Moments turned to long minutes as we stared each other down. He wasn’t going to back down. And why would he? He didn’t truly understand why I didn’t want to go, and I couldn’t tell him.
So, what other excuse did I have?
Heaving a sigh, I nodded my head slowly. “Alright, fine. But you’re paying for my drinks, and there will be a lot of them. I’m going to get drunk if I’m going to get through this.”
He grinned, slamming his hand on the counter in excitement. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
deacon
“What can I get you?”The nice-looking girl behind the bar leaned over it a bit more than necessary as I surveyed the options, acting like I didn’t know what I wanted.
“Just a beer,” I nodded to the fridge, “thank you.”
“You sure you don’t want anything else?” She batted her eyelashes as if that made the bold proposition land differently. I looked around, my eyes falling on the stage before turning back to her and smiling tightly.
“I’m good, thanks. But I’ll be for sale in less than an hour if you’re interested.” She looked intrigued as she smiled and turned, opening the door to get my bottle. I immediately felt bad for leading her on, it was supposed to be a joke, but it flopped immediately when her interest took it as an opportunity.
I didn’t want to get up there. The game was practically rigged. Half the guys went knowing someone was in the audience planning to buy them, or sometimes their wives or girlfriends let the old bittys in town buy them for a night out to relive their youth. Some of them went up single, hoping to get picked and spark a genuine relationship.
And then there was me.
I went up there … Well, hell, I didn’t know why I went up there because the person Iwantedto buy me wasn’t going to do it. She wasn’t allowed, and if she did, it would set off a boatload of trouble I didn’t need right now. There was enough on my plate with Ma’s diagnosis to worry about the drama between my brothers.
Now, more than ever, we needed to stay strong and help Ma as best we could. Make this the best year of her life as much as you can against regular treatments and illness.
The bartender passed me the beer, telling me it was on the house. Instinctively, I considered saying that wasn’t necessary; tonight was a charity event after all. But then the door behind her swung open, and in walked the last person I expected to see tonight.
The words to the bartender died on my tongue as my eyes skated along the length of her body. She was wearing a silk dress with a slit up her leg, exposing more than I wanted her to show anyone else in this room. Had she done it on purpose to make this night worse for me?
Her eyes found mine instantly as if she had felt them burning into her, and my hand curled tightly around the beer bottle. Before I could do or say anything, my brother walked in behind her, dressed up as nice as Forrest was capable of. He leaned in, oblivious to her stare, whispering something in her ear that made a storm of jealousy raged through me.
It was nonsensical. Iknewthere was nothing but friendship between them, but seeing them so intimate, and publicly so, knowing I could never have that with her, killed me.
“Deacon!” Forrest spotted me with a huge grin and walked over, one hand on Dakota’s back.
“What are you two doing here?” My mouth spoke to my brother, but my eyes never left hers. The event said black tie, and she had outdone any other woman here. She looked incredible. All I wanted to do was grab her by the hand and drag her into a quiet room where I could test if that silk dress made her bounce any easier off my cock.
“Ma insistedeveryonecome. Last year and all,” Forrest explained with that usual nonchalance he used when talking about Ma. It was how he protected himself against feeling worried or scared for her, acting like it didn’t matter. It annoyed the hell out of Beau, but the rest of us saw it for what it was. The baby of the family was losing his mom, and he didn’t know how to deal, especially since he was only a kid when we lost dad.
“So, where is everyone then?” I tore my eyes from Dakota to look around the room for my other brothers and their wives before returning to Forrest.
“On their way, Colt and Wren went to get Ma, and Beau and Rose had to drop Silas off at Carolina’s house.”
“So, you two decided to come early?”
“The way Dakota made me beg for it, I thought maybe we’d be late.” Forrest turned to look at her with a huge grin as she rolled her eyes.
“You didn’t want to come?” I asked because I felt like this would be something I’d ask about in any other circumstance.
“I had a long day at work. I was looking forward to wine and a bath.” Images of her naked in her bathtub, surrounded by bubbles, popped into my head. I immediately had a chub. Shifting uncomfortably, I tried to stop thinking about it, but that damn silk dress looked like water on her body, hiding nothing from my very active imagination.
“Well, I hope you at least get something you want here,” I said carefully, watching the horror pop into her eyes like she thought I was going to blow our cover.
But then again, why would I go and do that?
We knew the rules, and we both abided by them. Nothing was going to change that.
I pointed over my shoulder at the small bar, “I think I saw wine from the White Sage Winery at the bar.”