Chapter 6
six
Adelaide
The sight of the woman Denver just said was his ex is a startling discovery to say the least. When my eyes have finished rounding out, I take a big gulp of wine.
She’s seriously beautiful—no, scratch that, she’s stunning, and has the body of a swimsuit model.
You can see most of it through the dress she’s wearing.
Hey, I’m all for ‘if you’ve got it, flaunt it’, but I never considered that I was the jealous type until she started flaunting it in front of Denver.
It’s the first time I’ve seen him looking uncomfortable.
He shifts in his seat and puts the pizza slice he’s half eaten down on the board, leaning over to grab his beer off the bar.
He’s close to my ear, and I feel the warmth of his breath on the side of my ear before I hear him whisper, “Play along, please, Adi.”
When he pulls back and brings his beer up to his lips, he keeps his eye on me and gives me a little wink. Okay, so something’s about to be up, but I don’t exactly know what.
“You found me again,” he mumbles to the beautiful woman now stationed right in front of him.
“Oh, geez,” I hear Brax mutter on the other side of me. Eric continues to eat and doesn’t bat an eyelid.
“Are you hiding from me?” She scans him over with appreciative eyes, then tugs at his arm, completely ignoring me. “Come dance with me, Denver! It’s been way too long.”
“Hannah,” he warns, removing his arm from her clutches. “I’m with someone, remember? I told you earlier.”
I’m so busy watching on, but trying to keep a low-profile at the same time, that I don’t realize he’s thumbing toward me until I look down at his hand, gesturing in my direction. “This is Adelaide,” he says. “Adi, this is Hannah, my ex-girlfriend.”
Hannah glares at me. It’s a cold stare, but there’s fire there too as her eyes narrow in on me.
It’s awkward and cringeworthy at best. I’m about to open my mouth to try to be polite and say hello, though it’s far from what I feel like doing.
I want to just disappear, but she averts her eyes back to Denver.
“I thought you were joking when you said that,” she says like I’m not even here.
I snap my mouth closed. Wow.
“I wouldn’t joke about that,” he says firmly. “Adi and I are dating.”
I try to take it all in as he reaches an arm over my shoulders and tugs me to his side.
It’s then I get an even closer inhalation of that familiar spicy, woodsy scent I love so much. I’m no expert, but his cologne could make toes curl all over the globe, it’s that good. Then again, it could be the man wearing it so well.
Hannah’s eyes flick to me again, and then very notably, she glances down my body.
Yes, I’m a bigger girl; my thighs are chunky, my belly on the softer side, and my hips are wide.
I’m nothing at all like Hannah, and up until this moment I thought I was over any past complexes I had about my figure.
I’m happy and proud of my body, but the way she is looking at me now, in utter disbelief that someone like Denver could be with someone like me, is a little confronting. I’m not used to this kind of scrutiny.
Valuing his worth over mine because of our outer looks just screams mean girl, and I don’t do mean girl. This isn’t high school.
But I decide to take the high road and not glare back—as much as I want to ask her what her fucking problem is—and take a well-needed breath.
I play along like he asked. “He’s definitely not joking,” I add, cos why the hell not?
I snuggle up into his side, instantly liking how warm his body feels and how much I’m enjoying his arm around me.
Even if it is only fake so his ex takes a hike.
“Not that I can call what we do dating.” I lower my voice, cupping around my mouth but so she can clearly hear me.
“I probably don’t have to tell you that this man can go for hours. ”
Denver chokes on his drink. Okay, clearly he wasn’t expecting that, or he seriously underestimated my pettiness.
He recovers quickly, chuckles, then leans into me, pressing his lips against my forehead.
The movement surprises me, and I take a sharp breath, trying to steady myself.
The warmth of his mouth on me sends a pleasurable shiver through my body that I try to repress.
Team fucking Denver,, here I come.
I hear Brax splutter next to me like his swig of beer went down the wrong way, too. From my peripheral I can see he’s watching the whole debacle, as is Eric.
“Denver and Adi have been hot to trot for months now,” Eric decides to helpfully add. “Didn’t you know?”
I press my lips together to save from laughing.
Oh, I’m liking this game a little too much. As long as I don’t get a drink thrown over me, I’ll be fine.
“Months?” she huffs. “Really, Den? Is this why you’ve been ignoring my calls?”
Jeez, woman, take a hint already.
He’s just not into you anymore, do we need to sign write it, or put it on a billboard?
“Really,” Denver replies, his voice curt.
I glance at him, his body is rigid and uncomfortable. He really doesn’t like this woman at all and I’d go one further to say their breakup was messy and clearly she isn’t getting the hint that they’re over.
Poor D.
I mean, I say that with tongue in cheek because the woman before us is stunning. Clearly, looks can only get you so far, though, because Denver is having none of it.
What makes things worse is her posse behind her giving me the evil eye like some mean girl backup plan. What are they gonna do? Kill me with their death stares?
Aside from Hannah’s obviously good genes, it’s hard to believe she’s his ex.
Denver, from what I know and remember, has always remained very down to earth.
He doesn’t strike me as the kind to be into girls that seem like hard work, glare at strangers, and are just plain rude for no reason other than they can be.
I don’t know how long they were together, so I can’t make assumptions.
But her next haughty laugh tells me everything I need to know about her. If I hadn’t gotten the memo earlier that she was out for blood, then her message is clear now.
“Well, if you’re going to be like that, I’m going to hit the dance floor with my girls,” she huffs.
Denver shrugs and turns to me. “Maybe we should get out there too, baby girl?”
Oh, holy moly. He didn’t just baby girl me. And dancing? Who said anything about dancing? The words sound sizzling when they’re coming out of his mouth. Well, everything does if I’m being honest.
And I’m fairly sure he realizes I can’t go out there dancing when I’m due back at work in fifteen minutes. Or maybe he doesn’t click, because he leans in again and presses his forehead against mine. “What do you say?”
“Umm—” My reply is interrupted by an unceremonious gagging sound from one of Hannah’s friends. When we both glance up one of the girls is grabbing Hannah by the arm to drag her away.
“Ditch this loser and his fat girlfriend,” the tall lanky brunette says, tossing me the look of the devil over her shoulder, pure venom dripping off her. “You’re too good for him.”
My blood freezes at the comment and a sound comes out of my mouth that literally stops me in my tracks. It’s somewhere between a ragged intake of breath and a gasp.
Oh, holy shit. Did she really just say that?
It’s just like being in high school again with girls and their claws out. I guess I’ve been living in a bubble because I didn’t know women went around fat shaming complete strangers anymore.
When I realize she did say it, and I’m not actually imagining it, my heartrate kicks in and heat rises from my neck upwards, making my whole body feel as if it’s on fire.
I shift in my seat.
Denver immediately stands up, and I’m not sure what he’s going to do for a moment.
“You bitch,” he fires back at the brunette with a point of his finger, but their backs are turned and they’re tottering away laughing, trying to walk in their stupid heels. “Don’t fucking talk about my girlfriend like that!” He’s mad, really fucking mad.
I slide off the stool and don’t even finish the slice of pizza I’ve been eating. I don’t want to give those bitches the satisfaction of seeing me upset, so I try to push my feelings down and hide my hurt.
“Hey.” I feel Denver’s hand on my arm as I mutter something about having to get back to work. I just want to shrivel up and die at this point. “Adi, don’t go,” he says.
“Yeah. Those stuck-up bitches aren’t worth it,” Brax adds. “They’re snobs. All they have going for them is silicone, and it’s not even done well.”
I smirk at his comment.
Eric is next in line. “I never liked any of them, too superficial, and a lot of hard work.”
I press my lips together, humiliated, but trying to save face. Waving it off, I let out a shaky laugh. “Duty calls.” I’m horrified to say I’m a little unsteady on my feet as I walk back the way I came, or at least attempt to. Luckily, I only have an hour left of work.
It’s then I feel a warm hand on my shoulder. “Adi.”
I turn to see it’s Denver. “Are you okay?” he asks, towering over me, concern etched into his chiseled features. “I’m so sorry about them.”
I attempt again to flail it off with a wave of my hand. “It’s okay. But I really have to get back for the last hour of my shift.” That’s not exactly true, because I haven’t had my full break yet.
“Please,” he says. “There’s no excuse for them. I don’t even know the brunette, I’ve never met her before.”
“Well, Hannah seems like a real buddy kinda girl.” I almost grind the next words out of my mouth. “I can see what you saw in her, she’s stunning.”
He scrubs a hand over his face like this is his fault, which, of course, it isn’t. I don’t blame him at all. But that was just downright mean. Belittling me just to make themselves feel better. So much for us women sticking together.
He frowns. “It didn’t last for obvious reasons. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to keep apologizing.” Regardless of her less-than-impressive personality, this woman got to share a bed with Denver. Jealousy courses through me and I try not to let those old feelings of unworthiness creep in just because I don’t look like a supermodel.
I’m still fucking hot, and a natural red head.
“Can I walk you home again?” he asks. I can tell he’s upset by the way his brows are knitted together and the worried look on his face.
I love that he’s asking, but I’m a big girl.
“You know I can look after myself, D.”
“Ah, but you’re forgetting what I promised Daryl.”
I roll my eyes. “He worries too much.”
“He does, and if it gets back to him that I let you walk home alone, he’ll kick my ass. Rightly so.”
I press my lips together and sigh. “Have it your way.”
Finally a small smile comes to his lips, and it makes me smile too—maybe not as bright as a few moments ago, but his energy is impossible to ignore. He’s warm and genuine… and safe.
There’s that word again. Safe. But being around Denver is like a big, hearty, comforting hug constantly reassuring me that everything is going to be okay.
I don’t know how he even does that when he’s not even touching me, but I feel it all the way down to my toes.
“My way it is,” he says with a wink.
And just like that he makes a very awkward and embarrassing encounter seem like it’s buried in the past, not just moments ago.
It’s a skill. The sweet, kind Denver I knew all those years ago is exactly the same. He’s just all grown up.
I like that he didn’t give Hannah the time of day, and he certainly didn’t look at her the way he’s now looking at me. “You drive a hard bargain.” I swallow down the rampant tugging on my heart. Don’t read into it. He’s just being nice. “I’m gonna go use the bathroom.”
He tucks a lock of hair behind my ear. “Last hour, Red. I’ll cover your drink until you clock off.”
My lips part. He’s going to cover my drink for me because I didn’t finish it and, well, because he’s that kind of guy. But it’s his next words that shake me to my very core. “When you’re with me, I got you, baby girl.”
Holy fuck.
“That’s, uh, surprisingly sweet of you.”
He quirks a brow in jest. “Surprisingly?”
I roll my eyes as I head back to the bar. “Clearly you haven’t been on any dating apps lately. I could tell you some stories.”
Something flashes in his eyes for a second, and I don’t know what it is but he grinds his jaw.
Wait, is he jealous?
Why the heck would Denver be jealous hearing my woeful dating stories?
“No man on any dating app would be good enough for you, Adi, just remember that.”
I thumb behind me as I walk backwards, mouthing, “Got to go.”
Yep. Lost for words.
This man is like nobody else. Especially because he’s my brother’s best friend and we shouldn’t go there.
Shouldn’t.
I guess some rules were meant to be broken.