Chapter Sixteen
T he Wolf’s Den was packed as usual on a Saturday night, and while Sam normally didn’t hit any bar on its busiest night, it turned out he actually did need a drink after his encounter with Wren. Sam was drinking straight Jack and considering how he’d gotten to this moment. Two weeks ago, he was a strapping, virile man who had women eating out of the palm of his hands, and now he was a dating pariah. On top of everything else, he thought he might want a relationship with the one woman he knew who wanted to remain single for the rest of her life. The irony was not lost on him.
Sam had his phone out, scrolling through dating profiles, when he remembered the blonde in the black nightie. He went looking for her, and although it took a few minutes, he recognized her picture and clicked on it.
In search of sperm donor.
He choked in surprise, which turned into a full-blown coughing fit. When someone slapped him on the back, he turned and found Ricki taking the seat next to him. The gorgeous bartender from Brews and Chews had been a longtime friend and sometimes lover of his, but nowadays, they just stuck to being drinking buddies when they were in the dumps. Besides his brother and friends, Sam would consider Ricki his best friend. She was one of few women who’d never looked at him like she wanted to tie him up and keep him forever. On top of that, she never hesitated to tell him exactly what she thought.
Tonight, her long dark hair was loose with a single braid swinging next to her face and a teal feather hanging from the bottom.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, just read something surprising,” he said, slipping his phone into his pocket. “How are you?”
“Fine. Now, tell me why you’re avoiding Brews and Chews and hanging out here of all places.” Ricki held up her hand to the bartender, who gave her a wink and a nod. “I thought you gave this place up years ago.”
“That was before the entire crowd at my regular haunt decided to air my dirty laundry. Now I am on the lam.”
“You’re about to be a lamb to slaughter because I think the crowd has found you.” She nodded, and he turned, spotting a few women who normally frequented Brews and Chews walking through the door. He ducked and rotated back to his drink, pulling his collar up to help hide his profile.
“Will you distract them while I sneak out the back door?”
“Not a chance,” she said, dark eyes twinkling. “This is too funny for words. I have never seen you afraid of anything.”
“Listen, I’ve had a really bad night. If you’re not gonna be supportive, then maybe you should just leave,” he said.
“This is me being supportive. I am supporting you getting the natural consequences of your actions.”
“You are the most unsympathetic, ruthless woman I have ever met,” he said.
“Sam,” a woman’s voice purred from behind him. He shot Ricki a desperate look before getting up from the stool and greeting the woman and her friends.
“Ladies.” There were five of them, and while they were all vaguely familiar, the blonde in the back was one he’d hooked up with before. She looked about as happy to see him as he felt interacting with them, but Sam turned the charm on full blast. “Hello, how are you?”
“We’re good,” the brunette closest to him said. “We haven’t seen you around.”
“Yeah, I’ve been really busy at work and with personal stuff,” he said, ignoring the “I bet” from Ricki. “So, what brings you ladies to the Den?”
“We’ve never been here before,” said the second brunette, who looked similar enough to the ringleader to be her sister, “and we thought it would be a nice change.”
Two men near the stage started arguing about their pool game, and one of them suggested that they go outside and finish it.
“Oh yeah, the crowd is a little more colorful here than at Brews and Chews.”
“We’re not afraid,” the ringleader popped off, smiling at him. “We’re always looking for a challenge.”
The blonde hanging in the back of the group had been a friend of his, briefly, once upon a time, and although she ignored him, her other friends at least didn’t act like he was a pariah.
“Well, I appreciate you ladies stopping by to say hi, but I’m actually hanging out with my friend Ricki tonight, so I’ll see you around.”
“Wait,” one of the other women asked, grabbing his arm. “Is it true that you sometimes pretend to be a woman’s fling so that her ex-boyfriend will be jealous and come running back?”
“I’ve never done that,” he said, glancing at his drink longingly.
“Dang,” she said, pouting, “I was really hoping that was true. My boyfriend broke up with me, and I was hoping that dating somebody like you would make him jealous.”
“Someone like me?” he said.
“Yeah, like somebody totally unmarriable,” the woman said.
Sam heard Ricki snort, and his eyes narrowed. “You’re saying that I’m not relationship material.”
“Isn’t that the point of your reputation?” The blonde finally spoke up. Sam was pretty sure her name was Anna... or maybe Amber?
“I was never trying to acquire a reputation. I just wanted to live my life and be happy.”
“Well, why don’t you happily pretend to be my situationship for five hundred bucks,” the woman said, opening her purse.
Sam stared at her, trying to gauge whether she was serious. After realizing that she was, he was beyond done. “Ladies, as much as I love the movies Pretty Woman and The Wedding Date , I do not want to be arrested for prostitution. So, I’m going to say good night and have a great time.”
“Oh, I don’t wanna sleep with you,” she said, adding, “Yuck. No offense, but I like limited body counts in men.”
“Oh no, she didn’t,” said Ricki, finally spinning around on her stool. She glared at the woman and pointed her finger. “I don’t care if you are speaking to a man or a woman; you will not slut-shame one of my friends. Now, you need to take your little butt away from here, because we both know the reason your boyfriend doesn’t love you is ’cause you’re as vanilla as they come, and he wants himself some sprinkles!”
Her friends were a mix of snickers and horrified expressions as the woman turned tail and ran to the corner of the room, where they all proceeded to crowd around a table, shooting Sam and Ricki venomous glances. Sam sat down and spun around in his chair, picking up his glass of Jack with a grin.
“You know, as a bartender, it is not a good idea to make your clients angry.”
“Oh, I’ve met that girl.” Ricki picked up her glass, grinning over the rim. “She’s a lousy tipper anyways.”
“Well, thanks for finally stepping in there,” Sam said dryly.
“You’re welcome. I was going to come to your rescue all along.” She knocked back the drink and set it on the counter. “I just wanted to see you squirm.”
Sam stared down at his glass of liquor, considering how his life had spun out of control these last few weeks, and he asked, “Do you think people can change?”
The bartender handed Ricki another drink, and she slipped him a ten. “Thanks.” The guy walked away smiling, and Ricki turned her attention back to Sam. “Are we speaking about anyone in the world, or are we speaking about specific people changing, because I am a firm believer that neither rapists nor pedophiles can change their spots.”
“Speaking more along the lines of regular, handsome men who have been perpetually single their whole lives.”
“Oh, so we’re talking about you. Okay, alright, I got you. We’re on the same page.” Taking a drink from her glass, she seemed to mull his question over and finally said, “In that case, I think if someone wants to change, they can, but usually there is a catalyst that brings about that change.” She leaned her cheek on the palm of her hand and gave him all her attention. “So, do you have a catalyst that you would like to share with the class?”
“Well, being torn apart on the radio didn’t help.”
“Yes, there was that, but was there something more? Something female that maybe made you think, ‘I could change my ways. I could be a boyfriend, maybe even a husband’?”
“I don’t remember saying I wanted to be a boyfriend or husband,” he mumbled.
Ricki huffed. “Then what are we talking about?”
“Fine, I’m thinking about being a boyfriend or husband, but she doesn’t want any of that.”
“And who is this mysterious ‘she’?” Ricki asked.
“I don’t know if you remember me in high school—”
“Do I remember the kid who thought he was badass on that dinky street bike? Please.” Ricki snorted.
“Well, the girl I dated my senior year is who I’m talking about.”
“The sheriff’s girl? The one who always fought the dress code and flirted her way out of trouble?” Ricki’s eyes widened. “Is she that new cutie cop in town?”
“That’s her.”
“Wow, glad she did well for herself. Most of the time cops’ kids go one of two ways,” Ricki said thoughtfully. “They either follow in their daddy’s footsteps, or they start breaking laws.”
“Well, even when she was in high school, she wasn’t breaking any laws.”
“I bet she was just breaking Daddy’s heart by dating you,” Ricki teased.
“Something like that,” Sam said, finishing off his drink and asking for another one. “Anyway, she’s back, but she doesn’t want anything with me.”
“What do you mean she doesn’t want anything with you?”
Sam tapped his fingers on the counter, listing all the ways. “She doesn’t wanna date me. She doesn’t wanna get married. She wants nothing from me except what she already got from me.”
“Oh, and what did she get from you?” Ricki sang.
Sam shot her a dry look. “Grow up.”
“Damn, she’s really got you on the hook, huh?” Ricki studied him for the first time seriously, as if she couldn’t believe they were really having this conversation. “And you’re ready to get down on one knee and propose to this girl after she’s been back in town for a minute?”
“No, I’m not saying that. We had dinner the other night, and I thought things were going well, but afterward she snuck out, and I woke up alone.” Man, he sounded like a whiny sad sack, and Ricki was having none of it.
“Oh, so you got a little bit of the shoe on the other foot, and you’re butt hurt about it?” Ricki asked.
“Can you please stop dragging me for my past behavior?” he grumbled, taking a gulp of his drink. “I know I’ve been a jerk, but I’ve been an honest jerk. I have never lied to a woman about what I wanted. If they thought that I would change my mind, that’s on them.”
Ricki held up her hands in surrender. “I’m just saying, it sounds like this girl is doing the same thing to you, and it bugs the crap out of you.”
“Only because I want more with her.” Sam stiffened in surprise at the admission, realizing that Wren had gotten completely under his skin in just a few days. Whether it was their history or the fact he was in a vulnerable place, he couldn’t be sure, but dang, he was really exposing himself here.
“Well, I’m sure there were dozens of women who wanted more with you over the years. If you want her bad enough, you can play the long game and see if things change. Or, if you don’t have the patience, you can set your sights on someone who wants the same things you do.”
“I don’t want anyone else,” he mumbled.
Ricki smiled. “Sounds like you have your answer, then.”
“What if she wants to see other people?” The thought of Wren with anyone else made him want to throw up and punch something at the same time.
“Who are you, and what have you done with my friend Sam?”
Sam glared at her.
“Alright, I’ll stop teasing. It’s like I’ve been telling you for years. If a woman is satisfied by what she’s getting, she doesn’t go looking for anything else. Even if you guys are just friends with benefits, as long as she is sated and elated, you’re good.”
“I am pretty good at what I do,” Sam said, grinning salaciously.
“I remember,” Ricki said, her eyes dancing with humor. “Now pull your britches up and stop acting like this sad sack of a man I don’t even recognize.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said.