“Or to make sure a big bear doesn’t sling her over his shoulder and run away with her,” Paul said.
If Darren moved a little quicker after that, well, that was his business.
(And ours, because we needed to give him so much crap.)
I stood when Charlie motioned he wanted to get out so he could congratulate the winner. I stood and let him out. He kissed the side of my head and muttered that he’d be back later before he walked toward the stage. As before, the crowd parted for him as he barely acknowledged them.
“Did we know that Charlie was so hard-core?” I asked Paul and Vince as I sat back down in the booth. Vince pulled me over to him and slung an arm over my shoulder and the other over Paul’s.
“To us?” Paul asked. “Sure. To everyone else? I don’t think so. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before.”
“He’s never invited us to come here,” Vince said.
“But we never offered either,” I pointed out. “Not really. Helena performed that one time, but why haven’t we ever come here with him?”
Paul frowned. “It’s shitty of us, right?”
I sighed. “Yeah. I mean, most people at Jack It know who he is, but it’s not like this. I think he knows we have a lot going on, but….”
“But that shouldn’t be an excuse,” Vince said slowly. “None of this is forever. We need to make the most of all of it and each of us while we still can.” He grinned. “I read that in a fortune cookie.”
“Of course you did,” Paul muttered. “But I get what you’re saying. We should—”
A man appeared at the table. He, like many of the men in the bar, looked intimidating as all fuck. His beard went down to his chest and was shot with gray. “Sorry to interrupt,” he said. “I wanted to see if I could buy you a drink.”
Vince shrugged. “That’s
nice of you, but I’ve got one, thanks.”
“I was talking to your friend,” the man said, nodding at Paul.
Paul looked over his shoulder at the wall, as if there would be someone standing directly behind him. “Me?”
“Yeah,” the man said, putting his hands flat on the table as he leaned forward. “Saw you earlier. Wanted to get to know you better. If you know what I mean.”
“Oh,” Paul squeaked. “Um. No? Thank you, but no. I’m good.”
The man looked startled. “Really?”
“Really,” Paul said as Vince’s smile began to fade. “I’m good. That was nice of you, though.”
The man looked confused for a moment before shaking his head. “I’ll be around if you change your mind. Boy like you looks like he could use a proper education.”
“I always hated school,” Paul told him.
The man looked like he was going to say something else before he turned and left.
“That was weird,” Paul said. “Why do you think he—?”
Another man appeared at the table. He was the one I’d seen earlier, the Asian guy with the mask covering the bottom half of his face. He sat down in the booth beside Paul like he belonged there. “Hey,” he said, voice slightly muffled. “Can I get you a drink? You’re looking a little thirsty.”
“What the fuck,” Paul whispered.
“He’s got one,” Vince said, starting to frown. “It’s sitting right in front of him.”
Our new friend ignored him. “I like your jacket.” And as if to show Paul just how much he liked it, he reached out and rubbed a hand against Paul’s bare chest. “It would look even better on my floor.”
“Whoa,” I breathed. “Dude, does that ever work on anyone?”