![]() ![]() ![]()
Excerpt:
“Kyle,” she had whispered fervently while slamming against my side and ducking under my arm. “Play along!” she begged me. “What?” I was confused and my body was already responding in embarrassing ways to the feel of her hot body pressed tightly against mine. She smiled up at me. “See that guy over there?” I turned to look in the direction she indicated, trying to see someone that stood out differently from the tightly packed herd of men and women clutching various drinks and moving to the rhythm of the music pumping through the room. Reaching up, she grabbed my jaw and turned my face back towards her. “Don’t look!” she demanded through clenched teeth. “But you said…” My thoughts had been in chaos. “Just pretend to be my boyfriend…please?”” I swallowed hard, forcing the lump in my throat to subside. I couldn’t pretend anything with her. It was all real. “Why?” I’d managed to choke out, but just barely. She’d been running one hand across my back while the other held onto my forearm as though I was her life raft. “There’s a guy over there…” Again I tried to look and again she pulled me back. “He is insisting I dance with him.” She had then deftly turned me so my back was facing the crowd with her body pressed tightly against my chest. Her fingers found their way onto my shoulders and up my neck, until landing deeply in my hair. She licked her lips. “I told him my boyfriend wouldn’t like it. He doesn’t want to take no for an answer so…” My blood boiled. I grabbed her shoulders and moved her aside, determined to find the douchebag. “No, Kyle wait!” I launched myself over the bar, scanning for anyone that could mean her harm. Seeing an overweight prick in an expensive suit leaning against the pool table, letting his eyes become too familiar with Kinleigh, convinced me I’d found him. Two steps before I’d been close enough to teach him some manners, Kinleigh had jumped between us. “Not him!” She yelled, in time to stop my fist from finding the sickly pale face behind her. “Then who?” I yelled back. She looked around nervously. “Uh…” “Kinleigh?” I was losing patience. Neither Ronan or I tolerate anyone causing trouble at the bar, but the thought of someone hitting too insistently on Kinleigh had made me furious. I told myself it was on Ronan’s behalf since he wasn’t there and this was his daughter, but I have a nasty habit of lying to myself when I can’t face my own truths. “He left. I saw him leave! You scared him away!” she insisted, pulling me back to the bar. I tried to cool off and let it go but not being able to confront the asshole had me wound too tightly. “I’m sure he won’t be back. You really scared him.” Making my way back behind the bar, I reached for the bottle of tequila and downed two shots before I could speak. I never drink on the job, but this hadn’t been normal circumstances. “What did he look like? Did he pay with a credit card? Did you get his name?” I started thinking of all the ways I could track him down. Kinleigh looked sick. “Kyle…” “Was he here with anyone?” She swallowed hard and tears filled her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. ![]() ![]() ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |