Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 75754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
He looked like a wide-eyed flower child with his long blonde hair, blasé attitude, and smile that he gave damn near everyone.
Only it seemed to widen ever so slightly when I was near.
And when I ordered the drink, he blushed scarlet, but nonetheless made the drink for me.
I glanced up when I heard Sterling laugh.
I was so mad that I could spit nails.
He’d been my Sterling only hours before.
But when he’d gotten here, and his ‘brothers’, as he called them, surrounded him, he’d completely done a one eighty.
They’d disappeared for well over an hour, and the minute he got back, he started sucking back shots like they were water.
He was on his eighth (yes I’d counted) shot.
“Here you go,” Zander said. “One Sex on the Beach.”
Giving Zander a smile, I grabbed the stupid cocktail glass from the bar counter and started to walk in the direction of Sterling.
Audie, or ‘Naughty’ as Sterling had been calling her all night, took the drink I’d set down in front of her and took a long swallow, pulling the straw out with her teeth in an erotic gesture.
I wanted to claw her eyes out, but the worst thing was the way Sterling wasn’t even acknowledging me.
And as I tried, yet again, to catch Sterling’s eye, I realized that I wasn’t going to.
Not tonight.
Sighing in frustration at Sterling and his ability to ignore everything about me, I finally decided that maybe it was a good time to go ahead and leave for the night.
My shift had ended over twenty minutes ago, but I’d stayed since the bar apparently wasn’t closing at its usual time.
But the longer I stayed watching Audie drape herself over Sterling, and Sterling not push her away, I realized that just maybe I’d made a mistake.
Maybe I should leave after all.
Maybe this could be something we’d be able to talk about tomorrow.
I could only hope that Sterling was aware of the woman that was trying to do just about anything to get his attention.
And I also hoped that he was faithful.
Not that I’d asked him to be.
We hadn’t done much talking when we were together this past night.
Yet, I’d thought a lot into it.
Maybe what was on his mind about us was something totally different than what I saw.
Walking back to the bar, I handed my tips and receipts to Silas who was standing at the end of the bar.
He had a bottle of Zigenbock in his hand, and he was staring out over his establishment with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction covering his face.
“I’m cashing out,” I told him.
He took my apron and nodded. “Mind if I get it back to you in the morning?”
I shook my head. “No, that’s fine. I’ll get it tomorrow after my shift at the gas station.”
He nodded. “Going home?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I have to be up early tomorrow. I have a lunch date.”
He smiled. “Sawyer told me you and Lily were having lunch”
I nodded. “Yeah, I seem to have created a monster friendship with the three of us.”
He laughed. “Well, I appreciate you bringing her into the fold. Seeing her so happy makes me happy.”
I grinned. “Later, gator.”
“After a while, crocodile.”
With that parting greeting, I headed out to my car, sighing heavily when I realized I didn’t bring it.
Motherfucker.
***
I started walking home.
But ended up catching a ride with Mr. Adams, of all people.
Why he was out so early/late in the day I didn’t know, but I was grateful.
“You shouldn’t be walking home in the dark, girl,” Mr. Adams said reproachfully.
I shrugged.
“Forgot my car today,” I said.
“How do you ‘forget your car?’” His old, grizzled voice asked with amusement.
I shrugged. “I don’t want to talk about it, how about that?”
He nodded. “Fair enough, but next time, just say that instead of lying. Because it sounds like you’re a shit liar, and there’s no point in even trying to lie if you suck that bad.”
“Yes, sir,” I said. “Why are you out so late?”
“It’s early, not late. And I’m going to my fishing hole,” he answered.
I looked at the clock that now read three oh three A.M.
“This early?” I asked incredulously.
He nodded. “Gotta go sane for some bait fish, then I’m heading out on my boat to catch Big Blue.”
“Who’s Big Blue?” I asked. “And what’s a ‘sane?’”
He smiled at me.
“You ‘sane’ for bait fish by using a huge throw net. As for ‘blue’s, they’re catfish, darlin.’ Ain’t you ever heard of ‘em called ‘Blue’s’?” He asked.
I shook my head. “I’ve never been fishing before. In fact, I’ve never even had the desire to fish.”
He gave me a raised brow.
“Oh, really? Well it’s said that you should give everything a try once. You never know if you’ll like it,” he said.
I shrugged. “I don’t have anyone to go fishing with. I’ve spent my entire life inside. I wouldn’t know the first thing about fishing.”
“Ask that man of yours, I’m sure he knows how,” Mr. Adams said.
Pain shot through my chest as I thought about ‘that man’ of mine.
“I’m mad at him. Let’s not talk about him right now,” I said, hoping to change the subject.
Mr. Adams laughed. “What’d he do?”
“Ignored me all night and kept letting a blonde bimbo touch him constantly,” I muttered darkly.
Mr. Adams laughed. “You just said this morning that he was in the military. And it looked like he recently got home, too.”
“How do you know he recently got home?” I asked suspiciously.
He looked at me with his old, knowing eyes.
“Clocked him the minute he got out of that storage room. His eyes were on everything all at once, and he held himself differently. Not to mention he categorized every single sound in the place,” he answered. “When the ice machine kicked on in the back of the store, his eyes flashed there. Then you made a loud screeching sound as you drug the box of straws over the counter, causing him to flinch and look at you. His eyes kept bobbing back and forth to the door, to you, to me. Those actions only speak of a man that had to have those reactions to stay alive.”