Chapter 10 #2
Since I was eighteen when I left Bluebonnet Creek, I’ve never gotten the chance to come here.
Not for my lack of trying, that’s for damn sure.
But Mick, the owner, always had a knack for spotting teens trying to sneak in, and the burly man had no issue showing us the door.
Even after all these years, the bar is exactly as I remember it from the few glimpses I got of it in the past. Dark, moody, with wood accents, high-top tables, and a handful of booths.
There’s an old jukebox in the corner of the room, along with the pool tables peeking from the dark hallway leading to the back room.
“Come this way.” Nico nudges me, breaking me out of my thoughts as he motions toward the bar. I follow after him, watching as he waves and nods at people we pass by. He has an easygoing attitude and is clearly well-loved in the community. Unlike the wary glances they shoot my way.
That’s because he isn’t the town’s troublemaker and he hasn’t left.
I ignore the little voice at the back of my head and focus on the here and now. We find an open spot at the bar, and Mick nods in our direction as he finishes pouring beer for another customer first.
Wiping his hands on the rag tossed over his shoulder, he tips his chin in greeting. “What can I get’cha, boys?”
We both order a beer, and he puts two bottles on the bar top, popping the caps before he ambles away.
“See? At least he knows I’m old enough,” I say as I take a sip from the bottle, my gaze fixed on the replay of the football game playing on one of the numerous screens on the walls.
“Mick doesn’t need to check. I swear that man knows everybody in this town, although I’ve never heard him say more than a few words.” Nico raises his beer to his mouth, taking a long pull. “You know, all jokes aside, Mrs. Willow might have been right about one thing.”
I give him a side-eye, not in the mood to go back to that particular conversation. “I thought this was your apology. If so, you’re shit at it.”
Nico, however, isn’t the least bit fazed by my comment.
“Maybe you should get a girlfriend. Think about it. Somebody sweet and nice. Settle down. That way people will know you mean business and are actually planning on staying this time around.”
Is he fucking kidding me?
“I’m planning to stay here,” I grind out, annoyed at the suggestion.
Why the hell do I have to prove myself to anybody? I’m here. I got my act together. I graduated from the police academy at the top of my class. Why can’t that be enough?
“I know that, and you know that. But they don’t.”
I shake my head. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Maybe.” Nico shrugs. “But that’s a small town for ya.”
I take a long pull from my bottle, letting the cold beer quench some of the frustration that’s brewing inside of me as Nico’s words echo in my mind.
“Just think about it.”
His suggestion is preposterous.
Hell, even if I suddenly start dating a “nice” girl, they’ll think I’m playing her and hate me even more for it once we break it off.
Fucking nuts, that’s what he is.
“I’m going to take a leak,” I tell him as I push my chair back and walk through the crowd toward the back where I earlier spotted the sign for the bathroom.
After that bullshit conversation, I’m so lost in thought that I barely notice the commotion in the dark hallway.
“Couples fight, nothing new about it. C’mon, babe. Give me another chance,” the unfamiliar male voice slurs.
Goosebumps prickle my skin when I hear the female voice.
A very familiar female voice.
“Well, I did mean it.”
I stop in my tracks.
Jessica.
What the hell is she doing here? And who’s the guy she’s talking to?
I didn’t see her when we got here, then again, the place is dark and there’s a bunch of other people.
Before I can decide what to do, she continues speaking, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“—fact, I’m s-seeing s-somebody else.”
My brows pull together at the slight hitch in her voice as she says the words.
I remember that sound from high school.
For a woman who claims she’s changed, she sure as hell doesn’t sound like it.
I hold my breath as I listen carefully. The silence that fills the space feels deafening even in the loud bar. The guy’s back stiffens, his fingers curling into a fist as he lifts his hand.
The sudden motion has me seeing red. My muscles tighten, ears buzzing as my blood rushes through my veins. Cursing under my breath, I move before I can think my actions through.
Stepping forward, my shadow falls over them. “Is there a problem here?”
Both of them turn to me. Jessica’s eyes are wide, a mix of surprise and panic evident on her face. Her boyfriend, on the other hand? He looks pissed.
The dude gives me a once-over his eyes narrowing into tiny slits. “How about you mind your own goddamn business.”
I quirk my brow. “You pushed the lady against the wall, so it’s absolutely my goddamn business.”
He spins on his heel, his finger pointed at me. “Listen, asshole, I’m…”
“You’re what?” I stand taller, using those few inches I have on him to my full advantage. “Bullying a woman? The lady told you she’s not interested, loud and clear.” I shift my gaze to Jessica and extend my hand. “C’mon, Trouble, let’s get out of here.”
This time, she doesn’t protest the nickname. No, she slips from around her boyfriend, her hand sliding into mine. A zap of electricity snaps between us as our palms connect. Her lips part at the touch, eyes flaring, as a wave of heat slams into me.
“This is how it is, huh?” the asshole grinds out, contempt dripping from his every word.
His gaze zeroes in on our linked hands before he lifts his gaze.
It lands on me before it shifts to Jessica, fury shining in his eyes as he spits out, “First that asshole at the bar, and now this guy? How many people are you ‘seeing’?” He snorts, but there is no amusement in the sound. “More like spreading your legs for.”
I take in a sharp breath, my nostrils flaring as I growl, “You’ll apologize, now.”
The smug bastard smirks at me as he takes a step closer. “Or what? What are you going to do, pretty boy?”
“I wouldn’t test me if I were you,” I mutter quietly, glaring down at him.
“Don’t.” Jessica’s fingers dig into my skin, pulling me back. “I don’t have to justify myself to you anymore, Damien.”
The asshole turns to her, and I swear I can see the fumes coming out of his ears as he leans into her. “You have to justify yourself if you’ve been whoring around behind my back. I’m no one’s fool!”
He starts to reach for her hand, but I pull her behind me. “This is your last warning. Step back.”
“Or what?” he hisses into my face, his chest bumping against mine.
I push him back and pull out my badge. “Or I’m going to throw you behind bars and force you to chill the fuck out.”
My muscles grow stiff as I ready myself for him to swing at me. I know guys like him. I’ve dealt with far bigger and far worse than this prick. However, me being in a bar fight is the last thing I need getting back to the sheriff.
He grits his teeth, his whole body shaking with anger. He lifts his hand, pointing his finger at her. “This isn’t done.”
He marches away, checking me with his shoulder as he passes.
Fucking asshole.
My fingers clench into a fist, but I hold back my rage.
From the corner of my eye, I catch sight of Jessica closing her eyes for a second as she lets out a shaky breath. When she opens them again, a mask of indifference is firmly in place.
“I’m so sorry about that.”
She’s… sorry?
She starts to walk around me, but I step in her path, my hands landing on her shoulders to stop her from stumbling.
“Oh no you don’t.”
She lifts her head, anger burning in her irises. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Williams?”
“Me?” I point at the doorway where her asshat boyfriend disappeared through. “What the fuck was that?”
Her eyes narrow at me. “That’s none of your business.”
“It became my business when I saw him corner you in a dark hallway, so I’ll ask again. What the hell, Trouble? Do you always let your boyfriend talk to you like that?”
Her jaw is set in a tight line, color rising up her cheeks.
“Ex-boyfriend.” She jabs her finger into my chest. “A status he earned because he was talking to me like that in the first place. Besides, I don’t remember asking for your help. I was handling it on my own just fine, thank you very much.”
A mocking chuckle escapes me. “Oh, I saw just how you were handling it.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
If looks could kill, I’d be a dead man. Does that stop me? Hell to the no.
“You’re still a shit liar, just like you were at seventeen.”
“I didn’t l-lie.”
There it is again, that slight tremor in her voice.
I quirk my brow at her. “There isn’t anybody you’re seeing. Is there?”
Jessica presses her lips into a tight line and raises her chin stubbornly. “Let it go, Matthew.”
She walks around me, and this time I don’t stop her, just call loud enough for her to hear, “I didn’t hear you correct him.”
I glance over my shoulder, seeing her stop in her tracks. “What?”
“You didn’t correct him when he assumed I was your new boyfriend.”
“I said I was seeing somebody,” she says slowly, enunciating every single word. “Not dating someone.”
“Same difference.”
Seeing, not dating.
Maybe you should get a girlfriend.
Nico’s words pop into my head out of nowhere, and my pulse speeds as the idea shapes in my mind.
It’s ludicrous.
She hates me.
There is no way this could work.
I don’t even want it to work.
I don’t want to do it period.
She shakes her head. “I’m not even sure why I’m still entertaining you.”
My palms are sweaty, so I wipe them on the sides of my legs.
“I can do it.”
The words come out quickly before I can think them through or stop myself from voicing them out loud, and now that they’re out in the open, there is no taking them back.
Once again, Jessica stops. “What?”
“I can be your fake boyfriend.”