Twenty-Four #2
We’re standing in the corner as the other guy makes his way down.
She’s right. I’ve actually fought this guy before.
He thinks he’s faster than he is and makes a lot of mistakes because he has little follow through.
AJ steps before me and grins wickedly. “If you end this fight in less than ten minutes you can crash her date.” I love having AJ in my corner.
I ended the fight in two minutes. I usually let the other guy play around a little bit, making more of a show for the crowd.
But I had a vicious blonde I wanted to fight with instead.
I pull up to the bar on my bike and walk in, not even caring if she sees me enter or not.
Grover spots me quickly and waves me over to where he is working behind the bar.
“As soon as she walked in, I knew you would be here.” He pulls down a glass and pours from my favorite bottle of whiskey.
He places it on the counter and nods to the table she is sitting at.
A dark haired guy sits across from her. He is dressed in a black shirt and jeans, dressed down from the dates she’s usually with.
The only exception up until this point had been Davey.
“Have they ordered drinks yet?” I ask Grover as a waitress walks through the tables to reach theirs.
“She’s taking the order now.” He answers. Perfect.
I pull my phone out, almost too excited to piss her off. I search for a home remodel and pick the first one that pops up before sending her the link.
Oliver
If he orders you something with vodka in it, you come home with me and we work on this tomorrow.
I watch her flip her phone over on the table and when she smiles I feel my chest fill up with warmth.
She leans forward to engage in conversation with the guy across from her but her eyes are scanning the bar, looking for me.
It takes her all of ten seconds to find me.
I wink as she scrunches her nose in amusement at me sitting across the room from her.
She quickly types away on her phone, trying to not be rude to her date.
Mia
You want to build an indoor fairy garden? Your brothers will never stop making fun of you. I’m down.
What the fuck? I click the link right above her message. Throwing my head, I can’t help but laugh. An older set of guys glance over at me in frustration for interrupting their game but I don’t care.
Oliver
You can do whatever you want, as long as you come over.
Mia
That’s a lot of power to hand over. What if he ordered my favorite drink?
Oliver
He didn’t.
I watch her tap her nails on the table top as the guy continues talking about something that he is fully engrossed in.
My eyes trail over her outfit. It's so simple but still hot as hell. She has a pair of jeans on and a black corset with red cherries all over. Her lips are the exact shade of the cherries. It’s probably my favorite date outfit she has worn. Too bad it’s wasted on this guy.
“Want me to make the cherry margarita now?” Grover asks from somewhere behind me. I don’t even make the effort to turn and answer him because I don’t want to take my eyes off of her.
“Yeah, and can I have a napkin and pen?” I watch the waitress bring what looks like a reddish drink and for the first time I have a moment of doubt that this guy might have ordered her something with cherry.
“It’s a cosmo.” Grover settles my fleeting fear. Honestly, this guy is the best bartender I’ve ever seen.
“It’s creepy you just read minds like that.” I turn in my stool to write a note as he makes my cherry girl her drink.
He definitely doesn’t listen to T-Pain.
I hand the napkin over to Grover and he places it on the tray with her drink and cup of extra cherries motioning for the waitress to deliver it.
Mia doesn’t pay any attention to the drink, going immediately for the napkin.
Her laughter rings through the entire restaurant.
The guy leans over to take the napkin and read what it says.
He just raises his eyebrows at her causing her to laugh harder.
They must actually know each other because she seems more comfortable with him than she did with the others.
She downs the entire drink he bought her before setting it to the side.
Then she grabs her smaller glass and takes a sip before popping a cherry in her mouth.
She makes no hurry to end this date at all.
Matter of fact, I wait so long that Grover brings me over a cheeseburger and fries because he feels sorry for me. Mia is finishing her second cherry margarita when they both stand and she leans up on the tips of her heels to kiss his cheek. And he blushes so hard that I can see if from here.
She waves him off before marching over to where I have been patiently waiting.
She stops just shy of the gap between my legs that I was hoping she would walk into just so I can feel the warmth of her body.
The consolation prize is that she is still close enough for me to smell the cherry and sunshine scent she saturates the air around me with.
“Thought you had a fight.”
“Figured you’d wear a dress.”
Her lips pinch up before she spits out, “Because you told me to?” She crosses her arms, clearly proud of her defiance in my request.
“I knew your stubborn ass would wear pants just to be a brat. Luckily for you, I rode my bike and now you get to go for a ride before we go home.” I don’t bother correcting my wording to my home.
I’m not taking the chance of her running away.
She loves to pretend things don’t happen, and I’m okay doing it as long as she stays close while she does.
“I don’t want to be your problem.” She pouts.
“You’re my prettiest problem.” I grab my keys from the bar top. “And you're tipsy. Let’s go.”
“You think I’m pretty?” She looks up at me through glassy eyes that are definitely honey green tonight.
“Always.” I gently guide her along with my hand on the small of her back.
“I thought you had a fight.” She repeats as I help her carefully make her way to where my bike is parked.
Thankfully, the jacket is still laying over the seat.
I help her into the jacket sleeves and grab the extra helmet.
She tucks her hair behind her ears and lifts her head upwards to try and help me. It’s cute but not helpful at all.
I pull her head back down by lightly pulling her on her chin and push the helmet over her head.
After fastening the strap I lift up the visor and take a second to just appreciate every speck of color in her eyes reflecting the starlight above us.
I pull her closer, “You have to hold on tight. No letting go. It’s a short drive.
” She nods but it throws off her balance with the weight of the helmet.
I steady her before swinging my leg over the bike and helping her on.
Pulling her hands around my waist I encourage her to grab onto my shirt.
I feel her weight cradle into me and the sense of peace settles over me.