Chapter 13
13
Tovah watched as Zach headed to the bar to get their drinks. The way the groupies in her class had spoken about the Gus Stop had put it pretty much in the lower rungs of what might be considered habitable space. What she saw as she looked around were average working-class people—mostly men—who had come in to blow off steam by shooting pool and playing darts. Not exactly anything risky or scandalous.
As a matter of fact, it was somewhat disappointing.
She’d built it up in her mind as some cesspit and had come up with middle America.
Tovah leaned over the table and lowered her voice as much as possible while Hank Williams crooned from large speakers that were most likely installed sometime in the 1970s.
“Why does this place have such a nasty reputation?”
Weaver and Dirx exchanged a meaningful glance. “We’ll let Zach fill you in on the details. Just suffice it to say that there’s a low threshold for bullshit around here.”
Okay, that was definitely intriguing. The fact they were going to let Zach tell her even more so.
He came back to the table and handed her a domestic beer. “Sorry, no imports.”
Tovah glanced at the label and noted the fact it was still in the bottle and hadn’t been poured from a tap or in any way near a glass other than the one it came in. “Thank you. This is fine.”
Actually, it was a learning experience. The only beer she’d ever tasted was one at the Guinness tour she’d taken in Dublin. She was a cocktail kind of girl, but she’d watched enough movies and television shows with the fish out of water scenario to know one didn’t walk into a biker bar and ask for a mojito.
She took a sip and enjoyed the coolness of the drink. It was lighter and fresher than the Guinness had been. A quick look at the label explained it. This beer was a pilsner where Guinness was a stout. Maybe that was the difference. They certainly were much different in coloring.
Zach nudged her arm. “What do you think?”
“I like it.” She took another sip and smacked her lips together. Yep, she could learn to like domestic beer. Her brothers would probably be turning their noses up. They were all a bunch of fools. Couldn’t they see that there was a wider world out there and they missed out because of stubborn pride, deceit, and appearances. Who cared?
Well, she had. That first day she’d met Zach.
An uncomfortable pinch twisted her heart. She put the bottle back down on the table and leaned into him, laying her head on his shoulder. “Thank you for bringing me here. I like it.”
He turned a bit and smiled down at her. “Do you want to shoot a game?”
That she could do. They had a billiard room in the house where she grew up. Usually, her brothers had their friends over to play and she’d been forced to watch. That didn’t stop her from playing lonely games and practicing moves when they weren’t around.
When Tovah confessed that to Rose, the older woman had laughed and praised her for doing exactly as she wanted regardless of the boys.
“Yes. I’d like that.”
Zach rose and grabbed both their beers. He went to a table where a couple of guys were finishing up a game and placed what looked like a marker on the edge.
A big guy with a long, dark braid and trimmed beard raised a brow. “You going to play, boss?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Snatch will be glad to give up the table. Won’t you, Snatch?”
The one with the unfortunate nickname held his cue stick in both hands and shook his head in exasperation. “He’s robbing me blind.”
“No, you just can’t shoot worth a shit.” The big buy looked sheepish. “Sorry, ma’am.”
Tovah only paid cursory attention to them. She had wandered off to the rack of sticks and started evaluating each of them by picking them up and closing one eye to look down the length of them. A few had a very slight curve to them. She put those back and chose the one she deemed the straightest.
Snatch watched her through narrowed eyes. “I think she’s done this a time or two, boss.”
Zach lifted a shoulder. “We’ll see.”
“Don’t hold back,” Tovah said. “I don’t want to feel like I’ve won because you let me. That wouldn’t be sporting at all.”
A collective Oh came out of both men.
Zach’s gaze darkened. “Don’t worry, babe. I never hold back.”
Liar. He’d held back for months, and they both knew it. However, it had been the circumstances that had kept him from pursuing matters. If she hadn’t been his student, would they have already been lovers?
She had to assume so.
But a tiny part of her wondered if it was the chase of the forbidden that had made her such a tempting target.
Tonight, it didn’t matter. She was going to make the most of it and live with the memories later. No regrets. That wasn’t on the menu or in the game plan.
If the morning brought distance and indifference, so be it. Tovah was adult enough to realize that not every pairing was permanent. Hell, she knew that way before Rose had ever mentioned Zach.
“Ladies first.” Zach extended his hand, indicating the table.
“Oh, no. We do this fair and square. Coin flip.”
“All right.” He reached into his pocket and Tovah shook her head.
“He tosses the coin.” She pointed at the one whose name she hadn’t been given.
This caused a hoot of laughter from both men.
“She doesn’t trust you, boss.”
Tovah looked Zach straight in the eyes, making sure to pour all her desire into her gaze. “Oh, I trust him, or I wouldn’t be here. I just want to make sure he doesn’t have a two-headed coin in his pocket.”
This made both men hoot even louder. If the heat in his gaze was any indication, Zach was going to make her pay dearly for that comment later. And she couldn’t wait.
Tovah proved to be a competent and surprisingly good player. She’d had quite a bit of practice as evidenced by her skill level. Their games were tied two-two and he was busy getting ready to rack the tie breaker game, when Tovah went still, her gaze fixed on the door.
Zach glanced over his shoulder. Hellshitdamnfuck .
Last thing he needed was the blonde brigade and their brunette ringleader walking into the bar and starting trouble.
Zach snapped his fingers and several of the guys standing close to him came over to see what was so urgent. “See those women who just walked in. They were students in my class. I don’t want them near me or Tovah.”
Tovah looked to him with a frown then back to the women. “Too late they’ve zeroed in on you and are headed this way.”
Zach took Tovah’s cue from her hand and gave it to Dirx. “Here, have a game on me. We’re going out the back door.”
“That bad?” Dirx’s surprised expression turned instantly cold as the women came closer.
“Worse.” Zach said taking Tovah by the hand. “I don’t want to expose Tovah to them.”
At this, Tovah let out a sigh of frustration. “I’ve dealt with mean girls before. I’m not about to let a few women who are barely into their adulthood run me off from the first good date I’ve had in a really long time.” She softened her expression and ran a hand over Dirx’s arm. “No offense.”
“Ouch.” Dirx winced then shook his head. “None taken.”
When she tried to explain, Zach pulled her away. They’d have time for that later.
He snaked them through tables and headed to the hallway where the restrooms were located. The emergency exit was lit by a bright safety sign. He pushed the door open, and they were out into a dirt lot behind the building where the dumpster was located.
A few guys hung out back there and the scent of weed crawled over to them, filling his lungs.
“If you see any women come out here and ask where we’ve gone, send them back inside,” he called to them.
“You got it, boss.”
“Come on, this way. We’ll go around the short way.” He continued to guide her by holding her hand. Since Tovah was tall, she didn’t have to run to catch up with him. A distinct advantage he wouldn’t have expected.
Funny how he hadn’t anticipated having to outrun his own persistent students either. But Eloisa, was…extra. Her advances had gotten more pronounced throughout the semester. Notes on his motorcycle, taped to his office door, emails. No matter how diligently he ignored them, she continued to pursue.
“You might have been right about me having to send all this information to the admins. It’s gotten weird.”
“Weird how?”
“Someone sent a pic of their pierced clit to my phone.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t someone you knew?”
“I would have remembered that.”
“Maybe they didn’t have it when you were together. Might have been showing off new jewelry.”
That stopped Zach in his tracks. He turned to her. “Then why not send more of a message than the one that came with it? No, this person was trying to draw me out without giving up their identity.”
They made it to the motorcycle as the women were coming out of the front door to head them off.
“Dr. Quinn. Zach. Wait.”
He stood at an angle that shielded Tovah by his body and shadows. Instead of staying hidden, Tovah moved to put on her helmet.
Eloisa stopped and scoffed. “Really? Her? She’s old and fat.”
Rage filled Zach and he searched for something to say that wouldn’t make matters worse with either woman. Not that he owed Eloisa anything. She was a student and nothing more. His interaction with her ended with her final grade.
“Tovah is neither of those things. She’s my age, intelligent, and hot as fuck. Now, what can I do for you now that you’ve hunted me down here and stopped me from leaving?”
Eloisa narrowed her eyes. “I can’t believe you’re passing up on this for…” she waved her hand in Tovah’s direction, “for that.”
“Well, believe it.” Then he grabbed his helmet and got on the bike. Tovah snugged in behind him and put her arms around him giving him an acute feeling of satisfaction.
He started the bike and it roared to life.
The snow had just started falling as they rolled up into his driveway and into the garage. When the door closed, shutting the world out behind them, he tore off his helmet and looked at her.
“I’m sorry.”
Tovah took off her helmet much slower and placed it back on the shelf where he got it. “For what? You aren’t responsible for what she said. I do wonder if she’s going to make trouble for you.”
“Oh, I’m sure she will.” He rubbed his head. “But I don’t have anything to worry about. I haven’t even been alone with her in my office. Every interaction with her has been with people.”
“You do know there are ways to fabricate things these days? Pictures can’t even serve as proof because they are so easy to manipulate.”
Unfortunately, he did know. Maybe he had been too careful. Guarding his reputation and name by throwing away any and all correspondence that didn’t pertain to classwork didn’t serve him in this case. He should have held onto it. But then, that might be seen as proof he had encouraged the attention.
“Look, I don’t want to think about this anymore tonight. What I want to do is get you in the house, get you naked, and live out every single fantasy I’ve had about you since the moment you opened the door.”
“Well, then.” She took a step toward him, her breasts pressed against his chest. “By all means, take me inside.”