“I think I’m good,” I say, lifting my beer.
“To hell you are,” he exclaims, pushing the brown liquid toward me. “I saw the way you walked in here. Something has to quench the sting of getting left high and dry.”
Rex laughs as he and Michael raise their glasses.
“To …” Michael begins, and I just raise an eyebrow.
They both look at me, waiting. I start to sweat a little under their glare, knowing that I have to come up with something good or I am about to get pummeled right here and now. I raise my glass and say, “To not fucking up.”
“Damn straight,” Michael says as we all cheers and take the shot.
“Speaking of which, are you still planning on moving back to Kentucky at the end of December,” Rex asks.
“Yeah … about that,” I say. “I don’t know, I heard of two club owners that might want a little work done on their club. I’m thinking I might make this move permanent.”
At least for now, I think to myself.
“Good answer,” Michael says as he fills our glasses one more time.
They both shoot theirs back, but I sit with mine for a while, realizing the decision I just made. In only a few week’s time, I have allowed a woman to have a pull over me that I swore to myself I would never let happen again. And even though I should probably feel anxious and sick to my stomach, I actually feel relieved and secure. A peace I have not felt the past few years settles over me when I am with her. As odd as it sounds, she feels like home. And a wise man once said if it feels like home, you should follow your heart and never look back.
“Speaking of killing the sting,” Michael says, breaking my train of thought. “Rex here is well on his way to erasing a ghost that reared its ugly head this last week.”
Rex pushes back in his seat, slumping low he closes his eyes and holds his head in his hands.
“I thought you promised not to mention her name,” he says, wincing at the thoughts obviously running through his brain.
“Did you hear a name in that sentence? Shit, you’re more fucked up than I thought,” Michael laughs.
Rex raises his middle finger but keeps his eyes closed. A few moments pass, and I am not sure if he is passed out, trying to stop the room from spinning, or dealing with the shit in his head.
“What is all this about?” I ask.
“A certain redhead has haunted him for years,” Michael explains, and my mind immediately goes to Eva’s friend, Gwen. “Poor bastard screwed that door shut on his own a long time ago, and no amount of banging has ever inched it back open again.”
Being the first time I have ever heard anything about it, I look at my friend and see him open up one eye, glaring at Michael.
“If I wasn’t seeing double of you right now, your ass would be on the floor,” he slurs, raising his glass and taking another sip of whiskey.
“Sure, lover boy.” Michael laughs. “She’s moving back home, you know.”
Rex sits up straight. “Shut the fuck up,” he says.
“I heard her say so to Ev at the club the other night.”
My stomach turns as I take in what I just heard. Eva was at the club the other night? What night? As much as I know we haven’t discussed being exclusive, those are definitely my intentions, and I don’t like the idea of her anywhere where some other guy could put his hands on her. Hell, I could hardly stomach the idea of any man looking at her, knowing what they must be thinking. That first night I met her is proof enough.
“She was at the club?” I try and ask without drawing attention to myself.
Michael smiles as if he knows what I must be thinking, “Yup, two nights ago,” he tells me as I let it all sink in. “That is where this all started,” he gestures towards Rex.
I think about Rex’s issue for about two seconds before being dragged back into my own thoughts about a certain blonde that has rocked my world and turned it completely around in such a short time.
Eva has succeeded in thrilling me in every way imaginable. Strangely enough, somewhere in losing myself to her, I feel as if I am finding myself, too. Knowing that I made a life-changing decision tonight, I take several minutes to contemplate if I will grow to regret it. Even if the thought of her in the local hook-up spot has me a little twisted, I know without a doubt that I won’t. A smile slowly spreads across my face as I raise my glass to my lips.
Chapter Eighteen
Eva
