Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
I followed Roe to a bar named Noble’s Pub.
It was located a good distance south from the bridge.
From the number of motorcycles in the area, I was deep in Haven’s Rebels’ territory.
I got looks as I parked my G-Wagon. Two bikers standing outside the front of the pub smoking unapologetically stared and that did make me feel nervous.
Roe was at my car door as soon as I started climbing out and he walked next to me as we headed for the pub’s entrance.
From what I could see of the one-story building, there weren’t any windows.
At least, not on the front of it. Just red brick walls and a solid black door.
Neon signs and a couple of vinyl banners hung on the walls outside, advertising names of brands served and specials.
Roe opened the pub’s door and gestured for me to go in first. Right away, I could hear rock music and smell greasy food. Once I walked in and my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, I was able to take everything in.
A long wood-top bar lined with wooden stools took up most of the left side.
The walls behind it were lit-up shelves full of different bottles of alcohol.
The middle, front, and right sides of the establishment were full of tables and booths.
Toward the back were two big corner booths that framed wide steps leading up to a slightly elevated floor that was clearly just for pool tables.
There were also a handful of TVs hanging on the walls playing different sports.
It was busy. Maybe not as busy as it would be at night. There were patrons sitting at the bar, some dining at the tables and booths while watching whatever games were playing on the TVs, and a few were all the way in the back playing pool.
“This way,” Roe said as he tilted his head to the right before taking the lead.
I followed him to a booth occupied by two guys sitting across from each other.
Wyatt was one of them—I recognized his blond hair with dark roots instantly.
The other guy was Roe and Wyatt’s brunette friend who had been with them at the party last Friday night.
As we were walking toward them, the brunette seemed to sense us coming.
He saw Roe first and gave him a nod in greeting.
Then his gaze shifted to me. His whiskey-colored eyes roamed all over me before locking onto my face.
The expression he held the entire time he checked me out was unreadable.
All I could discern was that the moment he’d seen me, the relaxed vibe he’d had while talking with Wyatt had vanished.
Realizing he had lost his friend’s attention, Wyatt glanced our way just as we came upon their table. He noticed Roe first. “What took you so long?”
“I was waiting for someone.” Roe turned slightly to look at me. I was kind of hiding behind him. It was silly, but I had yet to shake off my unease. I didn’t know much about Roe, yet here I was following him to what I’d heard many times was a dangerous part of the city.
Get it together, Lottie, I told myself and I stepped forward to stand beside him.
Wyatt looked pleasantly surprised to see me. “Hey, it’s Joint Thief. What are you doing here?”
“I invited her,” Roe said as he stared at their brunette friend, whose eyes had yet to leave me. I assumed he was wondering why the hell I was there, and I suddenly felt like I was intruding even though I’d been invited.
As if feeling Roe’s gaze, the brunette finally looked away from me and shifted his attention to his friend.
“This is Charlotte,” Roe said to him. “You sort of met her at the party last Friday.”
“I remember,” the brunette said.
“It’s hard to forget when a hot chick storms over, steals your joint, and starts talking about orgasms,” Wyatt said, grinning. “You should have been there yesterday to hear her bring up penises.”
It wasn’t the best first impression and far from ladylike.
From the way Wyatt talked, he’d enjoyed our first interactions a lot.
It was still up for debate if that was a good or bad thing.
So far Wyatt had come off as nice, but a lot of people can pretend to be one thing and be something else.
Regardless, I’d own what I’d said and not regret it.
The brunette looked from Wyatt to Roe and sighed through his nose. “Reid.”
“And you already know Wyatt,” Roe said, finishing the introductions.
“Of course she knows me. Unlike you two moody assholes, I am a memorable delight,” Wyatt said. Both Roe and Reid flipped Wyatt off. He ignored them and smacked the dark brown cushion next to where he sat. “Take a seat, gorgeous.”
Reid rolled his eyes and mumbled, “Here we fucking go.”
I glanced at Roe, finding him already watching me, waiting to see what I’d do. I walked around him. Stiffly, because too much movement made my neck and clavicle hurt, I slid into the booth next to Wyatt. Reid scooted over for Roe to sit next to him.
“So, Charlotte,” Wyatt said, “what brings you to our neck of the woods?”
“Roe invited me to play pool,” I said.
“Why?” Reid asked Roe.
“Does it matter?” Roe shot back, and they got into a stare-off.
I glanced at Wyatt. “You can call me Lottie.”
His brows rose. “Lottie the hottie, I like it.”
He was a flirt. It seemed playful, harmless, and helped ease the awkwardness of being the outsider.
“Your last name is Kendry, isn’t it?” Even though Reid phrased it like a question, I had a feeling he already knew the answer. So much for going somewhere no one would recognize me.
I wanted to ask him how he knew or why he was asking, but the unapproachable vibe he was putting off made me not care. “Yes.”
“Kendry? As in the Kendrys?” Wyatt asked.
“What other Kendrys are there?” Reid asked caustically.
“Does my last name bother you?” I was stunned at the feeling of my own backbone. I knew I had one, but when I had to suppress it so often, I sometimes forgot it was there.
Reid gave me a look that told me he found my question ridiculous.
Wyatt leaned close and whispered loudly, “I don’t care what your last name is.”
“That’s because you want in her pants,” Reid grumbled.
Roe let out a curse as he shook his head.
Wyatt didn’t even look bothered by his friend’s accusation. “I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about it. No offense.” He winked at me. “But I meant what I said. Couldn’t care less what her last name is.” He stared across the booth at Reid. “What makes me curious is why you do.”
“I don’t,” Reid said, glancing at Roe. They stared at each other, and it felt like they were communicating silently again.
Roe eventually looked away and Reid’s whiskey eyes met mine.
He was intimidating. Not in a terrifying way.
In an intense way. It didn’t help that I found him attractive.
All three of them were. But it was my attraction to him that I was disappointed in myself about.
He seemed like an asshole. There were too many assholes in my life as it was.
I would never offer time, thought, or energy to another asshole by choice.
“She’s the one who drew the motorcycle at Stewart’s,” Reid said, stunning me.
That still didn’t explain how he knew me. If anything, it created more questions.
“What?” Wyatt’s head whipped around to stare at me. “I mean, after seeing your drawing yesterday, that adds up. But how’d you find that out, Reid? The artist was listed as anonymous when we went there and voted on it.”
“When it won, the artist was revealed,” Reid explained. “And I know who bought it.”
“Who?” Roe asked before I could. I was curious to know as well. It was a personal piece. All my drawings were, but it was the first one I had ever sold.
“Are we ordering anything?” a female voice asked, capturing all of our attention and making us forget Reid hadn’t answered.
Standing next to our booth was a girl about my age with a small black apron around her waist. She had brown hair with caramel highlights. Her eyes were almost the same shade as Reid’s.
“We’ll get the usual, Mac,” Wyatt said.
The waitress, whose name I assumed was Mac, looked to me. I was about to say that I didn’t want anything when Roe said, “Just add an extra order of what I get for her.”
“I don’t want anything,” I said quickly.
“Yes, she does,” Roe told the waitress as he watched me.
She took him at his word and walked off.
“I didn’t want anything,” I insisted.
“You didn’t eat lunch. I know you’re hungry,” Roe argued.
I frowned. “How do you know that?”
“Because you never eat lunch,” Roe answered. Something in his eyes told me he was ready for me to disagree.
I didn’t. I was too stunned to.
“She looks like she doesn’t eat at all,” Reid said.
Asshole.
“It’s rude to comment on a girl’s weight,” Wyatt chastised him.
The waitress—Mac—returned with drinks. She set sodas in front of the guys and a water in front of me. “I forgot to ask what you wanted to drink.”
“Water is perfect,” I assured her.
She eyed my uniform. I had taken the blazer off, but the black button-up blouse and burgundy skirt were still recognizable. “Are you a scholarship student like Roe?”
I shook my head.
She tilted her head slightly as she took stock of me. “That’s interesting.”
I kept my face schooled. “Why is that?”
She smirked as she glanced at Roe. “You’re the first friend Roe has brought around us from that fancy school.”
Roe leaned back and frowned up at her. “Don’t you have work to do, Mac?”
“You’re not your dad, Roe. Stop bossing me around,” she said and stared at Reid. “Are you coming over tonight?”
“No,” Reid replied.
Mac sighed as if very annoyed. “Then can I come over to your place?”
I looked from Reid to Mac. Oh. They must be together.
“I don’t care,” Reid said.
Mac nodded and walked away. I tried not to frown and failed. He wasn’t a nice boyfriend.
Wyatt leaned close. “Roe’s dad owns this place.”
That piqued my interest and it probably showed.
“Reid works here, too,” Wyatt added. “He started off waiting tables just like Mac. Now he tends the bar.”