“Do guys always hit on you?” She cocked her head to the side.
“No, not really, and when they do, I never know what to say. You hear horror stories about how men react to being dismissed, don’t you?”
“You don’t find any of them attractive? I mean, you're young and beautiful. You should be living your life. I’m not saying letting every man fuck you, and maybe stay away from bikers because that never ends well, but you couldn’t even meet that guy's eyes just now.”
My cheeks flamed scarlet. “It’s just that I…um…”
“Do you like girls?” Sy lifted her hands and grinned. “I don’t judge. I don’t mind either, so that’s cool with me.”
“God, no. I mean…” I stammered. “I don’t mind if you do, but I like boys. I just haven’t had much experience around them. I grew up pretty sheltered and went and worked with children and their families. I just didn’t have time.”
Sy fell silent. “Well, there’s nothing wrong with that. Believe me, it’s better than getting serious with the first man who pays you attention.” Reaching across the bar, she patted my hand. “Take an old woman’s advice on that.”
“You’re not old, Sy.” And she wasn’t. Older than me, but definitely not old. I had seen every man in here look at her admiringly when they walked in, and I couldn’t blame them. She was all sorts of glamorous. Even if she was working in a biker pub and spent her days pouring drinks.
“I think that’s why I freaked out when Pocket—”
She cut me off with a look I couldn’t read. “Pocket seems like a good man, but looks can be deceiving. Try to stay away from…” She trailed off and her eyes went wide as the sound of bikes filled the quiet pub before cutting off. “Talk of the devil and the devil will appear.”
Confused, I turned on my stool and watched as the door opened and Pocket and Duke walked through the door.
“How the hell did you know it was them?” I asked in a shocked whisper.
Sy grinned. “Their bikes.”
“You knew which ones were coming from their bikes?” I asked incredulously. “That’s completely nuts.”
“Years of practice.” She whispered before straightening and turned towards the two men who came stomping towards us with their boots dripping water all over the floor. “Hey guys, what can I get you?” She asked and even though her voice was friendly, there was no real warmth in it. It was like she was on autopilot around them, and it made me wonder about her even more. It was clear she had a history with bikers, but she didn’t want to share the details with me. I couldn’t really blame her. We all had secrets, and I didn’t want to share my past with her either.
Duke ordered, Pocket remained silent. He didn’t even look at me and that, more than anything else, made me uncomfortable.
Gathering up my courage, I turned towards them. “Hi, Duke.” I waited for Pocket to lift his eyes to me. “Hi, Pocket.”
He barely lifted his chin in response and then went back to staring forward and my heart sank. Was he really that mad at me because I hadn’t wanted to have phone sex?
Without thinking about it, I reached for the tiny shot glass still sitting in front of me and swallowed it down in one go. A burning fire raged down my throat.
God, that was disgusting.
“You look like you’re having fun, Chloe.” Duke laughed as I gagged. “And you look amazing.”
His eyes raked over me, taking in the clothes I had borrowed from Sy, which were completely different to what I was used to in every way. She was all old time glamour, and I preferredflorals and floaty material if I wasn’t in jeans. “Doesn’t she look good, Pocket?”
“Sure.” Pocket didn’t even lift his eyes. Pulling his pint of pale gold beer towards him, he stared down at it. “She looks fine.”
Duke rolled his eyes. “Don’t mind him. He’s been moody since he got back and won’t tell anyone why. I thought seeing you might cheer him up.” Duke winked.
“Me? Why would I cheer anyone up?”
“Seeing some pretty ladies always cheers me up.” Duke grinned, his eyes travelling between me and Sy.
“Yeah.” Pocket's voice was gruff. “It’s always nice to come and see Sy.”
My heart gave a pang that made no sense. I didn’t know Pocket at all. We weren’t even friends, but hearing that he preferred my roommate was like a kick in the gut. Not that it surprised me. Sy was beautiful and more his age. Why would he even look at me when she was around?
“Don’t be an asshole, Pocket.” She ground out the corner of her mouth.
“I’m not.” Pocket turned to me and his smile was cruel. It was like looking at a totally different person. This wasn’t the sweet man who had let me sleep in his lap because I was exhausted. This wasn’t the man I had imagined him to be when I had saved him, and he had asked if I was an angel in his delirious state.
