Creativity. Besides, you’ve been doing everyone’s hair and makeup since fifth grade. It’s time to apply for beauty school.”
“I’ll think about it.” I roll my eyes. I won’t think about it. My parents are paying for the majority of my school, and I don’t want to disappoint them. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make it any easier. “But you’re right, classes sucked today. I think I fell asleep during at least one of them. I’m so stupid. I hate ledgers and financial statements, but yet I’m still slogging along, going to classes and pasting a big fake smile on my face when my parents ask how everything’s going.”
“Then what’re you going to do?” She drops the glass on the scarred tabletop with a clunk, cocks her head sideways, and claps her hands together. “Are you going to stick it out until graduation?”
The waitress drops off our drinks as the question hangs in the air. I take a long sip of the cold liquid and let it soothe my irritation with myself. “Of course, what else would I do?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Get a life.”
“Mom and Dad always lectured me on getting a stable job that I could depend upon, and people will always have to pay taxes.”
She makes a gagging sound. “Yes, they’ll always have to pay taxes, but no one wants to. You’ll be like going to get a pap smear. No one wants to see you, and when they do, they’re in pain.”
“Thanks. It’s not that bad.” I take another much-needed sip of my drink. I close my eyes and let the alcohol burn my throat.
It’s not that bad. Really. I like money. Who doesn’t? What’s so bad about keeping track of people’s yearly expenses and income? Nothing. It’s something that must be done. I open my eyes and pin her with a stare. “I’m going to get my degree and go into business with my parents like we agreed to years ago.”
“When you were a senior in high school and had no idea what you wanted to do with your future. And you said it as a joke.” Her eyes narrow into slits as she grabs her drink. “But there’s no use trying to talk sense into you. You’re going to take some promise you made in jest and take it to the grave, having lived a long and miserable life.
I lean forward. It’s time to talk about something else. “I forgot to tell you that I saw Jake Thompson the other day. He said he’s back in town.”
“No shit?” Ruby’s eyes widen. “Do you think Emily knows?”
“Do you think Emily knows what?” Our other best friend, Emily, slides into the seat beside Ruby.
I glance away from her and cringe. “That Jake’s back in town.”
“What?” Emily’s face goes ashen as she clutches her chest. “Shit. I don’t want to see him again. Please tell me he’s only here for a visit.”
“Umm….”
“Fuck.”
Emily rakes a hand through her hair. “Give it to me straight.” She waves at the waitress, pointing at the drinks on our table and signaling with her finger for another round. “I don’t want to hear it, but at least this way, I’ll be prepared.”
“It’ll be fine, Emily.” Ruby rubs Emily’s shoulder. “We’ve got your back.”
“I know,” she sighs, “I thought I was over him, but as soon as Bella said his name, I knew I wasn’t.”
It’s best if I just rip the Band-Aid off in one pull. “He said he was hired to take Nolan Reed’s position.”
“Fuck.” Ruby yanks the straw out of her drink and lifts it to her lips. “You’ll run into him all the time.” Emily is a paramedic with the ambulance crew, and they work hand in hand with the police – every day. This isn’t good at all.
The waitress brings us another round of drinks. “It’ll be fine.” She straightens her shoulders. “I’m a professional working with another professional.” Her eyes narrow into slits. “And if he doesn’t behave like a professional, I’ll take it up with Chief Carter.”
“Did Bella tell you that Brock contacted her again?”
“No.” Emily sets her glass down and grabs my hands. “Bella, this is serious. What is this, like the third time he’s found your number? You’ve got to do something about him before he does something dangerous.”
“Dominic messaged him and told him to leave me alone, or he’d beat him up.” I shudder. At least, I think that’s all he’d do to him. We fill her in on everything that happened the last few days as we sip our drinks.
“That was nice of Dominic.” Emily gives me a knowing look.
“It’s not a big deal. He responded to the situation the same way a big brother would.”
“No, he didn’t.” Emily shakes her head as the waitress brings two platters of appetizers to the table behind us. The scent of greasy fried mushrooms makes my mouth water. When was the last time I ate? “Did your brothers threaten him?”
“No, but they would.”
“Please.” Ruby rolls her eyes. “Your brothers are useless. Okay, fine, that’s not true. If you were in danger, I have no doubt that they’d come to your rescue, but they didn’t.”
“Did your brothers buy you a new phone?” Emily asks with a smirk on her lips.
“No.” They’re beating a dead horse here. Yes, Dominic did those things, but it didn’t mean anything.
“That’s right. Dominic did. Speaking of Dominic, look who’s here.” Ruby tips her head toward the other end of the bar. My brother, Ben, Xavier, and Dominic, with a bunch of girls. One of them is Tabitha, a cute redhead that Brock would flirt with when we were dating, but she never gave him the time of day.
“Always with a flock of fans.” This topic of conversation isn’t going to be any better than the last three. Seeing Dominic with girls drooling all over him isn’t a better subject. “He might be worried about me, but that’s where his interest begins and ends–as a pseudo little sister. He’s obsessed with this girl at the tattoo shop, and if she was stupid and turned him down, he still isn’t going to go home alone.”
“I don’t know why Brock was so jealous of Dominic.” Emily studies him like he’s a science experiment. “I mean, he’s stacked, tatted, probably has piercings on his junk, but he’s never going to go anywhere.”
My back bristles. “Dominic is one of the top tattoo artists at Twisted Ink. He’s a brilliant artist. I bet he’s good enough to be in an art exhibit. It’s not like he has to be a doctor to be a respectable adult. Whoever he’s dating is lucky to have him. He’s loyal, kind, smart, and could get with any woman in the bar if he put his mind to it.”
“Interesting.” The corners of Emily’s mouth arch upward and heat flames over my face.
Fuck me. I spent the past minute gushing over him, and there’s no way out of it. I clear my throat as the band announces the first song of the night and some of the crowd moves to the dance floor. “He’s like a big brother to me, so of course, I’d sing his praises.”
“Of course you would.” Ruby laughs and lifts her drink as I guzzle mine and wish the floor would open so I could crawl underground and disappear. “Because you sing your brothers praises all day long.”
Son of a bitch. “Fine, so I have a stupid crush on him. It won’t amount to anything,” I sigh and drop my shoulders, sinking farther into the cushions. “I really thought I was over him, but then he has to go defend me to Brock and bring me a phone like he cares whether I’m safe or not.”
My gaze slips over to Dominic, who’s watching me. When I catch his gaze, he nods slightly and refocuses his attention on the girls in front of him.
Ruby squeezes my hand. “You’ve been in love with Dominic for years, and Brock felt it. That’s why he was so angry with you. And jealous all the time. Brock thought he could sweep you off your feet with his looks, good job, and political aspirations, but you only had eyes for Dominic. Someone he sees as insignificant.”
Visions of endless arguments with Brock about my brothers’ friends flood through my brain. Brock hated all of them because I’ve known them since grade school, but he was intimidated by Dominic the most. And it didn’t help that I couldn’t orgasm while having sex with him. He accused me of wishing I was with Dominic rather than him.
Heat floods across my skin, leaving me feeling itchy. He wasn’t wrong. Give me two minutes with a Dominic fantasy, and I can go off like a rocket. Two hours with Brock’s stubby fingers and sloppy mouth? All I wanted to do was take a shower and go home.
But it isn’t going to happen. Dominic is out of my league. I’m the little sister. The annoying goodie-two-shoes, and he’s the hot jock with tattoos and bulging muscles. He’d laugh in my face if I asked him out. Hell, he doesn’t even date–he hooks up and moves on.
“No.” I straighten my back and sit high in my seat. “I’m over my childish fantasies of Dominic.”
The waitress stops at our table and hands me another drink. I frown at her as I open my wallet. “I didn’t order another drink.” And if I did, I’d order a round for all of us.
“A guy at the bar bought it for you.”
“Who?” I scan the bar looking for anyone staring in our direction but don’t see anyone.
She wrinkles her nose and tosses her long red ponytail over her shoulder. “He said you’d know who it was from.” She shrugs as if she’s bored with the conversation. “He’s here a lot. Blond hair, blue eyes, kind of a dumb jock look.”
“Brock,” Emily and Ruby say together as every hair on the back of my neck stands up. Where is he, and why won’t he leave me alone?
“Yeah, I think that’s him. Or Brian. Or maybe his name was Bob. There are too many guys around this place, and they all look the same at this point.” The waitress spins on her heel and disappears into the crowd.
“I’m going to throw up.” I shove the drink to the end of the table as bubbles swirl to the top. He clearly didn’t get the message to leave me alone.
“That man is a loose cannon.” Ruby taps her fingernails on the table. “We’ve got to do something to get rid of him.”
For several minutes, we discuss creative ways of ridding the world of Brock while scanning the crowd for him to no avail. He either left after ordering the drink, or he’s hiding and enjoying freaking me out.
“So, if you’re over Dominic…” Emily grins mischievously and bites her bottom lip. “When this guy here asks you to dance, you’ll take him up on it?”
My head whips around as Xavier saunters over to the table, looking like a GQ model and winks. “Hey, darlin’.” He shifts his attention to my friends. “Girls, you’re all looking lovely tonight.” His gaze stays a little longer on Ruby as she flushes. “Ruby, is that a new haircut?”
“Yes.” She grips her drink like it’s a lifeline.
“It looks good on you.”
“Thank you.” The heat on her cheeks matches her name.
I scoot over, letting him join us. If I wasn’t in love with Dominic, and Ruby wasn’t in lust with him, I’d jump at the chance. Damn it. I’m done thinking about Dominic that way.
“This is perfect.” Emily bites her bottom lip as she looks in the direction that Dominic is standing. Clearly, she’s intent on stirring the pot, but she needs to remember Jake’s back in town, and two can play this game. “You should whisk Ms. Goodie-Two-Shoes beside you away for a night of fun. She’s gotten so boring lately and needs to do something spontaneous and exciting.”
“Emily,” I growl at her and stiffen next to Xavier as Ruby glares at our other friend. It’s a relief to get my focus off of Brock, but not at the expense of hurting my friend.
Shit. This isn’t good. I grind my teeth together in anticipation of her next move. I can just as easily see her spilling my entire life story and secret crush on Dominic as I can see her using me to get Ruby to make a move on Xavier.
The worst part is that Xavier loves to rile my brothers up about defiling me and ruining my future. And more than once, I’ve gone along with it when they’ve been lecturing me on where I go, who I see, who I can date, and what I can wear. I’m not going to lie. Seeing their jaws flex and their teeth grind together is one of life’s simple pleasures. But not in front of Ruby.
“What do you have in mind?” Xavier arches an eyebrow.
Ruby tips up her chin as if in a challenge. “Matching tattoos.”
“Are you getting one, too?” Xavier’s eyes bore into hers.
“Maybe.” Ruby shrugs. “You’d look good with rainbows and kittens on your chest.”
One corner of his mouth arches upward. “I would, wouldn’t I?”
“Forget I said anything. You have too big of an ego as it is.” Ruby waves her hand dismissively.
“Who’s going to do these tattoos for us? Dominic? Should I go tell him? I bet he’d love to get his hands on all of us.”
I choke on my drink, coughing as Xavier smacks my back.
“Are you okay?” Xavier grabs my hand and laces his fingers through mine.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“So, we’re all getting matching tattoos of rainbows and kittens?”
“Stop. I’m not getting matching tattoos with you.” Yes, I’ve dreamed about letting Dominic tattoo me, but in each of those fantasies, the design had been something of his choosing and signified his love for me. Not matching rainbow and kitten tattoos.
“Fine. Wound me with your lack of adventure.” He grins and squeezes my hand before letting go and chatting with us about random bar conversations.
After Xavier leaves, Ruby eyes me up and down. “Why don’t you take him up on his offer?”
“To get tattoos?”
“No, to go bang one out of the park.” She runs her thumb over the S. B. and A. G. initials on the table.
“For one thing, he didn’t ask me to bang one out of the park, and for another, he doesn’t mean a word, he says. We’re friends, and that’s it. Neither one of us feels any pull to the other.”
Ruby arches an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“I’m only asking because if you stopped drooling over Dominic for two seconds, I think you could go out with him.” Her eyelids are lowered to keep me from seeing the truth, but I see it anyway. She doesn’t want me to go out with Xavier because she wants to go out with him.
Emily places her hand on Ruby’s forearm. “You know that Xavier is playing, right?”
“He’s always playing.” She frowns. “With everyone but me.”
I lean forward. “I’m not interested in Xavier, and he’s not interested in me. You should ask him out. He asked about you when I was over at his place, and he lights up when he sees you.”
“Shit!” Her eyes widen as she stares behind me.
I spin in my seat to find Xavier’s T-shirt fisted in Dominic’s hand. “Oh, fuck. This isn’t good.”
“Yes, it is.” Emily sits smugly in her seat as if she had the entire thing planned, and it worked to perfection. “Dominic is practically shouting to everyone in the bar that he’s staking his claim on you.”
I gnaw on my bottom lip. “Do you think so?’
“We should all make appointments with Dominic to get tattoos. Ramp up the tension and see what happens.”
Dominic shoves Xavier backward and marches to the hallway leading to the bathrooms. That’s a crazy idea, right?