“Ladies,” I said politely, not taking my eyes off Indira.
“Mind if we join you?” The taller one slid into the seat beside me without waiting for an answer. “I’m Ashley, and this is Trixie. We met you at the Asheville rally last summer.”
I had no memory of them, but that wasn’t unusual. I’d met a lot of women at rallies over the years.
“Actually, I’m waiting for someone,” I said, hoping they’d take the hint.
“Business meeting?” Ashley pressed closer, her hand landing on my thigh. “We could wait with you. Make it more fun.”
Trixie giggled and moved to my other side. “We know how to keep secrets, don’t we, Ash?”
Six months ago, I would have taken them up on the offer without a second thought. Would have had them both in my hotel room before the night was over, just because I could.
Now, the thought made my stomach turn. Crystal’s perfume. Indira’s face in the doorway. The look in her eyes.
“Thanks, but no.” I removed Ashley’s hand from my leg. “Not interested.”
“Come on,” she pouted. “Don’t be shy. We flew all the way from Denver when we heard Venom Riders would be in town.”
“Then you wasted a trip.” I stood up, pulling out my wallet. “Excuse me.”
I dropped twenty bucks on the table and headed for the bar, leaving both women staring after me in confusion. At the bar, I ordered another beer and tried to process what had just happened.
I’d turned down easy sex. Not because I was playing hard to get, not because I was trying to be strategic. Because I was choosing to be intentional about intimacy now. Because I’d learned the hard way that sex without meaning just left me feeling emptier than before.
When had that happened? When had I become the kind of man who could walk away from meaningless hookups because I was building something better in myself?
I glanced back toward Indira’s table and found her watching me. Our eyes locked, and for a moment, the rest of the world disappeared.
She’d seen the whole thing. Seen Ashley and Trixie throw themselves at me. Seen me walk away.
Her expression was unreadable, but she didn’t look away. We stared at each other for what felt like hours but was probably only seconds. Something flickered in her dark eyes—surprise, maybe. Confusion.
Then one of her friends said something that made her turn back to the group, and the moment was broken.
My supplier chose that moment to text me:Running late. 30 minutes, 60 max.
I should have left the bar. Should have waited outside or found another place to kill time. Instead, I stayed at the bar, nursing my beer and stealing glances at the woman who’d once been everything to me.
She never looked my way again. When her group got up to leave an hour later, she walked past my position at the bar without acknowledging my presence. Close enough that I could smell her perfume-something new, something I didn’t recognize.
But as she reached the door, she paused. Turned back. Our eyes met one more time, and this time I saw something that gave me hope.
She didn’t look angry. She didn’t look hurt.
She looked curious.
Then she was gone, disappearing into the snowy Montana night with her friends.
Chapter 12
?
— Dutch —
Icouldn’t get the look in Indira’s eyes out of my head.
Three in the morning, sitting in my hotel room, and that moment of surprise on her face was all I could see. Not anger. Not hurt.Surprise.Like she couldn’t believe I’d actually walked away from easy pussy.
