SEVEN
Splice
Shrugging off his leather jacket, he threw it over a chair as he landed his ass on a couch in the central area of the clubhouse.
It was already bustling. Easy rock music blared from high speakers; the massive TV was constantly tuned to a sports station, and sweet bottoms were delivering food and liquor.
“Do you need anything, Splice, babe? I’m heading to the bar for Forger.
I don’t mind grabbing you something, too.
” He cocked his head to see Sonya hovering.
After trying to come between Diamond and his pregnant old lady, the sweet bottom had traded her bitchy attitude for a saccharine act.
Splice didn’t buy it, but he didn’t care enough to call her on it.
“Bring me a beer.”
“Sure thing.” She sashayed off, and then Tomb folded his bulky frame into a chair opposite him.
“Haven’t seen you in a while, brother.”
“I was dealing with some headaches with the car wash; all sorted now. How come you’re here tonight? The little wife let you off your leash?”
“Wait until I tell Nina what you just called her.” Smirked Tomb and Splice internally groaned as he rubbed a hand over his face before he accepted the beer from Sonya.
“Go ahead, cause trouble, you bastard. I only just got out of her bad books after I took you to the strip club for your bachelor party. I told her the dancers didn’t even lay a hand on you.”
Tomb smirked, scratching his beard. “She doesn’t believe you.”
“So, why are you here? You’ve only been back from your honeymoon a few days; I thought you’d be holed up under the sheets.”
Tomb grumbled. “I wanted to, but Nina had a girls’ night booked already.”
“And you’re not spying on your wife?” Splice recalled their difficult period, when he shadowed Nina for her protection.
“She threatened to cut my balls off if she spotted me. She’ll call to be picked up.”
Poor bastard had an obsessive love for his wife.
He tried to act casual as he asked, “Is Nina out with Monroe?”
“Her friend, Lisa.”
Splice’s heart gave a heavy, interested thud.
His train of thought derailed. He left the beer on the low table and scrubbed his hands on his thighs.
“Are they at one of our places?”
“The Devil’s Pour. I don’t like her going out without me, but what am I gonna do, tell her no? Nina knows I’m under her thumb.”
Splice snorted. Tomb didn’t give a shit who knew how much he adored his old lady.
Rising to his feet, he grabbed his jacket.
“Are you heading home already?”
“I’m worn out.” He didn’t outright lie. “Catch you later, bro.” He slapped the hand Tomb held out, then strode out into the colder night air toward his bike.
After a quiet ride, he let himself into the bar’s back entrance.
Should he blame his tired mind and body for bringing him here just because he’d heard Lisa was there? It was a decent enough excuse, and Splice didn’t delve deeper than that as he met his bar manager as he entered.
“Boss! Is something wrong? You were only here earlier.”
“Nah, pretend you didn’t see me. I’m not here to check up on you; relax. Gonna grab a booth.” He said, even as his eyes scanned the dimly lit bar. He spotted the ladies sitting at one booth along the perimeter.
Everything within The Devil’s Pour was to cater to the patrons, from the mood lighting to the music, which wasn’t at ear-splitting levels, so people could still chat.
The food was top-notch. And the drink measures were generous, low-priced, and never watered down, so it brought people back through their doors.
Splice slid into the booth beside theirs, unnoticed, the high-backed seating shielding him from view. Minutes later, a server set a tumbler of scotch in front of him, likely tipped off by the fact that the boss was in-house.
What the hell was he doing? He had no game plan.
And if Nina saw him, he’d have a hard time explaining away his presence. She’d assume Tomb sent him, which would get his buddy into trouble.
All he could verify was that his wayward feet had brought him there.
And then he heard melodic laughter from a woman he’d never forgotten.
The sound of her musical laugh went through his guts and settled in a warm, low place, making his frame lean into the leather seat.
He decided he could stay for ten minutes. No harm in that. It was a minor detail that he arranged to be in the same place as her again, not making him a pervert.
“It sounds like you guys had a blast,” he heard.
The ten minutes passed quickly as Splice unashamedly listened in to the girl talk. Nina mostly discussed her second honeymoon. So, women actually dish about all the nitty-gritty sex stuff with each other.
And then, as he decided he’d played stalker long enough, he slid across the bucket seat when he caught Nina asking, “What about you, babe? Have you changed your mind about dating? Has anyone caught your eye lately? Give me the go-ahead, and I can set you up on a blind date.”
Splice settled back into the booth. Ears perked for those answers. He finally knew where the husband was; she was divorced, and he couldn’t help but feel smug.
If Lisa revealed being attracted to Primo, he’d ride to his apartment and firebomb it, with the club hacker inside.
He had no fucking chill.
Don’t ask him why; he wasn’t currently playing with a full sane deck.
“Same answer as the last time you asked me,” Lisa half-laughed. “What men are worth dating in this climate? I like my peace too much to let a man into my world.”
Had some motherfucker hurt her? Splice’s fingertips started drumming lightly on the table along with the beat of the music.
A sliver of anger was burning low in his abdomen.
He wasn’t above tracking a bastard down if he’d hurt Lisa.
Call it a favor. A Christmas gift. A fucking Easter basket, he didn’t care.
“I’m gonna butt in, babe.” He heard Nina say.
“When have you ever held back? Go ahead, butt in.”
“Sometimes you look lonely. I know you have your career, Lise. You’re not struggling for money, but is that enough?”
“Do you really think having a man around would plug up occasional loneliness? In my experience, they bring the complete opposite.” She said. “The last date I went on, the guy didn’t apologize for being forty minutes late, and he spent two hours listing what he wanted in a traditional wife.”
Nina snorted. “Let me guess. A sandwich maker and a slut in the bedroom?”
“Something along those lines. So, if I get a mad moment and think I might want a man around, I just remember that and I come back to reality. The type of man I’d accept is fictional.”
As Nina said, “Ohhh.” Splice’s ears pricked, and he leaned forward on the table. “Tell me about this mythical bucket list man.”
“Have you watched the movie Practical Magic? Sandra Bullock’s character wrote a list of qualities she wanted in a man when she grew up. It was all the things she thought wouldn’t come true because she didn’t want to fall in love. And then, one day, that man turned up. It’s something like that.”
He heard them ordering more shots from the server. Splice waited with his breath bated, wondering what Lisa was gonna say next.
Suddenly, there was nothing else he wanted to hear.
“I told you about my marriage. On paper, Rowley checked most of the boxes. He was kind, generous, a family man, and a good provider.”
“But there was no passion,” interjected Nina. “Kindness is all good and well, but unless you’ve signed up for a lavender marriage, a girl wants her organs tickled.”
“Right,” giggled Lisa.
He felt the familiar burning sensation and didn’t want to hear about her ex-husband or their marriage issues. The righteous jerk clearly didn’t appreciate Lisa while married to her; his loss.
“But it wasn’t like Rowley and I lost the passion somewhere along the marriage; we never had it to begin with.
We were two lonely people attempting to make a marriage work.
We were essentially roommates. I was a buffer for his family, and he was company for me.
It ended amicably. We arrived at the same conclusion together. ”
“And that was three years ago?”
“We split four years ago, married for two. I was in Asia again for a year before I came back to Utah. I’m still friendly with him and his new wife; we exchange Christmas cards.”
Nina laughed. “That’s some modern shit. I don’t think I could be friendly with Tomb’s new wife; I’d stab her.”
“That’s because you’re madly in love with Tomb.”
“And you weren’t with Rowley?”
“I felt love for him, but it wasn’t romantic. I convinced myself that I wanted a partner. We’d already had a few dates, and things were going well between us.”
“Damn, babe,” he heard Nina exclaim, “I feel a type of way about that kind of life for you.”
“Don’t feel sorry for me. I am completely good, I promise. I moved here, didn’t I? I have more work than I can deal with, and I met you.”
“Well, yeah, that part was worth it,” his buddy’s old lady laughed. “Now, tell me about this perfect man you have in your mind. Is it based on anyone? A celeb?”
The scotch went down his gullet like hot rocks, and he had to stop himself from coughing by pressing his fingers into his throat when Lisa said, “Someone I knew a long time ago.”
It could be someone she knew before she’d met Splice or after.
Any thought of leaving vanished.
“A boyfriend?”
“Something like that. More like a wild fling.”
His interest was officially piqued. Back then, Lisa would never call them a couple, insisting they were only having a fling.
His younger age bothered her, he assumed, even though he always insisted it didn’t mean a thing to him, not when they were so explosive together.
Not only sex but also compatibility in every sense.
Splice could pick out Lisa’s voice in a crowd. Even now, all this time later, it was strange to know how attuned he felt to her, like his frequency could always find hers.