Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Grace
I was having coffee with my sister after the movie, when I leaned over and whispered, “I did something kind of crazy tonight, and totally out of character for me.”
Codie frowned as she sipped her iced coffee through a straw. “Uh, you were with me all night—”
“No, I mean when you were upstairs getting changed.” I grinned. “I asked Taz out.”
Her eyes widened before she sank back against the vinyl bench seat. “Seriously?”
I nodded. “I know he’s not the type I usually go for—”
“Uh, furthest thing from it.”
I rolled my eyes before taking a sip of iced cappuccino. “After Brandon, I’m so sick of dating guys who care more about their career and stock portfolio than they do about me.”
“I get that,” Codie said, obviously choosing her words carefully. “But Taz may not be the guy to cut your teeth on, sis.”
“I know he’s a little rough around the edges, but—”
“You don’t know the half of it, trust me.”
“Okay, so tell me.”
Codie shook her head. “No, it’s not my story to tell. It’s his. If he wants to. If not, you’ll have to respect his privacy.”
“But—” My phone buzzed and my heart sank. “Damn, he can’t make it tonight.”
“Where were y’all supposed to meet?”
“Just at Jimmy’s for a beer.” I couldn’t believe how disappointed I was. I’d just met the guy. Why should I care if he was blowing me off?
“So, step outside and call him. Find out why he can’t meet you.”
“But you were just discouraging me—”
“I wasn’t discouraging you.” She raised her index finger. “I was warning you. Big difference, sis.”
“You really think I should call him?” I asked, turning the phone over in my hand. “Wouldn’t that be too forward?”
Codie smiled. “Yes, and that’s exactly why you should do it.
Because asking him out was out of character and calling him out when he tries to bail on you would be really out of character.
If you really want to step out of your comfort zone, you’ve gotta be brave, and do things you’ve never done before, right? ”
Since my big sister was the strongest, bravest woman I knew, I decided to take her advice. “Okay, I’m gonna call him.” I slid out of the booth. “Be right back.”
I paced up and down the sidewalk, holding my breath as it rang three times before he finally picked up. That deep, gravelly voice made my heart race. I could almost hear him whispering in my ear while we were…
“Hello,” he snapped, making it obvious I’d been oblivious to his first greeting.
“Uh, Taz. It’s me, Grace.”
“Yeah, I know. Didn’t you get my text? I can’t make it.”
“Why?”
“Excuse me?”
I tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, trying to ignore the pair of guys checking me out from across the parking lot. “Your text just said you couldn’t make it, but you didn’t say why.”
“Do I need to give you an explanation? We just met.”
Ouch. There was probably a reason I didn’t pursue guys like him. They were assholes, with no manners. “Fine, forget I—”
“I’m sorry.” He sighed. “You want to know the truth? I wouldn’t even know what the hell to talk to you about. I’d end up looking and feeling like an idiot and embarrassing us both.”
“What are you talking about? I—”
“Hey, gorgeous. What are you doing out here all by yourself?”
Ugh. Those guys who were checking me out were now circling me, breathing down my neck. Great. Just what I needed to cap off my night.
“Who the hell is that?” Taz demanded. “Where are you? Are you alone? Where’s your sister?”
I faked a smile, trying to be polite without encouraging them. “Uh hi, guys. I’m just here for a coffee with my sister. I’m going back in as soon as I finish up my call.”
“Why don’t you let us buy you a drink?” the shorter one with sandy blonde hair asked. “There’s a bar right around the corner. Jimmy’s. You know it, right?”
Shit. I was terrible at shooting guys down. My sister told me it was because I was too nice and afraid to hurt people’s feelings. “Uh, yeah, but—”
“Put me on speaker,” Taz demanded. “Right now.”
I blushed as I tapped my screen, and said, “Hello?”
“Listen to me, you little pukes. Get the hell away from my girlfriend because I’m about thirty seconds away from pulling into that parking lot and beating your asses. You understand me?”
Both guys held their hands up and backed away without another word.
I half-laughed as I tapped my screen again and brought the phone back to my ear. “Thanks for that. They’re gone now, so you can drop the tough guy act.”
“It’s not an act.”
“Okay, well I should get back in there. Codie’s probably wondering what happened to me.”
“You’re just around the corner from Jimmy’s, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Meet me there in twenty minutes.” He didn’t even wait for me to respond before he hung up.
What the hell was with this guy? And why was I so anxious to find out?
Taz was already seated at a corner booth in the back of the bar when I showed up twenty minutes later. He stood when he spotted me, making me smile. He didn’t strike me as the kind of guy who practiced chivalry, but I appreciated the effort.
“You’re early,” I said, sliding into the seat across from him.
“Yeah, I thought those losers might be here giving you a hard time if I showed up late.”
“Aww, that’s sweet. You do care.”
He rolled his eyes. “You want a beer, or what?”
He was grumpy as all hell, and I wanted to know why. “Bad night?”
“No, why?”
“Then you’re always like this?”
“So I’m told.”
The waitress arrived to take our order and I tried to ignore the way my heart was beating double time when he looked at me like that. It was a cross between lust and loathing. And I kind of liked it.
We waited until she left, promising to return soon with our drinks, before I asked, “So, how do you know Mav?”
“You mean your sister didn’t tell you all about me?” he asked, tapping his knuckles on the scarred wooden tabletop.
“No, she said it was your story to tell. Not hers.”
He grunted, breaking eye contact.
My gaze travelled to his hands. His knuckles were scarred and he had a tattoo on the back of his hand. Three dots etched in the gap between his thumb and forefinger. “What does that mean?” I asked, pointing to his hand. “The tattoo?”
His eyes were dark, almost lifeless, when he said, “It’s a gang tattoo. Got it before I went to prison.”
I sucked in a breath, shocked by his candor. “Oh.” I swallowed, wishing I had that beer to coat my dry throat.
The waitress returned with our drinks, breaking the awkward silence, and I could have kissed her.
“Aren’t you gonna ask me why I did time?”
I pinched my lips together. “Only if you want to tell me.”
“Are you in therapist mode now, psychoanalyzing me?”
“You know what? This was a bad idea.” I grabbed a twenty-dollar bill out of my purse and threw it on the table, but before I could leave, he snagged my wrist.
“I’m sorry for being an asshole, okay? I guess women like you just…” He released me, slicing his hand through the air. “Intimidate me.”
I laughed without thinking, making him frown. “I intimidate you? Surely, you’ve been told how intimidating you are. You know how much courage it took for me to ask you out tonight? I’ve never asked a guy out before in my life.”
His eyes narrowed before he took a swig of beer. “Why did you ask me out?”
I shrugged. “Because you’re hot. And sexy. And not the kind of guy I usually go for.”
He smirked. “Yeah, I heard about your ex. The corporate lawyer.” He mock yawned behind his hand. “Sounds like he was a lot of fun.”
I smiled, shaking my head. “Yeah, not so much.” I leaned in, whispering, “I had to fake it with him. Every. Single. Time. Once, just once, I want a guy I don’t have to fake it with.”
“Then baby, you found your man.”
Panty-drenching-moment. “Is that so?”
“We could sit here all night, making small talk, pretending to give a shit about each other’s favorite food, favorite color, and best childhood memory, or we could skip all that bullshit and get to the good stuff. What do you say?”
I’d never met a man so direct. He admitted to being a gangbanger, volunteered that he’d done time in prison and now he was telling me he wanted to bang me? I didn’t know what the hell to do with this!
My sister could have handled him, probably would have put him in his place with a few choice words, but she was used to dealing with guys like Taz.
I was totally out of my element. And I had no doubt he could tell.
He was probably testing me, to see how far he could push me.
Well, I had no intention of backing down or letting him smell my fear.
“I say… your place or mine?” I smiled at his look of surprise. “What? Didn’t expect me to take you up on your offer?”
His eyes dipped to my cleavage before he said, “Just so you know, I’m only good for one night.”
“Too bad.” I pouted for effect. “I thought I’d get to keep you.”
He drew a deep breath, curling his hands into fists. “Girl, you know how to push all my buttons.”
I licked my lips. “I’m more interested in you pushing my button.”
He swore before swiping a hand over his beard. “What the hell are you doing to me?”
“I don’t know. You tell me.” The idea that I might have some control over this sexy, powerful, dangerous man, with deep, dark secrets, was turning me on like nothing and no one ever had. It was like he’d flipped my switch and I was suddenly a totally different person.
I wasn’t the cautious, careful, guarded, introspective therapist anymore, who weighed every word carefully. I’d lost my filter and said whatever came to mind, no matter how dirty or brazen. He’d somehow unleashed in me the girl I’d always wanted to be.
“You’re making me crazy, that’s what you’re doing,” he said, sinking straight white teeth into his full lower lip. “But I think you know that, don’t you? You like playing… with guys like me?”
“I’ve never been with someone like you.” I sipped my beer, watching him over the rim of my glass. “But I’ve always wanted to.”
“Why?” He drained his beer before slamming the bottle down on the table. “You could have any single guy in this bar tonight. Why the hell would you want me?”
“I already told you. Just once, I want someone I don’t have to fake it with. Think you can be that guy?”
He closed his eyes, shaking his head. “This is a bad idea. I should just send you home. Pretend I never met you.”
“You could.” But I was confident he wouldn’t. He wanted me just as much as I wanted him. And it was killing him because he struck me as someone who didn’t like to feel weak or give into his baser urges… anymore.
And yes, that was my therapist brain kicking in to psychoanalyze him, just a little.
“But if I did, I’d probably regret it.”
“Probably.”
“So, what the hell am I going to do with you then?”
“You tell me.”
My phone, which was sitting on the table buzzed. I rolled my eyes when I saw it was my ex, the lawyer. He was still trying to get me back, thinking he could sway me with a trip to Aruba for my birthday next month.
Taz glanced at the screen. “You gonna respond to that?”
“Not now.”
“Later?”
I laughed. “Why do you care?”
“Your ex?”
“Yeah.”
“You gonna take him back?”
“No.”
“Good.”
“Again, why do you care?” I sipped my beer, wondering if we were going to do this dance all night.
“Because a woman like you should never have to fake it.”
I grinned, slipping my phone in my purse. “I’ll tell him you said so.”
“Yeah, and tell him you met someone else.” He leaned in, reaching for my hand across the table while his eyes locked on mine. “Someone who doesn’t leave you guessing what it feels to be with a real man.”
My gaze slid to his lips and I was dying to know how he kissed.
“Tell him this guy you met,” he whispered. “Knows how to make you crazy. How to pleasure you—”
“Can I get you guys anything else?”
Really? I shot daggers at our waitress as Taz released my hand, winking at me.
“No, I think we’re good, thanks.” He tossed two twenties on the table, and slid my bill back to me. “You ready to get out of here?”
I nodded, wondering whether we were really going to do this crazy thing.