13. Ellie
ELLIE
“Another glass?” JR asked in a bored tone.
I stared at my wine glass, thinking maybe it was time to shake things up a bit. After all, I was waiting, yet again, for another date who was late.
“What about those little umbrella drinks? Do you have any of those?”
He raised an eyebrow at me. “Are you sure you can handle an umbrella drink?”
“I’m pretty sure. After all, what’s really in one?”
“Rum.”
“And?”
He sighed, tossing the rag over his shoulder as he started yanking bottles to the counter. I lifted up on my elbows, watching in utter fascination as he mixed a drink for me.
“You know, you’re really good at this.”
“That’s why I work here instead of at the pharmacy.”
“But at the pharmacy, you could talk to Bud all day long,” I chuckled. “Just think of all the pregnancy questions you could ask him.”
JR’s eyes flicked to mine momentarily before he continued. “I’m pretty sure I would go to a doctor for that.”
He slid the drink in front of me, waiting for me to try it.
“But…there’s no umbrella.”
“Sorry, all out.”
I sighed heavily, taking my first sip. It was really good, but I had the feeling it wasn’t quite as good as it could be if it had an umbrella.
“How long are you gonna wait for this one?”
The judgment in his voice had me narrowing my eyes at him. “Maybe I’m not waiting for anyone. Maybe I’m here on Josie’s behalf, making sure you don’t get into any trouble since you’ve deemed the bar a dangerous place for her.”
“It’s filled with alcohol,” he said. “Why on earth would a pregnant woman be at the bar?”
“To keep you company. To keep me company as I wait for another date who will stand me up.”
“Your friend is already at home in bed.”
“Beer,” Ryder said, scaring the shit out of me as he took a seat on the stool beside me.
“Geez, make a little noise,” I muttered, taking a sip from my straw.
“What is that?”
“It’s an umbrella drink.”
His brows furrowed as he stared at the glass. “There’s no—”
“I know!” I practically screamed, though I wasn’t sure why. Irritation that I didn’t have an umbrella? Being in the vicinity of my childhood bully? An irrational need to drag him to my lips and kiss him despite the fact that he drove me insane?
JR popped the top and slid it over to Ryder.
“So—”
But before I could continue my conversation with JR, he walked away, leaving me alone with the sexy spawn of Satan.
“Who’s it tonight?” he asked, spinning on his seat to survey the crowd.
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, it’s Tuesday, and ever since I told you my theory on dating on weeknights, you’ve been coming here on those days. Which means you think there’s a valid point to my theory.”
“Maybe I just had a bad day and needed a drink.”
“Seems to be going around,” he muttered just before taking a sip of his beer.
I scanned the bar for my date, irritated that he wasn’t here yet, leaving me alone with my nemesis, who didn’t seem so much like my nemesis.
Sighing, the man turned back to the bar and stared at his drink. He seemed to have the weight of the world on his shoulders, and I actually found myself feeling bad for him.
“So, have you figured out what you’re going to do now that you’re here?”
He scoffed at my question. “It fucking amazes me how much people gossip in this town.”
“Because I asked what you were planning on doing?”
“Because that seems to be the question on everyone’s minds,” he snapped.
“Pardon me for asking. It was purely a conversation starter.”
He sighed, drinking his beer. “Never said I wanted to have a conversation.”
“You sat next to me,” I snapped. “I was sitting here, enjoying my drink, when you walked over and started talking to me!”
The man had the nerve to sigh, like I was causing all his problems.
“You know, there are plenty of other seats in the bar. You could use any of them.”
When he didn’t move, I grabbed my drink and headed over to a high-top table, sliding my fat ass onto the stool. I hated sitting at these tables, where my feet hung in the air and I always felt like I was a kid at the adult table.
But anything was better than sitting next to Mr. Grouchy Pants. The door opened and I perked up, hoping it was my date. Sadly, it was just another townie, coming in for a drink on a Tuesday. What was with that? Why was everyone in the bar on the night I was supposed to have a date?
I took another sip of my drink, ignoring the two women in the booth near me. Their hushed tones were not quiet enough to keep their vile words from reaching my ears.
Liam’s whore.
She broke them up.
What did he see in her?
I had built up a good resistance to the gossip a long time ago, but as I sat here waiting for my date to show up, the whispers started to get to me. And I would have broken down in tears if it weren’t for the annoying man who suddenly appeared at my table, plopping his beer down with a bang.
“Listen, I may have been an ass.”
“You think?”
He sighed, rubbing a hand over his forehead. “I just got back from visiting the folks,” he muttered.
“You don’t get along with them?” I asked, curiously, my focus taken off the gossiping women and on the man in front of me.
“Not exactly.”
“Well…I can sympathize.”
“I thought you had the perfect relationship with Jim and Eileen.”
“That’s what they want everyone to think,” I said, forcing a smile. “The truth is, we did have a pretty good relationship until—”
I choked off my words, glancing over at the women in the booth, who quickly looked away.
“Until what?” he asked, his eyes focused and curious.
I chewed on my lip, not really wanting to go there.
“Until she screwed Liam,” Kasey smirked from her seat. Sliding out of the booth, she sauntered over to Ryder and practically shoved her fake breasts in his face. “I bet you don’t remember me.”
“Sure do. School slut,” he said, taking a sip of his beer. “Got your sidekick with you and everything.”
Raleigh shoved out of the booth and stomped out the door, but Kasey never did know when to quit.
“If you want a good time, I’m always available. And I’m a lot more flexible than her,” she purred.
I rolled my eyes, taking another sip of my drink.
“Is that all it takes to draw the men in? You tell them you’re flexible?” Ryder chuckled, taking another sip of his beer. “Guess you don’t need to rely on a good personality when all you have to do is spread your legs.”
Kasey glowered at him, but didn’t say anything else as she stomped out of the bar.
“Bitch,” he muttered under his breath.
I wholeheartedly agreed, but instead of saying anything, I sat there, waiting for him to mention the whole affair with Liam thing. Everyone else was curious, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he asked about it.
“I think I’m gonna head home,” I said, grabbing my purse.
“Because of her?”
“Because the night is officially over,” I sighed. “My date didn’t show, and frankly…”
I stopped myself before I said something stupid, like how depressing it was for the whole town to constantly gossip about me.
I gave a smile before waving to JR and striding out of the bar, determined to get home and bury my face in my pillow.
“Stupid, Ellie. Really freaking stupid,” I muttered as I walked to my Jeep.
“Hey!” Ryder called, jogging to catch up to me. “Ellie, wait!”
“No thanks,” I huffed out a laugh.
“Wait, what’s going on?” he asked, grabbing my arm gently, spinning me around. “What’s wrong?”
“Like you really care?” I laughed.
“Give me a try.”
“Why? So you can say the same freaking thing that everyone else does?”
He stiffened at my words, releasing my arm. “This is about Liam?”
“Ding, ding, ding!” I said mockingly.
“What happened?”
“Like you don’t already know.”
“Actually, I don’t.”
I rolled my eyes and spun around, heading for my Jeep again. The last thing I wanted was to spill my guts to this man, only to have him mock me.
He rushed around me, stopping right beside my Jeep door, blocking me from getting in. “Look, if you don’t want to talk about it—”
“No, I really don’t. What I want is to get in my Jeep and drive away. What I want is to go home and forget this night ever happened.”
I shoved past him, grateful that he moved out of the way. As I cranked the engine, the headlights illuminated his muscular frame for just a second before he moved out of the way. I pulled out of the parking spot, determined to get home before I fell apart.
But the second I left the parking lot, the tears started to fall. I was tired of hearing the whispers. I hated the never-ending evil looks people shot my way. And I was exhausted from trying to explain to my parents that I was trying to help a friend.
By the time I got home, I was a wreck, complete with mascara running down my cheeks. I made it all the way inside, leaning against the door, before the tears really broke out into a steady stream.
And that’s when the pounding on the other side started. “Ellie!”
“Shit,” I muttered, swiping at my face. I rushed over to the mirror in the hallway, checking my disaster of a face. “Go away!”
“Ellie, open the fucking door.”
Stomping to the door in frustration, I yanked it open and glared at him. “What?”
He opened his mouth, his brows furrowing as he took in my disastrous state. “I just…”
“What? You want to come here and poke fun at me? What were the names you called me as a kid?” I asked, pretending to think about it. “Fat Belly Ellie was one of them, if I recall. And then there was Smelly Ellie, a personal favorite. You know, I didn’t even smell.”
“I was a jerk! A stupid kid!” he yelled. “And I didn’t think you were fat!”
I barked out a laugh at that. “Yeah, I know a lot of boys who call girls mean names, but don’t really mean it.”
“Yeah, they do. It’s because they like them,” he snapped, taking me by surprise.
My jaw dropped open at his words, but nothing came out but a squeak.