Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
~DANNY~
“Hey, man,” I say as I lower onto my stool. The man beside me looks like he just came from work—a collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
He waves a hand in my direction as he takes a drink from his mug.
“How’s the service?” I ask.
“Not so bad. They’ve been down there holding court with a bunch of guys for a while, but Mackenzie always comes back down here to get me more beer.”
I knew Mac was working at this charity event tonight.
I heard August and Jase talking about it during the trip.
I’m reluctant to go in because she’s been icy with me ever since we got back from Chicago.
I’m not sure why. I was perfectly nice to her.
I only teased her a little bit, and I even checked on her after the game, when it looked like her bottom lip might have been quivering and her blue eyes watering.
August pointed out that we seem to have this very notable will-they vibe.
I don’t think we do, or if we do, I don’t think it’s as noticeable as he’s claiming it is.
I think he just said it to get a rise out of me.
Or to see what information he could get.
I like August, I do. He’s a good guy. But I’m not stupid. I’m careful with what I say.
Looks like Mackenzie has been making her way to see him a time or two and she’s making quite the impression on him. “Mackenzie you say?” I smile and turn my attention back to the ladies. “Excuse me, Mackenzie. Can I get a double Scotch single malt neat, please.”
Mackenzie looks down at where I’m sitting and visibly tenses. Her nostrils flair, letting me know she’s not happy that I’m sitting beside him.
“I’m Danny,” I say, extending my hand to him.
“John,” he replies.
“Good to meet you.”
“You too,” he replies. “So, are you in here because they are, or did you just need a drink after a long day like me?”
“I’m here for the team. I’m a big fan.” I lie a little bit, but I want him to know that I have some kind of relationship with Mac. I don’t know why, but I don’t like him sniffing around Mac like this.
“Ah, well, I know absolutely nothing, so maybe you can help me get her number.” He points directly at Mac and smiles.
She happens to look in our direction at that moment and sees that we’re both watching her.
Her smile is wide and her blue eyes sparkle.
She waves in our direction. I think it’s mostly for John, but I pretend it’s for me too.
I put my charming smile on and wave back at her. I add in a wink for effect.
Her throat bobs as she swallows. Her step falters a bit as she makes her way to her next customer. I glance over at John; he’s just grinning like an idiot. That little misstep and reaction was for me, not him. I take pleasure in that.
“I don’t know too much about her.” It’s not really a lie.
I only know the little bits of information that she’s given me.
I leave out that I’m interviewing her for my paper.
I don’t want him to know too much and want to fly under the radar with this man.
Find out what he wants to happen with the two of them, if anything.
“I know she plays for the team. She’s their striker and she works hard.
Mac is good,” I tell him. “She’s had a great career, which she’s continuing here in Tampa. ”
“I didn’t know any of that. But then again, I just met her.” He sips his dark beer and shrugs. “Have you been following her since she was younger or something?”
I shake my head. “No, I’m smart enough to use Google.”
John laughs. “I see. I hadn’t thought to do that, I guess.”
“I guess you didn’t.” I smirk at him and wave a hand, hoping to get Mac’s attention.
She nods and makes her way down the bar.
“Service is rather slow in here tonight,” I tease her when she approaches.
Mac shakes her head at me. “What will it be?”
“What does the lady recommend?”
“I recommend you tell me what you want. We’re swamped, so if you want me to serve you, you’ve gotta order now,” she says all matter-of-factly.
I smirk at her, and she looks away for a second before turning her eyes back to mine.
“What happened to service with a smile?” I antagonize her further.
“I was smiling.” And of course, she throws in a tight smile. “There, see, a smile.”
I chuckle. “Sure, yeah. That was a smile.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see that John is watching our interaction. His brow is furrowed. He’s not an idiot; he’s picked up on the fact that there’s some going on here.
“Alright, Mac. I’ll take that double scotch single malt, please.” I hand her a twenty. “That should cover it and your tip.”
“Thanks.” She pulls it from my hand slowly and heads to get me the beer. Returning, she places the liquid down in front of me. “I got you a Johnny Walker. Seems to be a popular one tonight, and you never said which.”
“Thanks. Appreciate it. Johnny Walker sounds good to me.”
Mac starts to walk away so she can get back to work, but I call her back.
“Hey, Mac?”
“Yeah?” she says, walking back over with a sly smile on her face.
I return it with one of my own. “How much longer are you working?”
“I don’t know. Why?” She looks from me to John and back. Her eyes are searching for an answer that’s on the tip of my tongue.
“Just curious,” I reply. I want to keep her guessing. I want to keep her on her toes. And John… he should hit bricks. I want to talk to her tonight, and I don’t want him to.
Mac rolls her eyes and walks away from us without another word.
“So, are you two, like, dating or something?” John asks me after Mac is back on the other side of the bar, talking to customers and her friends.
I grab a pretzel from the nearby dish. “Nope, not dating.”
“Are you trying to date her?”
“Nope,” I say and take a long sip of the beer she just brought me.
“Then how do you know her so well?” He watches me, and when I finally turn my attention in his direction, he speaks again. “I can tell there’s something. Just level with me.”
I nod. “Alright, I can do that. I wrote an unflattering article about her. She’s not my biggest fan.”
“Huh, she doesn’t seem to mind you so much tonight,” he admits. Disappointment settles on his face as he looks wistfully in her direction.
“We just like to tease each other.” I don’t wanna give him hope, but I also don’t want to give him any hope.
“I’m guessing you helping me learn more about her is out of the question, then, huh?”
I shrug. “You seem to have been doing alright before I got here.”
John laughs and shakes his head. “Yeah, before you got here. Emphasis on the before part.”
I nod and don’t say anything else. My scotch becomes more interesting by the second.
I’m not sure what the guy wants me to say.
He’s got her attention, even I can see that.
She steals glances our way, either to see if we’re talking or to see if he’s still here.
I don’t engage with her anymore. I just keep focusing on my drink and my phone.
Mac comes back down the bar an hour later. John and I are both still here. We’ve talked a little bit, but not about anything too exciting.
“Hey, you need anything?” she asks him,
He smiles and leans in closer to her. A hand coming across the bar, fingertips brushing across her hand. “Do you ever give strange men in bars your number?”
I hate how her smile lights up. “I haven’t done that in a long time. Since college, maybe,” Mac admits with a shrug.
“How long ago was that?” John asks.
Mac’s cheeks flush a pretty pink, and I grip the glass tighter. I hate that he’s making her blush.
“Just a few months ago, actually.”
“Ah, a young one.” He pulls his hands away and leans back to watch her.
“Why? Am I that much younger than you?” Her voice is annoyingly playful.
“I may have a good ten years on you,” he admits. “Would that bother you?”
“No, not at all. If I were going to be dating right now.” She grimaces as she looks at him. “I’m not really looking for anything. I just got to the city and I’m still finding my footing with the team. Ask Danny here. It hasn’t been an easy transition.”
John nods. “I bet you’re doing better than you think.”
“Read my articles. I bet that would tell you differently,” I jab. I hate that she sounds a bit disappointed that she won’t be dating him.
“Thanks for that.” Mac’s blue eyes shoot daggers in my direction.
“You’re welcome,” I reply, grinning at her.
“If you just want to get dinner sometime, I’d really like that.” John pulls her attention back to him.
“Maybe,” Mac replies, blushing again.
“Great.” John picks up his cell phone. “Would you mind putting your number in my phone? Then I can give you a call and invite you to a proper dinner.”
“Sure.” Mac takes the phone and places her number in his phone. Handing it back, she winks at him and says, “I’ve gotta get back to work, but I hope to hear from you.”
With that, she’s gone.
“Well, that went better than I thought it would have.”
I want to tell him that I think she’s only taking his number to irritate me, but I don’t. “Sure did,” I say.
“It was nice meeting you, Danny.” He gets up and places money beneath his finished glass. “I hope you’ll write some nicer things about her. I’m not sure she deserves any wrath.”
I simply nod.
John walks away and I turn to see Mac watching him.
Amelia is talking to her, as she, too, is watching him go.
I wonder what she’ll do when he actually calls her.
Will she go out with him? Will they start dating?
I pull at the bill he left under the glass and see that it’s a fifty.
I knew he had money. He had that sharp, useless look about him.
And with no knowledge of sports, I’m guessing he spends more time working or golfing than hanging out with friends watching a game.
“You couldn’t be nice, could you?” Mac is back in front of me, pulling the fifty from beneath the glass. “Another tip. How sweet of him.” She adds it to the tip till and takes his glass. “At least he was nice. I think I might take him up on that dinner. That okay with you?”
I shake my head. “Why are you asking if it’s okay with me?”
“You know why. You looked like you wanted to rip his head off when he suggested we get some dinner. So, tell me, would you like to go to dinner with me instead?” She smiles wide, proud of herself for the jab she has thrown in my direction.
“Oh, Mac, I went to dinner with you. Well, lunch, maybe. But still, you and I have already done that.” I lean back in my stool.
“Sure, he was nice, but he doesn’t pay any attention to sports.
And how will that sit with you, when you spend so much of your time around them? Your world revolves around them.”
“I think we’ll manage just fine.” She winks at me and adds a sway in her hips as she walks away.
I head to the back of the bar where I can observe and nurse another scotch that I have one of the waitresses bring me. Mac and the girls seem to be doing well tonight. They’re raising a handsome sum for the children.
I keep an eye on things that are happening in the bar, and I’m glad I do. Mac is on the floor. She’s busing tables for the waitstaff since the bar appears to be slowing down. She picks up a glass from a table where a man is watching TV, not paying her any mind at the moment.
“Hey there, little lady,” he says as she passes. He reaches out and grabs her by the waist to stop her.
Mac stills and looks down at him. She speaks so lowly to him that I can’t hear. It doesn’t look like Phil and the rest of the staff are watching the interaction. It looks like she’s just talking to him. I get up and make my way over to help her.
“I don’t think we’re supposed to put our hands on the staff,” I say when I reach them.
“I don’t think I care what you have to say about it.” He leers up at me. He looks like he’s had a few too many. His speech may not be slurred, but you can tell he’s had a few.
“I asked you to take your hand off me.” Mac’s voice quivers when she talks to him. She steals a glance over at me, her blue eyes pleading.
“I don’t believe I heard you,” he tells her, standing up so that he’s towering over her. “But I thought I asked you to sit down and join me. You know I’ll make it worth your while. I’ll add in a nice donation or something for the kids.”
Mac goes to step back, but he’s right there, stepping with her.
“Sir, she told you to leave her alone. I think you better listen to her.” I steal a glance at the bar to see if anyone has noticed us.
“What are you going to do about it, tell on me?” His eyes follow mine and then return to Mac. “Wanna hang?” He places his free hand on her other hip so that he’s holding her in place.
“No,” she stammers. “Please take your hands off me.” But he doesn’t listen. Instead, he’s pulling her closer to him as she struggles to get out of his grasp. She may be strong, but it’s looking like he’s stronger than she is.
I shake my head. I hate how afraid she looks right now and that he won’t stop. He seems to be enjoying her fear; his smile has widened, and it looks like his grip might have tightened.
“I didn’t want to have to do this,” I tell him before grabbing his hand and pinning it behind his back. He screams in pain as Mac steps out of his hands. “She asked you more than once to leave her alone, and I think that’s more times than she should have had to.”
He screams louder in pain. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Phil coming over.
“She said no, fucker,” I tell him, then hand him over to Phil when he gets there.
“You okay, Mac?” Phil asks her.
She’s shaking. Her wild blue eyes are flashing from the man to me and Phil. “Yeah, I’m alright.”
“Good. Go on back behind the bar. I’ll take care of this.” Phil turns to me. “Thanks for looking out for her. Next time, though, call me. You shouldn’t be putting your hands on the customers.”
I nod. Before I can say another word, Mac places her hand on my arm.
“Thank you for helping me.” Her voice sounds so small and timid. I hate that he did that to her.
“You’re welcome. Are you okay?” I pull her into a side hug and place a kiss on the top of her head.
“I’ll be fine,” she tells me, hurrying back behind the bar where it’s safe.
Phil leads him out, telling him that he can’t come back to The Backwoods. She only has a few more hours of doing this, and I’m going to be right here when it’s time for Mac to leave. And when she does leave, she heads out all by herself.