Chapter Fifteen: Falling
Harper
Work was a madhouse today. We had a bachelorette party in Holbeck from out of town, so a group of ten women dressed to the nines while buzzed on alcohol came in and stayed the whole afternoon, bouncing from table to table, drinking more, and being generally obnoxious. It was normal, but then one of them spilled their drink on the Blackjack table, meaning it had to be shut down and cleaned up. This made the party mad because it was the only game they knew how to play, so all ten of them descended on me like a pack of wild hyenas, fierce and over-the-top.
I did the best I could to smooth it over, but I had other customers in the casino too. It was a weekend, so twice as many came in during the day. Then, an old, sweet-looking man was caught trying to steal from a woman’s purse when her back was turned. So I got to watch as Bones’ friend Hawk dealt with the guy, having to restrain him even as he protected the guy from the swinging purse of the near-victim as she tried to attack the man.
All of this was on top of my regular workload and I wondered if this job was too much to be done alone. At my last job, in Vegas, I was the assistant manager. The manager and I worked as a team to get things done.
Finally, the end of my shift arrived and I eagerly locked up my office. It was early evening and Holbeck’s nightlife was active. There were people on the streets and nearby beaches, bicycling down the sidewalk, or on scooters. The traffic moved steadily in the street and as I stepped out of the glass doors of the Red Stone Hotel, my attention was drawn to a large group of motorcycles making their way down the road. Near the front was Bones, and I kept my eyes glued to him as he rode along, until he turned a corner a block away. I wondered what he was up to or if this was just a normal ride for the club.
Seeing Bones brought all the memories from the night before rushing back to me. Of course, he’d been lingering in my mind all day, but since I was off work, I allowed myself to really think about him. The date was perfect. I couldn’t have planned it better myself, and there wasn’t a thing I would change.
Well … Okay, maybe I would have reminded one of us to bring a condom.
Bones might have had magic fingers, but a part of me wished we could have taken things further. I still wanted to.
Going back to my apartment, I decided to give Abby a call. I hadn’t talked to her in a while and we were long overdue for a catch-up conversation. I poured myself a tall glass of sweet tea, with not quite as much sugar as the southerners around here liked to add to it, and placed a video call on my laptop.
When we were connected, I was shocked to see her with blonde hair. For a moment, I didn’t even recognize her, she looked so different.
“Hi,” she said with a huge smile. “So, I did a thing…”
“I’ll say you did,” I remarked, unable to stop staring. “I had no idea you wanted to go blonde.”
“Yeah, it’s a little crazy.” She ran a hand through her hair. “But I honestly kind of love it.”
I realized it was shorter too. She’d really gone for it. “It looks great,” I said honestly. Abby had always been pretty, and the blonde really worked for her, contrasting her naturally-tanned skin nicely.
“Thanks. It’s pretty much the only thing I’ve been up to lately. But deciding to do it wasn’t easy.”
“Making plans is easy, it’s all about the follow-through.”
“Speaking of, how are things with you? Specifically your love life? Last time we talked it seemed like you were going to try to be open to the idea of a man, even if he reminded you slightly of Rick. You committed to it.”
“I know and I’ve actually been seeing a biker.”
“A biker? Wow, for someone that doesn’t go for bad boys, you’ve really switched sides on that issue.”
“Yeah, I know. I couldn’t help it. I was so drawn to him. He’s not at all what I expected.”
“And he’s interested too? Are you dating?”
“Well… that’s complicated.”
Abby let out a groan. “Girl, it’s always complicated with you.”
“Hey, be nice,” I said. “It’s not my fault this time. He doesn’t do serious relationships. Just casual ones.”
“Sounds like a guy that wants to sleep around.”
“More like he’s been burned by love before and it left a scar. He seems to like me, and there’s definitely chemistry between us.”
“You agreed to this? I know that you want the whole traditional marriage and two-point-five kids thing. Why would you say yes?”
I sighed, propping my chin up with my hand. “I want him,” I said simply.
Abby looked surprised. “You know, I’ve never heard you say that before. Usually, when you talk about men you mention being lonely and list ways the men you could date are all wrong because they remind you of Rick. What makes this guy so special?”