Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
ARLAND
“ H ow did it go?” Gregory asked with a smirk when I got back to our table. His eyebrows were raised, the smirk turning into a shit-eating grin when I didn’t respond right away. “That well, huh? Are the cops on the way here yet?”
I scoffed, but honestly, I was slightly shaken at how beautiful she was up close. I hadn’t even learned her name yet, but I needed to know who she was. Not that I’d tell Gregory as much. “Give me some credit. I would never make the poor woman so uncomfortable that she calls the cops on me.”
“So you took her rejection like a pro,” he concluded jokingly. “On the bright side, there’s still the old folks’ home. Don’t give up yet, brother. Those women may not have their youthful beauty anymore, but I’ve heard they’re wildcats in the sack.”
“Fuck off,” I repeated. Chuckling, I grabbed my drink. “I’m not giving up and she didn’t reject me. She’s here with a friend, but she recently moved to Sun Valley for a few weeks. I’m sure I’ll see her again.”
“Do you really think you’re going to get another shot at her?” he asked mildly. “I’ve learned never to doubt you, but she’s probably going to wind up spending her nights at all the clubs we never visit and her days sleeping off the hangover.”
“I will get another shot,” I said confidently. “Hopefully tonight.”
Greg rolled his eyes. “Good luck with that, but my money is on my prediction being true. Clubbing all night, sleeping almost all day, hitting the slopes, and then starting all over again.”
I glanced back at her, seeing that her friend had returned and the two were locked in an animated discussion. The friend kept waving her hand my way, making me fairly confident that I was the subject of said discussion, and judging by the flush on my mystery girl’s cheeks, I was guessing that they weren’t contemplating calling the cops on me.
The thrill of the chase swept through my veins, heating my blood and rousing my cock. I appreciated a woman who didn’t fall by my feet or give in without making me work for it. There had been far too many who had simply caved as soon as I looked at them, and while I’d had my fun with that type, I always welcomed a challenge.
Gregory laughed, bringing my attention back to him. “What the hell did she say to you? I can’t remember the last time I saw you like this.”
“Like what?”
He grinned. “Completely in lust at first sight. I thought you were done with all that.”
“I am, but I’ll make exceptions on occasion,” I said. “For the right woman.”
Donny and Matt came back after playing a game of pool, and though I had a hard time focusing on them while knowing that my mystery girl was still here, I turned my attention to my friends. She’d made it pretty clear that was what she was doing tonight, and I’d come here for a good time with the guys. The least I could do was try to tune into their conversation as they started joking around and needling me for more information about Everwood.
“I’ll get the next round,” I said once our drinks were almost finished. Getting up, I turned to see that the mystery girl was gone, but her friend was still at the bar, two drinks that only had a few sips in them left on the counter.
Pity. I would’ve liked the chance to get close to her again.
As it was though, I moved to our side of the bar and signaled Evan, the bartender, for another round. He grinned and shot me a thumbs-up, and as I settled in for the wait, I suddenly felt a tap on my shoulder.
Hope surged through me that it would be her, but instead, I turned to see her friend, a tiny little thing with bright blonde hair and the kind of face that made me think she could be trouble. She smiled, glancing at the restroom before quickly refocusing on me.
“I’m flying back home tonight,” she said without any preamble, like she wanted to get it all out before my mystery girl got back. “My friend is staying behind and I’m sure she’d love some company. This is her first night here, and she won’t go out looking to make friends.”
“I’d be happy to take that spot,” I said without skipping a beat. I hadn’t been expecting this at all, but I wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth just because my ego demanded I be the one to make all the moves. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll keep her company.”
The friend shot me a happy smile, nodding. She backed away and finally resumed her seat just as Mystery Girl appeared in the restroom door. Our eyes met for a brief moment, and I gave her a wave before I carried our drinks back to our table, passing them out just as the two girls hugged one another.
“Excuse me,” I said to my friends, grinning as I inclined my head toward the bar. “My presence has been requested over there.”
Donny laughed. “Of course, it has. Why do you always get the hot ones?”
Matt glanced at the beer gut our friend had been working on for the last couple years. “Could it be because Arland kept his gym membership after the divorce?”
“I kept my membership too,” Donny protested, smirking as he looked back at our friend. “I pay for it, anyway. It really is unfair that you have to fork over the cash and then go work up a sweat to get any benefit out of the membership. I think it’s a scam.”
“Health is a scam?” Greg asked.
Donny winked at him. “They should make you pay and keep you looking fit with their health-nut magic, or they should pay me to work up a sweat.”
I laughed but grabbed my drink and straightened up. “While you guys figure that out, I’m going to go make a new friend. Don’t wait up for me.”
A chorus of laughter and groans rang out. I turned my back on them and strode over to where Mystery Girl was saying a tearful goodbye to her friend. “Are you sure you have to leave already? I feel like we just got here.”
The friend glanced at her watch and grimaced. “If I don’t leave now, I won’t make my flight and I absolutely have to be on that plane. You’re going to be fine, though. I promise. Your adventure is about to start.”
Mystery Girl pulled her in for another tight, long hug, her brow furrowing and her eyes closed as she squeezed her friend. It was obvious that they were close, and it almost made me sad for her that this girl was leaving.
The friend finally laughed and stepped out of their embrace, smiling when she saw me waiting to take her seat. “Be good to her.”
I inclined my chin, though I wondered what exactly she meant by that, and then she was gone. Mystery Girl stared after her until the door had swung shut behind her. She glanced at me, seemingly noticing I was there for the first time and blinking harder than normal.
“Hi,” she said shakily, sliding back onto her chair. “Why did Gemma tell you to be good to me?”
“No idea,” I replied, waving at the stool the friend—Gemma, apparently—had vacated. “Do you mind if I sit with you for a bit? She seemed to think you’d want company.”
The girl groaned, her cheeks flushing the same pretty pink I’d seen earlier before she gave me an uncertain nod. “Sure. If you want to sit, then sit, but you don’t have to. Gemma means well. She just doesn’t always have much regard for other people’s plans, and you’re here with friends.”
“I see them all the time. They don’t mind.” I took a seat and sipped my drink, recognizing that she probably needed a moment to realign after that emotional goodbye. “Plus you’re way more interesting.”
She nodded, looking into the dregs of her frosty drink. “I don’t know about that.”
When I felt her eyes on me, I turned to face her. “Are you okay?”
Those blue eyes looked directly into mine, which was a refreshing change from brief, coy glances and the flirtatious averting of gazes I’d become used to after the divorce. It had turned out that dating in your early forties was a rather irksome endeavor, the rules of the game having changed just enough to turn it into a minefield of irritating behaviors.
“I’ll be okay.” She drew in a deep breath, holding it before she blew it out slowly and nodded at me. “This is all just very new, but I’ll adapt. I always do.”
Something about the nostalgia in her eyes told me there was more to this story. Perhaps a reason behind her saying that she always adapted. I was curious as all hell about this woman, but I didn’t want to scare her off by demanding answers as if I was entitled to them.
“Would you like to talk about it?”
She laughed dryly and gulped down the rest of her drink, then started looking around for Evan. “There’s nothing exciting to talk about, otherwise I might’ve told you. As things are, I’m simply a lone traveler in a new place for the first time, and my safety blanket just walked out the door.”
I chuckled, catching Evan’s eye and beckoning him over. When he arrived, she ordered another margarita and turned to me. “Do you know him? He seems to respond to you pretty darn fast.”
“I’m here at least twice a week. He knows I tip well, and that’s all he needs to know.”
She nodded slowly, as if she was absorbing this information. Then she pushed forward. “Does that mean you live around here? You said you know everyone, and if the local bartender knows you’re a good tipper, that must mean you live here.”
“I do. Right around the corner,” I said. “How about you?”
“I’m from Texas.” She glanced at the bar. “Traveling seemed like a good idea at the time but right now…”
“It’s intimidating?” I suggested once she trailed off, seeming lost for words. “I’ve been there. New things always are, though. Happily, they don’t stay new for long.”
“Yeah.” She sighed, lowering her head and dragging her fingers through her hair before she suddenly looked back at me, apparently rallying. “I’m sorry. I’m sure you didn’t come over here to join a pity party. Please just ignore me. Like I said, my safety blanket just walked out that door, but half the reason why I’m here is to get out of my comfort zone. I won’t wallow in misery all night.”
“What’s the other half?” I asked, allowing my curiosity to get the best of me. “If half the reason you’re doing this is to get out of your comfort zone, what’s the other half?”
Surprise flickered in her eyes as they widened, but the longer she looked at me, the more she seemed willing to share. “It’s going to sound silly to you, I’m sure, but the other half is that I’ve always dreamed of traveling. I didn’t want to spend my life all in one place, content but stagnating. I needed something new. Something fresh. Experiences that didn’t involve me running into kids I went to elementary school with every day.”
“I can relate to that,” I said. “I’m Sun Valley born and bred. There aren’t so many of us left from my elementary school days, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, but do you see that guy over there with the hair that’s almost completely white?”
I tipped my head in the direction of our table and her gaze followed, her chin dipping in a nod. “His name is Gregory and he and I have been friends since first grade.”
She seemed surprised, but slightly more relaxed, her eyes smiling when they came back to mine. “So he’s your safety blanket?”
I snorted. “That depends. Are safety blankets often annoying know-it-alls?”
“In my experience, yes.” She laughed. “Sometimes, at least. They really do mean well, though. We’re lucky to have them in our lives.”
The sentiment gave me pause. I hadn’t thought about being grateful for Gregory’s presence in my life. He was always just there, and I definitely took him for granted.
Bringing my drink to my lips, I sipped the amber liquid inside and wondered if she was as genuine as she seemed. No one was this naively open and honest. I cocked my head at her, eyes burning into hers as I tried to gauge if she was for real. “I suppose we are lucky. Is this your first time away from home?”
She shook her head. “I’ve traveled before. For work and getaways with my friends mostly, but in this context, yes. It’s my first time.”
“I’ve moved away from here a time or two myself,” I offered. “It gets easier.”
“But obviously, you came back,” she said cautiously. “Why?”
I shrugged. “Various reasons. Home. Family. Business. All I can say with absolute certainty is that I grew a lot every time I left. I always felt like I was coming home a little different than I had been.”
She lifted her hand and crossed her middle finger over her index finger. “Here’s hoping. Personal growth is what I’m after. I just kind of wish I could’ve done it somewhere more familiar.”
As I looked at her and realized she was, in fact, for real, I leaned in a little, even more captivated than I had been before. There was something about this girl that I found fascinating, and I couldn’t wait to learn more.