Chapter 2 #3
I try not to focus on the comment about my looks, and instead, slide her sock down her foot to examine her ankle. Her skin is silky and soft, carrying that same floral scent I noticed earlier. Must be a lotion or something because I’d expect her foot to smell like…well, a foot.
“My instinct is to help someone when they’ve fallen. Most people would do the same, but apparently they aren’t in this bar tonight.” Lifting my eyes to hers, I continue, “But are you sure that booze wasn’t also a factor?”
“Why?”
“I’m just wondering how much liquid courage you have to ingest in order to do that.” I motion toward the bull.
She plants her hand on her hip. “I’ll have you know I’ve only had one drink tonight—a vodka soda.”
“So, if I gave you a breathalyzer test, you’d pass?”
“Do you have one in your pocket or something?”
“If I had my uniform on, I would.”
Her eyes widen in understanding and she snaps her fingers. “Oh…” she says, drawing out the word. “You’re a cop. Now the hero complex makes sense.”
“I don’t have a hero complex,” I say a little too defensively. “I just…react when people need help. It’s hard to turn that off.”
“As I’ve experienced for myself twice tonight.”
My hands start rubbing over her ankle instinctually, and then her eyes close as she lets out a little moan that makes my dick stiffen in my jeans.
What the fuck are you doing, Rhonan? Has the one beer gone straight to your head?
“Oh, that feels good.” Her voice takes on a sultry note that has more blood rushing to my cock.
Nope. Everything about this woman is going straight to my dick.
But tonight wasn’t supposed to be about my dick.
I definitely didn’t see that coming.
“So, why didn’t the friends you’re here with come to your rescue?” I ask.
“Because I’m not here with anyone.”
My shoulders tense up as my hands freeze. “Wait. You’re here all by yourself?”
“Yup.”
I arch a brow. “Some might call that dangerous.”
She purses her lips, but there’s a teasing lift to them. “You say dangerous, I say liberating.”
“Liberating…” I repeat, narrowing my eyes at her, fighting to understand what the hell is going on in this woman’s mind.
And that’s a first for me because I can’t remember the last time I actually wanted to know what a woman was thinking.
She leans in closer to me, resting her elbow on the table. “Yup. And freeing, therapeutic…” Her eyes dip down to my mouth for a beat. “Maybe overdue as well.”
My gaze drops to her lips. “Overdue, huh?”
Her smile falters, but she recovers quickly as our gazes return to one another. “Let’s just say I’m trying something new when it comes to living my life, and I’m still trying to find my footing—both literally and figuratively,” she jokes, pointing to her shoes.
Our eyes remain locked for so long, it takes me a moment to realize that Elliot has walked up beside me.
I turn my attention to him and find him watching us, irritation written across his face.
His eyes drop pointedly to Vienna’s foot in my lap, and I carefully lower it, handing Vienna her shoe. “No swelling. Just…take it easy.”
She winks at me as she shoves her boot back on. “Thanks, Doctor.”
Elliot arches a brow at me. “Did I miss something?”
“This is Vienna,” I tell him, reaching for my beer bottle, only to find it empty. I don’t even remember finishing it, but that explains why I’m feeling out of sorts.
Elliot eyes me curiously before turning to Vienna. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.” She flashes him the same smile she’s given me multiple times this evening, but for some reason, I don’t like him being on the receiving end of it.
“Where’d you wander off to earlier?” I ask Elliot.
“Decided I needed something stronger after watching Dilynne ride that fucking bull.” His comment makes me pause, but he shakes his head and responds before I can speak. “Just…don’t worry about it.”
“Well, the contest isn’t over. Not all hope is lost, right?”
Nodding, he clears his throat. “Yeah. I’m gonna go up to the ropes so I can see better. You good here?” He darts his eyes over to Vienna and then back to me, arching a brow.
I glance back at her just as she licks her lips and pulls her bottom lip between her teeth.
The move sends a surge of adrenaline racing through me, centering between my legs.
God, it’s been so long since my body has reacted to a woman like this that I’m having trouble processing it. “Yeah, I’m, uh…good, man.”
“If you say so.” Chuckling, he leaves us alone, and I slide my eyes back to Vienna.
“You can go with him if you want. I’ll be fine on my own,” she says.
“I’m not sure about that. If you fall again, who will be there to pick you up?”
The corner of her mouth lifts as she shrugs. “Well, there’s no time like the present to figure out how to do that on my own.”
Silence rests between us as I consider her words. I’m getting the sense that this woman is far out of her comfort zone tonight, but she seems to be embracing it.
And fuck… It’s sexy. Admirable. Interesting.
Maybe I can learn something from her in that respect, too.
“So, what were we talking about again?” I lift my water to my lips and empty the glass as cheers ring out for the next woman who just mounted the mechanical bull.
“Me trying not to fall on my ass while doing things way out of my comfort zone.”
“Is that what the bull riding was about?”
She laughs softly. “Kind of. I’ve always wanted to try it, so when I saw the flyer at a gas station, I took it as a sign. Sometimes it’s the little opportunities that end up meaning the most, you know? I just felt like I couldn’t pass this one up.”
A flyer at a gas station, huh? “Are you from around here, then?”
She huffs out a laugh. “Not at all.”
“Where’s home?”
Her head tilts to the side. “Far from here. What about you? You a local who comes to every bull riding contest?”
I push a hand through my hair and adjust my flannel on my shoulders. “Ha. That would be a no. I live about thirty minutes from here. I just came tonight for my buddy,” I say, gesturing toward the direction that Elliot went. “He’s had a rough year, so I’m supposed to be his wingman.”
“The Maverick to his Goose?”
“Something like that.”
“I love Top Gun,” Vienna says wistfully. “And the second movie they made? Top Gun: Maverick? Even better than the first, in my opinion.”
“I haven’t seen it yet.”
Her mouth drops open. “What? Oh, you need to change that immediately.”
My chest shakes with silent laughter. “You seem to feel very strongly about that.”
“I insist.” Her smile is ever present. “Miles Teller and Glen Powell in one movie?” She starts to fan herself dramatically. “That’s a why-choose situation I wouldn’t mind finding myself in.”
“Not sure those are selling points to get me to watch it,” I say, teasing her, feeling my smile grow the longer we go back and forth.
Her energy is so vibrant and so honest.
It’s addictive, to the point that I feel like I could sit here and talk to her for hours.
When’s the last time that happened, Rhonan?
The night I met Sarah.
“Well, Jennifer Connelly is also in it,” she says, pulling me back to the conversation.
I shrug. “She’s fine. I’m just not really into celebrities.”
Seems I’m far more interested in sassy blondes at the moment.
She sighs, resting her chin in her hand, elbow poised on the table. “Maybe flying a fighter plane will be my next liberating experience.”
My eyes drop to her mouth. “That might be a little trickier to cross off your list than riding a mechanical bull.”
She leans in closer to me. “Maybe...but the adrenaline rush?” She licks her lips. “I bet there’s nothing like it.”
My heart is pounding in my chest, and my dick is painfully aware of how close she is to me right now. All I’d have to do is lean over just a few more inches and our mouths would connect.
Casual sex has never been my thing. It’s been almost a year since I’ve had sex, and there have only been two women since Sarah. Two.
The guilt still eats at me sometimes.
But there’s something about Vienna that is drawing me to her.
She’s bubbly, quick-witted, and fucking gorgeous.
Her smile is infectious, and her energy is contagious.
Plus, she’s clearly strong. It takes guts to go somewhere new, all alone, and participate in something without fear of what others will think of you.
I fucking like that.
A lot.
And the way she keeps licking her lips is making me wonder just what those lips would taste like against my own.
I lower my voice so only the two of us can hear. “There’s other things you could do to chase that adrenaline, you know?”
Her eyes light up. “Like what?”
“Like sitting here, talking to a complete stranger for a while.”
She wrinkles her nose, but there’s a playful smile pulling at her lips. “Not sure I can classify you as a stranger anymore. I mean, I know your name, and you’ve rubbed my ankle. I feel like we’re way past the stranger danger.”
“Funny. I was thinking you’re the dangerous one.”
Her brows knit together. “How so?”
Without thinking, I reach out and tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, dragging my index finger down her cheek before pulling away. “Just a feeling.”
“Huh.” Her tongue darts out to lick her lips again. “I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”
“You don’t?”
She shakes her head. “No. I’m more about looking forward these days. You can’t do that if you’re still looking back, you know? Sometimes that requires us to do things we wouldn’t normally do.”
Fuck. Her words resonate with me harder than they should. “I understand that more than you can imagine.”
She brings her water to her mouth, biting the straw between her teeth. “Of course, it’s easy for me to say that, but living it is something different entirely.”
“Good at dishing out advice, but not taking it?”
She shakes her head. “Actually, I’m not good at either. Lately, I feel like I’ve made so many mistakes, I don’t even know if I’m learning from them anymore.”