Chapter 10
Charlie
Tonight has been the most fun that I have had in a really long time.
Max is the freaking best. I swear, if the man was a fictional character he would have been written by a woman.
He’s so funny and charming. Normally, that would make me act extra awkward.
But I can’t seem to do anything wrong in his eyes.
None of my stories have been too boring, he laughs at all my jokes, and he definitely appreciates the effort I put into my appearance tonight.
I don’t think I have ever felt this comfortable …
or this desired by a man. It’s addicting.
We pull up outside of the bar and I am not surprised to see a nearly full parking lot.
This place may be a total dive but being that it’s the only real bar in town it makes sense that it’s still up and running.
Max parks us beside this rusty green car and I hop out quickly, not allowing Max to open the door for me this time.
I giggle when I hear his “Hey!” from inside the truck and meet him at the tailgate.
“You think you’re so slick,” Max grumbles, holding his hand out for me to take.
As I go to reach for it, this huge grin blooms across his face and he books it across the parking lot to get to the bar door before me. He holds it wide open and bows deep when I reach the door.
“Bowing, really?” I tease.
“Only the best for you, m’lady.”
Max returns upright and is right behind me as we go through the door. He’s so close, I can feel the heat coming from his chest and he smells so fucking good. I’m mentally debating whether or not it would be too forward to tell him that when my brain registers where we are.
“Woah.” This is not the shitty bar I remember from my youth.
A large dance floor takes up most of the space in the centre, with a few standing height cocktail tables surrounding it.
The far wall is a very long bar, with shelves to the ceiling filled with bottles of liquor.
Almost all the furniture is done in black, other than the round booths that line the walls.
The leather seats are a striking electric blue.
But, most importantly, the place is clean.
You can smell the cleaners that are used, even with the large amount of people occupying the space.
“This doesn’t look like how I remember.,” I tell Max who chuckles beside me, his eyes scanning for somewhere for us to sit.
“Yeah, I think some guy took over ownership and decided to completely overhaul the place. Don’t be fooled, the patrons are still basically the same. It’s just cleaner now with less tolerance for bullshit.”
Max growls suddenly and before I can ask him what’s wrong, he’s grabbing my hand and dragging me over to one of the booths in the corner. There are two other men sitting there, both with shit-eating grins on their faces. I have a feeling I know who these two are.
“I thought I told you two to not be here tonight.” Max sounds pissed but based on the way these guys are looking at him I don’t think he actually is.
“You can’t stop us from going to a public place bro!”
The man who speaks is the visual definition of ‘it wasn’t just a phase mom!
’ His longish jet-black hair is artfully tousled on top of his head, with the sides shaved right down revealing two large gauges in each ear lobe.
Various other piercings are scattered across his ears, accompanied by two barbells in his left eyebrow, and two hoops through his bottom lip.
Snake bites. Tattoos creep down from the top of his neck, and his arms are covered as well.
He’s sitting, so I can’t be certain, but he looks tall too.
He’s got that punk bad boy thing going for him and holy man he is hot.
It figures. Of fucking course, a hot guy like Max has hot guy friends.
His other friend hasn’t spoken yet, but I glance over at him quickly.
He has dark brown hair, and a full beard.
And the man is BUILT. Wide shoulders, and super strong looking arms. He looks like someone you wouldn’t want to mess with.
But the most striking thing about him is his eyes.
Surrounded by a pair of black, thick-rimmed glasses is the most beautiful steely grey eyes. I have never seen anything like it.
I am brought out of my inappropriate ogling by hearing Max utter the phrase, “I can when I own the damn place!”
Excuse me, sir. What? I am such an asshole! I was talking all that shit about his bar. Why wouldn’t he just tell me he owned it? How freaking embarrassing! I can feel my cheeks reddening.
“Maximus! Why would you let me talk all that shit about the bar when you owned it?”
The punk guy cackles. “Yeah Maximus? Why would you do that?”
“Left or right,” Max replies as I look at him, confused.
“Oh, come on dude! She got to call you it!”
Max releases my hand and leans over, punching him in the right arm. “Charlie, this is Andy. He knows better than to call me Maximus.”
The grin returns to Andy’s face, and he shakes my hand enthusiastically. Max gestures over the other man and says, “And this is Ben.”
I reach over to shake Ben’s hand as well, but when his insanely large hand envelops mine, I come to a sudden realization that I have met him before.
“Hey! Aren’t you the guy who used to shovel my parents’ driveway for them?”
“Used to?” Andy scoffs, earning him another punch to the arm. This one from Ben.
“If your parents live on Oak, Elm, or Cedar. Then yep. Been doing it since high school.”
Well, that solves the mystery of who has been keeping the driveway clear. “Yeah, I thought you looked familiar! Well, you don’t have to do my parents anymore. I can take care of it while I’m here.”
“Nope.” Ben takes a long drink from his beer.
“Nope?” I repeat. I’m so confused.
“I’ll keep doing it. Don’t you worry about it.”
Alrighty then.
“Do you guys want to join us?” Andy asks while scooching farther into the booth.
“Sure!” My answer is automatic. I probably should have checked with Max first.
I slide in next to Andy, but Max doesn’t move right away.
He’s too busy glaring at Andy, who just rolls his eyes, and keeps moving so that he is across the booth from me, sitting closer to Ben.
Max finally sits down, moving in close to me and putting his arm around my shoulders.
He waves one of the servers over with his other hand and she takes our drink order.
“Don’t forget I get to buy the drinks!” I remind Max.
“No need sweetheart. Max and his friends drink for free.” Andy flashes what is quickly becoming a familiar goofy grin.
Sweetheart, seriously? I mean … I love it. But I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to considering I have known him for all of three minutes.
“First of all, Andrew, you don’t know me well enough to call me sweetheart.” Then, I whip my glare over to Max, “And two. You told me not to worry about dinner knowing damn well I wouldn’t have to buy the drinks here.”
“Yup.” Max chuckles.
“God damn scoundrel.” I am more impressed than I am mad. Max is really pulling out all the stops.
My insult causes Ben to snort and Andy to howl with laughter. Max just leans in, and his breath is on my ear as he whispers, “You learn that word in one of your books?”
My whole face is the colour of a strawberry. Thankfully, Max saves me before the other guys picks up on it and asks, “So what did you guys get up to today?”
“Kids are doing napkin holders. No one had to go to the nurse today so all in all it was a pretty good day,” Ben deadpans, then takes another sip of his beer.
“Ben is a high school wood shop teacher,” Andy explains to me. “And I just wrapped up my last construction job of the year. I’m free until the spring, baby!”
“Um, did you forget that your promised to help me around here this winter?” The server returns with our drinks and Max slides a glass of wine over to me before taking his beer.
“Odd jobs here and there really don’t count, and you know it. I’m free until the spring, baby!” Andy repeats, tapping his bottle against my glass in cheers. I giggle.
“And what did you get up to today, Miss Charlie? Gotta be pretty boring working at the rink with this guy.”
I shake my head. “No way, it’s great! I get so much reading done and Max is a lot of fun to talk to.”
Max gives my shoulder a small squeeze and I look up at him. He has the most gorgeous smile on his face and I almost literally swoon. It is unfair how attractive he is. “I love hanging out with you at work. And outside of work”
“What do you like to read?” Ben interrupts before I have a chance to respond.
“Well, romance mostly if I’m being honest. But as long as it’s fiction, I’ll give it a try.” I offer Ben a small smile and he glances down, avoiding my gaze. That’s odd.
“Romance, nice.” Andy smirks at me.
My initial reaction tells me I should be embarrassed, but somethings telling me these guys don’t care. I shrug it off. “I like what I like.”
“I myself like a good horror. But I’ve been known to dabble in dark romance as well.” Andy waggles his eyebrows at me.
Dear god, this man can make me giggle so easily. And he reads too? Fuck. “I love dark romance,” I admit.
“Nice! We should compare reading lists sometime.”
“Definitely!”
I glance over at Max and he’s just smiling at me, watching this exchange happen.
I think maybe he’s glad we’re hitting it off.
I take another sip of my wine. This is nothing like my previous experiences in this place.
I feel so safe curled up in this corner with these big, handsome men.
Maybe it’s the alcohol, but I’m feeling brave.
“I think I should go use the washroom, and then we should dance.”
Max slips his arm off me and slides out of the booth, offering his hand to me. “Absolutely, gorgeous. Anything you want.”