Chapter 9 Amelia
Amelia
It was a little hard to get that first beer down. Beer was disgusting. But the more I told myself I liked it, the less I minded it.
When my food came, I didn’t like the way the alcohol made my food taste, so I took a break with the beer and focused on getting some food in my stomach, something I knew was important when it came to drinking. Once I had eaten my chicken strips, I ordered another beer and continued on.
The second beer wasn’t as bad as the first, and by the third, I thought I actually might like the stuff. I started to feel… happier, lighter, and more at ease. I felt my muscles finally relax, making it easier to move. I didn’t even realize how tense I’d been.
“Now that you’re starting to loosen up, what do you say to a game of darts?” Oliver asked.
I shrugged.
“Sure, let’s do it.” I stood too quickly and felt the wave of dizziness wash over me. I bumped into the back of the booth and found my balance before he even noticed. Or maybe he did notice. He had a smirk on his face as we walked toward the dart machine that was in the back corner of the bar.
There was a high-top table with a cup of darts in the center.
He grabbed some darts and then stuck a couple of bucks into the machine.
He walked back toward me with swagger rolling off him—more than usual, or maybe the alcohol just made it seem that way.
He lifted both hands, showing me the darts in his fists.
“Black or blue?”
“Black.” I held out my hand, and he dropped the black darts into my palm.
“You know how to play?”
“I worked in a bar. Of course, I know how to play.”
“Ladies first,” he insisted, stepping away from the yellow tape on the floor.
I exhaled and lined my toe up behind the line. I pulled my dart back and took aim at the bullseye. I focused and threw the dart, watching it fly through the air and stick the board…nowhere near the bullseye.
Damn.
I wet my lips and tried again with dart number two.
Once again, I aimed for the center of the target, but when I threw it, I found it closer than the first but still not where I needed it to go.
I stepped to my left a little and threw the last dart.
This time, the dart was just outside the bullseye.
I ended up getting my score from five-o-one down to four-seventy-six, though.
I took my darts from the board and moved to stand out of the way, watching as Oliver prepared to take his turn.
He was definitely better than me, getting his score down to four-twenty-five.
We went back and forth with throwing our darts.
Any time I started to feel like I was catching up, he’d take his next turn and blow me out of the water.
We finished the game with him winning, even though I still had sixty points on the board.
He turned to face me as he offered up a smile. “Loser buys the next round?”
“Fine,” I agreed, rolling my eyes as we made our way to the bar.
“What can I get ya?” the bartender asked.
I looked over at Oliver.
“Two beers and two shots of tequila.” He shot me a wink.
She nodded and rushed off to get to work.
“Who is that for?” I asked, taking the barstool beside him.
“You and me, who else?”
“Ew, I’m not drinking tequila.”
“You’re totally drinking it. It’s one shot. It’s not going to hurt you.”
“So now you’re forcing me? What happened to this whole thing being my choice?” I threw back.
He rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Fine, if you’re going to play that card. It is your choice. I just thought we might speed this along a little. At the pace you’re going, you can sip that beer all night long and never catch a buzz. You want the full effect or not?”
The bartender was back, putting the drinks in front of us. “That’ll be twelve dollars.”
I passed over a twenty and glared at Oliver. “Fine. Let’s do it.”
He clapped his hands and rubbed them together in excitement as he stepped closer to the bar.
“Alright, now we’re going to have some fun.” He picked up his shot glass and held it in the air. “To a night full of firsts.”
I tapped my tiny glass off his, and then we both poured the golden liquid into our mouths.
The second it touched my tongue, I wanted to spit it out, but I knew I couldn’t.
Since I didn’t want it to spew from my mouth, I forced it down my throat.
The cold liquid, somehow, burned my throat, and that fire moved down my throat, throughout my chest, and settled in my stomach.
I grabbed my beer and chugged it, needing to get rid of the awful taste the tequila left behind and to cool the burn that was still raging through my system. Half my beer was gone when I turned to see Oliver chuckling while watching me.
“That’s the nastiest stuff I’ve ever put into my mouth! What is wrong with you?” I smacked his bicep.
He laughed even harder. “Is it really the nastiest thing you’ve ever put in your mouth?”
I glared at him. “Why do I feel like you’re trying to turn this into something dirty?”
He wagged his brows. “Because I am.”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “I swear I know twelve-year-olds who are more mature than you.”
He just shrugged, not offended at all.
“Hey, buddy?” a guy called out from behind us.
We both turned around.
“You play pool?” the guy asked.
Oliver shrugged. “Yeah, on occasion.”
The guy nodded toward the pool table. “You wanna play now? All my so-called friends are too scared to lose.” He smirked.
Oliver looked at me, and when I shrugged, he nodded. “Yeah, alright.” He stood, taking his beer with him.
“You can come over too. Sit with the girls,” the guy said. “They get annoying when they drink, but they’re not too bad.”
Normally, I would have declined the offer, but this time, I got up and walked over with Oliver.
The table the guy was from was the big table in the middle of the bar, and all the girls who had been on the dance floor earlier were sitting around it, with several guys.
Oliver and I both stopped at the table, and the guy who had invited us over introduced everyone.
“This is Sophie, Kelly, Tiffany, Jessica, and Maddy.” He pointed to each one. “I’m Travis, and that’s Justin, Ben, and Tyler.”
“What’s your name?” one of the girls asked. I think Sophie.
I opened my mouth to reply, but Oliver grabbed my arm and tugged me several feet away.
“What’s your deal?” I asked, staring up at him.
“Do not tell them your real name.”
“What? Why?”
“Because if the police start to follow our trail, you really don’t want them bumping into people who know who you really are, do you?”
“No, I guess not,” I mumbled as I was reminded of everything the booze had been erasing. “So, what do I tell them?”
He grinned. “Tell ‘em they can call you Crash. You’re already answering to it anyway.”
“Ugh, I hate that name.” I stomped my foot. “You got to give me a stupid name. Does that mean that I get to give you one?”
His jaw flexed as his dark green eyes burned into mine. “Depends on what it is.”
I shook my head. “Oh, no. If I have to go by whatever you call me, the same rules apply to you, too, my friend.”
“Fine,” he agreed, obviously annoyed.
We walked back over, and I took the empty seat at the table.
“Sorry about that. Anyway, my name is Gwen, but everyone calls me Crash.” It made my stomach churn to even say that stupid nickname he gave me, but then I reached for his hand and pulled him over.
“And this is my friend…” I narrowed my eyes on him as he studied me, silently warning me to give him a name he could work with. “Maverick,” fell from my mouth without much thought.
He smirked and rolled his eyes as he shook his head, but he didn’t argue because it was already out there.
“Nice to meet you both. Are you from around here?”
“Just passing through,” Oliver said.
“We go to school not far from here. I know it doesn’t look like it, but this place is usually full of college students. Best prices in town,” Sophie said.
“You break,” Travis said to Oliver as he walked away from the pool table.
Oliver placed his beer beside mine, and he walked away to play his game of pool.
For the next couple of hours, we hung out with everyone, throwing back drink after drink.
Oliver played several games of pool with Travis; they went back and forth on who won, and I even got up and danced with the guys about the time I started seeing double.
When one song ended, another began, and it was so much fun to dance that I didn’t care who was watching me.
At the same time, I did care who was watching me because I liked the way I felt when Oliver’s eyes would lock with mine from across the bar.
He didn’t know me, not really, but he was still watching, protecting me like we’d known one another all our lives.
I saw his green eyes darken when they fell down my body, roaming over my breasts and down my hips that were moving from side to side with the beat of the music.
I saw the way his jaw flexed and how he’d wet his lips before swallowing his desire, causing his Adam’s apple to bob in his throat.
Watching him watch me made my blood boil with need, and I found myself burning up.
I started to leave the floor, and the girls noticed, rushing off with me.
The bar had gotten more crowded as the night went on, and the chairs we left around the table had been taken.
Instead of plopping down in the chair they had before, they just fell onto the lap of whatever guy they were dating.
I wasn’t dating anyone, though, so I hovered awkwardly, looking around the bar for an empty chair to steal.
The guys were in some conversation about basketball, so I didn’t think that Oliver even noticed how badly I was swaying. That was until he reached out and grabbed my wrist, tugging me over to him. Once I was close enough, his hand moved to my hip, and he pulled me down onto his lap.
I turned my head so my mouth was at his ear. “What are you doing?”
“Just go with it,” he replied, immediately jumping back into his conversation with the guys.
I hadn’t even noticed that a couple of the girls had left the group until they were back, carrying a tray full of shots.
“Shots for everyone!” Tiffany exclaimed.
I wasn’t planning on taking another nasty shot, but the glass was put into my hand.
The liquid wasn’t gold, but pink and orange with a swirl of cream-colored liquor.
Shrugging, I threw it back and swallowed with a smile when the liquid didn’t burn.
It was sweet, tasting fruity and creamy at the same time.
“That was so good!” I said, probably with a little too much excitement. I turned to Oliver and wrapped one arm around his neck. “Why didn’t you order this instead of that nasty stuff?” I nearly fell off his lap, but he tightened his hold on my hip and steadied me.
“I think we should probably get going. It’s getting late.”
“What? No! I’m just starting to have fun.” I jumped up and headed for the dance floor, and all the girls followed me. I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw the way he was glaring at me from across the bar, but I quickly forgot about the dirty looks once I started having fun, dancing with the girls.
Every once in a while, I’d look over my shoulder to find him. At first, he looked mad, like he wasn’t happy that I wasn’t listening when he said it was time to go, but then he started to relax. I watched him talk with the guys, have another drink, and laugh as he enjoyed himself.
One of the last times I glanced in his direction, I was surprised to see that he had turned his chair so he could face me.
He was no longer engaging with the guys around him.
He was sitting back and taking sip after sip of his beer as he watched my every move.
His attention made me burn from the inside out.
I grinned and motioned for him to come and dance with me. At first, I didn’t think he was going to because he didn’t move a muscle, but then after a second, he looked like he had talked himself into it. He stood, put his empty bottle on the table, and started toward me.
He stepped up behind me, and I smiled at him from over my shoulder.
I reached out and took his hands, placing them on my hips as I moved them from side to side.
He moved with me, perfectly in sync without even trying.
He pressed his hard cock against me, and it was like I’d been struck by lightning.
My stomach tightened, and my whole body burned with need.
I closed my eyes and enjoyed every second of having him pressed against me.
As we danced, our bodies moving together, he let his head fall forward.
Goosebumps pickled my skin when he ran the tip of his nose up my neck to my ear.
His hot breath caressed my skin, causing a shiver to race up my spine.
I spun around to face him and wrapped my arms around his neck.
My eyes found his, and I instantly noticed how dark they'd become.
Before I could speak, he did.
“I think it's time to go.”
I couldn't do anything but nod in agreement. I didn't know where we were going, and I didn't care as long as I got to stay with him.
He pulled away from me but grabbed hold of my wrist, leading me along behind him. He stopped at the table with our new friends. “Thanks for the fun tonight, but it's getting late, and we really need to get going.”
A couple of the girls there whined.
“No! Not yet! One more drink!” Sophie held up another shot.
“Okay!” I agreed, reaching for it, but before I could take it, Oliver picked me up and threw me over his shoulder, making a quick break for the door.
Before I could fight him or even process what was happening, he was setting me on my feet outside the car.
I was stunned by the quickness of his actions, feeling slightly dizzy from being flipped upside down.
His hands were still on my hips, steadying me as I leaned back against the passenger side door.
I looked up at him, noticing that he still had that darkness in his eyes.
“I liked watching you have fun tonight.” He murmured as he gently squeezed my hips.
I smiled up at him. “I like that you liked watching me have fun.”
“Yeah?” He leaned a little closer, so close I could practically feel the heat of his lips on mine.
“Yeah,” I replied, lifting myself up onto my tiptoes. He took the hint and moved in, touching his lips to mine.
In that instant, two things happened. One, my heart jumped to my throat, pounding like crazy from the excitement of our first kiss.
And two, all the quick moving, the flip over his shoulder, finally caught up to me, and it had me jerking away from him and doubling over to throw up every drop of alcohol I consumed.