Chapter 2 #2
I watched out of the corner of my eye as he leaned in, flashing his painfully naive, crooked smile. It was obvious she wasn’t impressed, but she also didn’t shut him down as hard as she had Travis. She said something, her face stubborn, but Finn laughed low and leaned in even closer.
He was laying it on thick, too thick. I couldn’t hear what was being said over the noise of the bar, but I could tell that she was not giving him much to work with.
She was calm and not even slightly flustered.
She was young, but clearly already experienced in shutting guys down.
Somehow that irritated me more, and I found myself sliding ever so slightly in their direction.
Gage gave me a sideways look, one eyebrow raised.
“Are you going to go break that up?” he asked.
“No,” I answered, my hand clenched tightly around my whiskey glass.
“Do you have a name, pretty girl?” I heard Finn’s voice carry over a break in the music.
The line made me cringe on his behalf, and before I could stop myself, I was on my way over.
Someone needed to teach the kid some game, though that someone couldn’t be me, as I had fuck-all experience sweet-talking beautiful women.
My life wasn’t mine for living. It was for enduring.
Still, I couldn’t listen to Finn embarrass himself. I made my way toward them.
“Everyone has a name,” she responded tartly.
I shook my head and slapped Finn once on the back, in a casual way, my way of telling him enough.
He turned to face me, and I nodded toward Gage and Maddox down the bar, then turned and walked away, not giving her a second glance.
I could feel her eyes on my back like a brand.
I wanted to turn back and meet that stare, but I didn’t.
I didn’t get involved with women at The Clutch.
I didn’t mix business and pleasure. I didn’t have time for pleasure, period.
Finn followed me back to Maddox and Gage.
“Yo, Cole,” Finn said, dropping onto the barstool next to Maddox.
I exhaled hard and turned to him, trying not to be annoyed.
He looked like he hadn’t slept enough and had made up for it with too many energy drinks. He was seventeen, teetering on the cusp of becoming a man, and had all the stability of a land mine.
“Why are you here? It’s past your bedtime,” I told him.
I made my voice gruff and uninterested. I’d learned with Finn that if he thought I was being soft with him, he’d hound me for things I wasn’t ready to let him do.
Business that I didn’t want him involved in.
My determination to keep the kid out of danger had only made him more desperate to seek it out. That was some real fucking karma.
“I was just thinking that I could be of some help on Saturday. I could run back up, or maybe do the handoff.” Finn shot me his most mature look.
“No,” I said sharply.
“Come on, Cole.”
“I said no, Finn.”
He hesitated, and I noticed him glancing back at the girl, which irritated me even more.
“Okay, maybe the handoff would be too much, but I meant I could do whatever you need. I could handle the delivery. I know the spot.”
“What? How do you know about the spot?” I frowned.
“I know you wanted it covered, so I just figured I would check it out…” Finn trailed off, realizing his mistake in bringing it up.
“Finn, you are not going anywhere near that shipment.”
He looked like he wanted to argue, but then his eyes drifted back to the blond at the bar. She was still alone, but had somehow shifted one barstool closer to us, without me noticing.
“Who is that?” I asked, my temper flaring.
“I don’t know. She said her name’s Belle, but she might be lying. Either way, she’s hot,” Finn answered with a derpy smile on his face. “I heard her tell Travis that she thought you were gay.”
Gage let out a rough guffaw of laughter at that. Even Maddox allowed himself a small smile.
I ground my teeth and took a breath before responding. “She can think whatever she wants, she’s trouble,” I responded flatly. “And too old for you.”
His grin widened. “That is my favorite kind of woman.”
I stared at her while she was turned away in conversation with Ronnie. Her posture had shifted. She was looser now, less on edge. Like she was getting comfortable, which didn’t sit right with me. She should see this place and everyone in it as a threat. No one in this place was safe.
Her bag fell from her lap, and she slipped off the tall barstool to grab it. She bent at the waist, and reached down, a move that sent her skirt sliding up her endless legs. Fucking hell. Was she trying to put on a show, or was she just that naive?
“So, what if I was just there as some sort of backup?” Finn asked.
A flash of neon blue and pink flashed between her legs as she snagged her bag, and then she was straightening up.
Whoever had been watching had just seen her fucking panties.
Which was no doubt every single man without an old lady in this place.
And what kind of fucking panties were those?
Plain cotton boy shorts? Nothing about this girl added up.
And she had told Travis she thought I was gay? Hell, there was nothing wrong with being straight, gay, or whatever anyone wanted, but the thought that this woman had ruled me out of the running pissed me off. It made me want to prove her wrong, which wasn’t a good idea. Not good at all.
“Fine,” I said, no longer comprehending what Finn was saying.
If I listened hard, I could almost make out Ronnie’s droll tones. The blond had made it back onto her stool and I couldn’t help thinking about those incongruous panties hiding under her miniskirt. Where did I know her from? It was like a fucking itch I couldn’t reach.
“Seriously? Cole, I promise I won’t let you down,” Finn said excitedly.
Before I could stop him, he was bouncing back toward the blond, more spring in his step than I had ever seen before.
I turned back to my drink, trying not to notice how he dropped onto the stool next to her, and how she laughed when he returned.
I looked back at Gage and Maddox to find them staring at me with their eyebrows raised.
“Did you really just agree to that?” Maddox asked.
“Agree to what?”
“Dude,” Gage said, chuckling. “You’re distracted. Time to get laid. It’s that time of year. We all know you live like a monk, but once a year was already pushing it for blowing off steam; don’t try and break your record.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m fine,” I said, turning my attention to my drink.
“Go shoot your shot… she’s probably here for you anyway,” Maddox said, joining in.
“No, she’s not. He’s gay, remember?” Gage cut in, laughing.
Maddox sighed, not rising to the bait. He looked at me. “No one would judge you for breaking your own rules.”
My rules for myself at The Clutch were simple.
I didn’t fuck around there. That included late at night, when it was just the Hounds and their old ladies, and things got wild; I didn’t participate.
I wasn’t going to be sucked off in a booth, or fuck some broad over the bar, while my brothers sat around and watched.
It wasn’t my thing. I didn’t bother sticking around when anyone else did it either.
Not my scene, but I couldn’t fault the rest of the Hounds for embracing that lifestyle. It was part of the draw to the club.
Luckily for me, Gage, and Maddox, no one expected us to get involved.
Idly, I wondered what the pretty little mystery girl at the bar, with her too-upright posture and pristine boots, would think of an after-hours Harbor Hounds orgy.
Would she want to join in? Would she want to watch?
The thought sent an unexpected jolt through my fucking balls.
I snuck another glance over to find her leaning closer to Finn and laughing, softer this time. Finn was eating it up, and it pissed me off. He shouldn’t be here, and neither should she.
“I bet she’s just a college girl who got bored with all those uptight, tucked-in polo shirts kind of boys. Thought she would have a fun night slumming it here,” Gage said.
“No,” I answered, “She’s watching everything too closely. She isn’t getting drunk. She's here for something.”
“Maybe she's a cop,” Maddox said, fully looking over at her for the first time.
“She isn’t a cop,” Gage snorted.
“Well, she’s something,” I said.
We sat in silence for a minute, watching the kid’s best attempts at flirting. I could tell Gage and Maddox were watching her with a new interest, trying to figure out what she was here for.
Then Finn leaned in close and whispered something in her ear. Her brows lifted, and she dipped her head to say something back.
That was when I stood up.
“I’m tired, I’m going home. You two know what needs to be done. Make sure it happens.”
Gage chuckled. “Are you sure you don’t want to go introduce yourself first?” he asked, still smiling.
“I don’t need to get mixed up with some troublemaking broad,” I sighed, scrubbing a hand over my tired eyes. I’d been overdoing it lately. I needed a goddamn break. I needed to go home. I should go home.
“Don’t you? Ask me, it’s exactly what you need.” Gage smirked.