New Blend
Daniel
God, she’s beautiful. I’ve missed her. Every part of her. I’ve not given up either. She needed space, I got that. I forced myself to give it to her. Didn’t mean I couldn’t almost lose my mind every time she read and ignored a text. Or when I showed up at the bar to find she had gone back to Clarendon Hills.
I hate I made her leave the bar. And her home. That was when I wavered, got nervous that she was slipping through my fingers.
I’m too impatient to wait so I decided I would drive up there. Find her and tell her exactly how I feel. Explain to her how sorry I am for fucking up and go back to the way things were when we fell asleep in each other’s arms that night.
Some people might not think what I did was enough to warrant her running away, but I understand why she did it. It’s hard for her to trust. Even the smallest of lies could hurt her. I was ignorant, stupid and it bit me in the ass.
It all made me more determined to fight for her.
My plan to go up to get her was foiled when I saw on the bar’s social media they’re throwing a celebratory party. They’re unveiling the new beer. This is a better plan. There is no way I could stay away.
It takes a while for her to notice me. Purposely, I used the QR code on the table but each time, someone else has brought the order over. I can’t go on like this. I’ll either be too drunk or have a huge bar tab if I don’t get her attention soon.
The moment she walked in from the back, I’ve not been able to take my eyes off her. It’s like the first time I set eyes on her all over again. From this very table. She goes around, chatting with people, serving customers, laughing with her staff and Jay.
I should have guessed he’d be here given the new beer. Which is amazing. Although I got a sample of it when I went up to the brewery with her. Jay is a good guy. I’m not here to talk to him though.
There is one reason I’m sitting here, prepared to beg her to hear me out if I have to.
One last beer, I’ll try one last time before just getting off my ass and going over there. Keeping my head down, I put in the order, then pocket my phone. Brie is standing with her and steps forward to see the order.
“Fuck,” I clench a fist. This is getting ridiculous. Only when I look back up, Brie is talking to Blue and then they both look my way.
Our eyes lock. Brie walks away. She isn’t going to get my order. I guess this is it. Make or break. Now she knows I’m here.
Come on, Blue.
She turns away and my stomach plummets. No, fuck that. I’m not giving up like this. I’m about to get out of the chair when she turns and grabs some glasses and a couple bottles of beer. She sets them on a tray and comes out from behind the bar.
Two… Either she’s joining me, or she is serving someone else. I force my ass to remain in the seat as she comes towards me. People stare at her as she passes, some say hi and she nods to them but her eyes remain locked on me.
She comes to a stop by the table. We’re silent, staring at one another.
Say something to her, dickhead.
“You ordered an IPA.”
She sounds clinical, a little cagey. I want to put her at ease. I need to see the real Blue again.
“I hear the new blend is even better than the original,” I answer.
“Well, it is called Blue after all.”
It’s hard to hide the grin. There she is. This is the Blue I fell for. The sassy, confident woman who gives as good as she gets.
Blue sets the two glasses on the table, then the bottles.
“Are you joining me?”
Checking out the immediate vicinity and the bar, she makes a show of deciding. She’s given herself away already with the two bottles but I let her play this out.
I pick up one of the bottles and hold it out to her. Blue takes it and I grab the other, then clink the necks together. We each take a drink, never taking our eyes off each other.
Blue slides onto the stool opposite me when people are trying to squeeze around her. She sets her tray on the table. I can’t help but remember back to that first night. When Reed was sitting opposite me and his dumb ass move of offering her twenty dollars to join us.
Her head cocks to the side and her brow pinches. I didn’t mean to let those intrusive thoughts into this. Reed Faulkner was the catalyst for all of this, but I really wish he hadn’t been. Looks like she is thinking back on that too.
Sitting in the past isn’t what I want.
“You went back to the brewery.”
“I needed to get away,” she answers.
“Did it help?”
“Some,” she shrugs.
“Blue, what happened the other night… I was stupid not to tell you we were still partnering with Faulkner on that deal. I stepped away from it and hated bringing him up when I was around you. Things between us changed so quickly, I was focused on that and nothing else. That is really no excuse. I should have told you.”
“Yes, you should.”
Shit, I don’t know if this is going the right way. She’s giving me her time right now, that doesn’t mean she forgives me. Sitting here saying sorry over and over will not get me anywhere with Blue.
“I messed up and I’m sorry for that. I don’t want this to be over.”
“I understand,” Blue says. She plays with the label on the beer bottle, tearing at the logo at the top. “You didn’t do anything intentionally. You’re just an idiot.”
My brows shoot up. “You have a way with words, Blue.”
“I’m not afraid to use them.”
“Yeah, I’m getting used to that. And I missed it. What I did was stupid. You deserve better.”
Blue shakes her head and looks away for a second. In true Blue fashion, her eyes come back to me with clear intent. “I have had some time to think things over.”
She looks stern. Damn, I’m not losing her. I can’t.
“You had every right to be mad at me. Blue, I-”
“Let me finish,” she puts both elbows on the table and leans forward. “What you did, wasn’t a life altering disaster. While I was away, I got a bit of perspective and although I didn’t like it, I also don’t enjoy having information withheld. A lie by omission is still a lie.”
All I can do is nod. She’s right. In the back of my mind, it was there. I should have told her.
“At the same time, I might have overreacted a little.”
“No you didn’t.”
“That woman showing up, threatening to expose me as someone who uses my body to get what I want triggered me.”
“She said that?” I sit up straighter, getting pissed at Erin all over again.
We never went through with my suggestion to sue the newspaper, that was my anger talking. Lauren dealt with it.
She wanted to know about Blue, because I carelessly threw out that someone I cared about was being hurt. I didn’t tell her anything.
Talking to Blue first was my only priority. As harsh as it sounds, Lauren has nothing to do with me now. She has no right to my life.
“In not so many words,” Blue says. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t care what people think about me. But I do care that those I surround myself with are honest.”
“That’s fair,” I agree.
“I’m guessing you know the lawsuit was withdrawn completely.”
“Because of you.”
Her nose scrunches and she drinks more beer to hide what she’s thinking. I can read her like a book. Enough people have told her she did this, she doesn’t need me to convince her.
“I had help,” she shrugs.
“Maybe you did, but, you make this bar what it is, Blue. No one would have helped you the way you needed if that wasn’t the case. Your heart is in this place. You were always going to beat Faulkner, with or without my company’s involvement.”
“Did your dad threaten to call things off if I didn’t back down?”
“No, that wasn’t how it happened. It was more about the way Faulkner was handling the situation. Going against a small business because Reed embarrassed himself made dad second guess. In all honesty, he was still pissed Reed hit me. That isn’t how dad does business. The deal was so far along, it would have been a mess to untangle. Shit, you don’t want to hear this.”
“Yes, I do,” she says. “Continue.”
God, all I want to do is stand up, take her face in my hands and kiss that mouth. She can tell too by the way her eyes darken but she leans back in her seat. Maybe to stop herself swaying towards me.
“Yes, they had a frank conversation about the bad publicity but it’s not up to dad to tell them how to run their business. Telling them he thought what they were doing was bullshit was enough.”
“Sounds like your dad is well respected.”
“He is,” I nod. “When I told him about you, he said he absolutely wanted nothing to do with them.”
“You’re making that up.”
“I’m not. Blue…” I take a deep breath.
She gives me a look that makes me pause. Sure, I was always going to work for this, but I get the feeling she is messing with me now. Seeing how far she can make me go.
“You’re evil.”
Her lips quirk into a small smile. “I’m not the kind to make anyone grovel.”
“I’d do it,” I say. “And not conventionally.”
“Meaning,” she plays with her bottle again, fingering the opening at the top.
Reaching across the table, I run my finger across the top of her hand and around her wrist. She never takes her eyes off me. “Meaning I’d get on my knees for you. And I wouldn’t get up until you were screaming my name.”
Her pulse thumps against my fingers.
“Sex doesn’t fix everything,” she says, her voice is shaky, flustered, and a flush is creeping up her throat. “It goes a long way though.”
“Blue,” I turn my hand over and take hers in mine. “Unless you want me to take you away from this party right now, we should stop talking about sex.”
All around us, people are laughing and talking, enjoying the company of their friends and loved ones, drinking 312, both regular and Blue.
“You’ve been a bad boy.”
“Shit,” I mutter and move in the seat as my dick throbs.
“You broke your promise,” she arches a brow.
It takes a moment for the sex fog to lift and that comment to sink in. Her lips press together as she waits for me to respond. She did hear me on the phone.
“And I’d do it again. Over and over.”
She takes a shuddery breath, then straightens her shoulders, taking her hand back. I hold my breath, waiting to see what she is going to do. She stands and moves around the table, so she is right in front of me.
“You mean it?” she asks.
“Fuck yes.”
Blue tips her head back and laughs. It’s throaty and sexy and I want to own it, always.
She leans into me, one palm on my thigh, the other going around my shoulder. I grasp her hip and pull her flush to my chest.
“I’m breaking it too,” she whispers, stroking her fingers through the hair at my nape, her laughter fading to a smile that says everything I need to hear.
No one else would get it. I do. It’s her way of telling me how she feels. This is enough.
I can’t wait any longer. Her mouth is warm and accepting when I lean in to kiss her. I turn and spread my thighs, pulling her in between my legs. Her arms tighten around my neck and she angles her head, deepening the kiss. It crosses my mind that I want to be alone with her. We could go upstairs, and I could worship her the way I told her I would.
Celebrating and proving to the world she is the amazing person I have fallen in love with, this is where Blue is meant to be. And anywhere she is, is where I’m going to be too.