Chapter 10
Declan
She left me on read.
It’s been a week since Christmas and I haven’t seen or heard from Penny. I haven’t even heard her come and go from the apartment.
New Year’s came and went, and I spent it alone. The guys from the shop asked me to hang out but I was feeling some kind of way and decided I had had enough peopling from Christmas and didn’t want to be around anybody.
I’ve been actively throwing myself into my business; networking, drawing, marketing… the whole works. I even booked a flight to Vegas for a tattoo convention at the end of March to go see some old buddies of mine.
I’m left feeling a little confused, unsure of why she left me on read and hasn’t responded to any of the other half a dozen messages I’ve sent her.
Christmas with her family was honestly the best Christmas I can remember having. Her parents were so welcoming, and shit… the gifts. Kate and I didn’t expect anything, especially since inviting us into their home was a gift in and of itself.
I don’t know why, but I had a hard time saying thank you to Penny for the mug.
It had a cheesy line, “This tattoo artist is ink-credible,” spelled in a cool script and framed by tattoo guns.
I had to swallow through a lump in my throat when Briana told me Penny had made it just for me.
No one has ever made me a gift before, and I’ve used it every day since Christmas.
What I don’t understand is why Penny suddenly decided to stop talking to me. I know I closed myself off when my sister prodded her about her date, but it felt like she was cheating on me, even though I’ve told her multiple times we’re just friends.
Kate might have a point about me being a fool.
It’s a Monday night, and I got a bunch of paperwork done earlier since I take Mondays off from work, but I skipped lunch and am now starving.
I pull a hoodie over my T-shirt, slip on my Vans, and head out the door to go get some food. The Brewery, yes, that’s its name, is a short walk from the apartment, and I head in that direction to grab a bite to eat and a beer. I haven’t been yet, but I hear their menu is amazing.
The place isn’t packed when I get there, and even better, the bar only has one other patron sitting at it. When I slide onto the barstool, I’m instantly given a menu.
“What kind of beer can I get you?” the bartender asks.
“The most popular IPA,” I tell him. If California is good for something, it’s their IPAs. I don’t care too much about my alcohol, but I never pass up the chance to try something new when it comes to an IPA.
“I got you,” he says and grabs a pint glass to fill with beer.
I take a sip after he sets it down in front of me, relishing the cold brew, and read over the menu.
From my peripheral, I see the door to The Brewery open, and to my surprise, I watch Penny walk through.
And holy shit, she looks good. The first thing I notice is her hair.
She cut it. It sits just above her shoulders in beachy waves and draws attention to her slender neck.
The next thing I notice is the black, skin-tight dress she has on underneath a long, tribal-print knitted cardigan.
She’s wearing a pair of black cowboy boots to round out the outfit, and I don’t think I’ve seen anyone more gorgeous in my life.
The one thing I don’t like, though, is the man who slides up beside her, guiding her by her lower back to a table in front of the window.
Is this the guy she was talking about going on a date with?
He’s wearing a light blue polo shirt and loafers with no socks.
He looks like a complete douche.
~ ~ ~
Penny
Mark is a complete douche. The second he stepped out of his Audi R8, and I saw the way he was swinging his car keys around on his finger with a smirk on his face, I knew he was a douche.
Never mind the polo shirt and loafers without socks.
I might be able to forgive that. But when he saw me and opened his mouth, I knew right then and there that this was going to be a bust. Because who says, “Hot damn, I can’t wait to rail you tonight,” to someone they just met?
This guy apparently.
Does that really work on women?
How can he be so different through messaging than he is in person?
Oh, wait. I know. Because men suck.
I decided that we should meet at The Brewery instead of him picking me up because I don’t need strangers knowing where I live. And I’m glad I did because hopefully, I can leave early and maybe treat myself to an ice cream cone before heading back to the apartment.
We walk through the doors, and I slightly stiffen when he puts his hand on my back, but I shake off the ick feeling as we take a seat at the garage door windows that overlook the street.
After the waitress drops off our menus, I try for small talk. “So, you have a son?”
He lifts his head. “Oh. Uh. No. That’s my friend's kid. Chicks dig kids. Makes dudes look soft or some shit.”
I don’t think he catches the surprise on my face because he’s back to looking at the menu as soon as the words leave his mouth. I want to give this guy the benefit of the doubt, I really do, but he’s making it extra hard.
When the waitress comes back, I order the Swiss bacon cheeseburger with a side of fries.
“Um, no,” Mark interrupts my order, “she’ll have the small chicken salad with a slice of lemon.”
I look at him incredulously. What. The. Fuck.
The waitress, who can’t be more than twenty-one, looks super uncomfortable as he continues to order three different dishes for himself.
I must be in shock because it takes me until she leaves to say something to this asshole. “Excuse me. But did you just order a salad for me?”
“You are what you eat. That burger will go straight to your hips and ass. Can’t have that,” he says with a smile while taking a sip of his water.
This guy has another thing coming if he thinks he can shame me for my food choices. I have it on good authority from my best friend that my ass and tits look just fine, and I don’t need this guy telling me what I can and cannot eat.
I don’t respond and just stare, trying to figure out my next move. He tries to make small talk, but my answers are short and stunted. My mom always said that if you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all, but I’m having a hard time keeping my mouth shut.
The waitress brings our food out, and to my surprise, the Swiss bacon cheeseburger is placed in front of me.
“That’s not what I ordered her,” Mark barks out.
The waitress raises an eyebrow. “You’re right. It’s what she ordered for herself.”
“She already has too much meat on her bones. She can’t afford to eat a fucking burger.”
Her eyebrows shoot to her forehead, and my eyes go wide.
Oh, hell no.
I’m about to throw my water in this guy’s face when a large man comes into view. But not just any man. Declan.
Could this night get any worse?
~ ~ ~
Declan
Her date is loud.
So loud in fact, I’m pretty sure the whole brewery just heard the exchange. As soon as the words left his mouth about how she can’t afford to eat a burger because she has too much meat on her bones, I decided I couldn’t take it anymore.
I get off the barstool and make my way to their table.
The waitress and Penny are both wide-eyed and shocked. It would be comical if he didn’t just talk about my girl like that.
No. Not my girl. My friend.
“Get up,” I growl.
The guy’s eyebrows shoot to his forehead. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Get. Up.”
Because of my stature and my tattoos, I can come off as overly intimidating. But this guy doesn’t think so.
“Yeah. No, buddy.” He looks me up and down like I’m garbage. He probably thinks he has more money than me because of how I look.
Newsflash: he doesn’t.
But guys like him just don’t know when to shut up or quit.
I don’t hesitate and grab the back of his collar, hauling him out of his chair. “What the fuck, dude. Get your hands off me.”
The guy is almost half a foot shorter than me. It’s no wonder he has little man syndrome and talks to women the way he just did.
I don’t say anything more, just walk his ass to the door and toss him out.
“I’ll press charges!” he yells at me as he wipes invisible dirt from his shirt.
“Do it,” I tell him and walk back into the brewery. I’m not worried about him pressing charges in the slightest. I think every person in the brewery would defend me after the shit that asshole said to Penny.
I head back to Penny’s table to make sure she’s okay, but she’s not there anymore. I look around and deduce that she went to the bathroom and head towards the sign that signals down a short hallway.
I wait at the head of it, and Penny comes out a minute later.
She stops in her tracks when she sees me, and I have to hold myself back from moving toward her.
She’s a beautiful sight with her newly cut hair.
Normally, I would say I’m a long-haired man, but on Penny, the short is even better.
I wouldn’t mind running my hands through the silky strands just to confirm how soft they are.
“Did you follow me?” she asks, venom lacing her tone.
I have no idea what I did to deserve her wrath, but she’s pissed at me when she should be pissed at the asshole who basically called her fat.
I don’t answer her question and instead ask one. “Are you okay?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know? You didn’t need to step in back there. I was going to handle it myself.”
I take a step forward, and she takes one back. “It didn’t look like you were handling it. You shouldn’t let people talk to you like that.”
She crosses her arms over her chest. “Right. Because you’re any better. Screw you, Declan.” She moves to slip past me, but I catch her by the wrist. She looks down at where I’m touching her. “Get your hand off me.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “I’m not the bad guy here.”
She scoffs and tries to pull away, but I crowd her instead, forcing her back against the wall.
I let go of her wrist and lean my hands against the wall, caging her in between my arms. “You’re being a brat,” I tell her. Because she is. I don’t deserve this from her.
Her eyes widen at my comment. “A brat? I’m being a brat? No, Declan. I’m not being a brat; I just don’t like you.”
I search her eyes. She’s pissed at me, and I have no idea why. “What did I do to you?”
She shakes her head and purses her lips.
“Let me spell it out for you since you men can’t be bothered to notice the smallest things.
You don’t have to worry about playing daddy with my daughter, Declan.
Or being in any other part of her life, for that matter.
” My eyes widen, and she continues, “You don’t like kids, I get it.
So, you don’t have to be around me and mine anymore. ”
I’m stunned speechless. She heard the conversation between me and Kate out on the landing. That’s what this is about. That’s why I haven’t heard or seen from her.
She pushes at my chest, and I let her. I take a step back, and she glares at me one last time before exiting the hallway.
I never intended for anyone else to hear my words that night, but I should have known better because the walls are thin. If I were Penny, I would be pissed, too.
I know I’m never going to be with someone romantically who has or wants kids, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want Penny as my friend. And I might not like little humans, but Autumn was starting to grow on me. The kid clearly has good taste if she liked the unicorn drawing I did for her.
But as I turn to watch Penny walk out the door without a backward glance, I know I fucked up.
Big time.