I rested my cold beer against my head, forgoing all hard liquor in the stupor of restless anxiety crawling its way through my inside like a horde of ants, and breathed in deeply.
Just a few more hours.
“Yo!” I heard shouted from my left, making my head turn softly in the direction of Eros. I winced slightly, both from the dull ache building through my skull and the sight of him sporting a black eye. It was practically swollen shut. “What’s up, man? What’s a guy like you doing in a place like this? Aren’t you supposed to be broodin’ at your own reflection until it turns into a puddle or somethin’? You and that creepy fuckin’ skull mask.”
I huffed air out of my nose and crossed my arms petulantly. Even if the skull mask I wore on the bottom half of my face was starting to drive me crazy. “Ryker asks, you go. You know that. Plus, these masks are actually starting to grow on me.”
“Ah, that I do. Hate the fuckin’ masks, though. Ryker making us wear them on duty will forever piss me off. Bastard.” He strolled up to me, dressedin a combination of blue jeans and a black button-up, almost similar to my own outfit if it weren’t for my jeans being black and sporting rips at the knees. He paused for a short second and stared at me as the neon lights nearly danced over the growing, wild beard on his face. I watched as he blinked, twisting his mouth to the side in contemplation, only to promptly slump his ass directly next to mine.
Ah, to be part of a biker gang. If you’re not drinking, fucking, or riding, then you’re in someone else’s personal space.
Joy.
He continued. “Any of these fine women catching your eye?”
A smirk crawled up my lips. “What makes you think I’m staring at the girls?”
“Okay.” He paused, squinting at me for only a second before continuing. “Any of these fine, uh,humanscatching your eye, then?”
“You never know, they could be vampires.”
He blinked owlishly at me and it was really hard to smother my laugh at that point. He looked almost as defeated as a child who just lost the quarter they were going to use for their favorite gumball machine. “I strongly dislike you sometimes.”
I huffed. “No,Gretchen Wieners, I am notfinding anything eye-baiting, eye-catching, or eye-winning tonight. I am just a lonely man with a lonely beer. Do you feel better?”
“Yes, I do,” Eros grumbled, sipping a finger of scotch.
Where he obtained it in the few moments we sat down, I have no idea.Fucking wizard.
“What about that one?” he asked, nodding his head in the direction of the dance floor after a few moments. I narrowed my eyes at him, utterly confused by the now evil smile that started to grow on his face. If I were just slightly dumber, or drunker, I would’ve said that he looked thrilled. For a man with a black eye and an extremely disheveled beard, it was quite a sight.
I turned in the direction of the dance floor, annoyance zapping my spine like a lightning rod. “I told you, man. Not ton?—”
Turns out, he was only being a complete and utter dick, playing on my wildest fantasies.
My heart nearly stopped of its own accord, only to start back up with the beat of a thousand horse hooves in battle—or maybe even the sound of thirty-plus bikers, all riding together, zipping through the lines of our small town, with music loud and laughs louder.
She was dressed like most of the other women in this joint, with dark eyeshadow the color of midnightand her hair even darker. Dark wine color stained her lips, and fuck, if my cock didn’t instantly get harder at the thought of smearing her lip gloss in all the dirty ways I could think of.
My eyes raked down the rest of her. A leather pencil skirt that barely covered her ass, let alone her thick thighs, fit snug against her with a tucked top that matched her lips. Like everyone else, she decided to mix the combination of leather and lace, dark red against her creamy, ink-stained skin.
The combination made her akin to a dark goddess; it was a wonder that I didn’t start drooling.
I knew those tattoos. All eight of them.
How cliche. Of all the nights I complained about my dick having the same attitude of Betty White attending a baptism ceremony, the girl who had haunted my every thought for the last six years decided to make an appearance tonight.
And at a shake joint, no-less.
The realization of that itself sprung my dick to life, right there.
I looked sideways at Eros, brow furrowing as I shot him the darkest glare I could muster. He choked on his laughter and scotch as I whispered a quick, “Fuck you,” and turned back to my girl.
My girl,I thought, humorously.Who doesn’t even know I’m in love with her.
She’s beautiful enough to swallow the confidence of everyone in the room, enough that both devil and angel rested on her shoulder with delight. And yet, a blush always marred her pale cheeks when anyone commented on it.
I couldn’t tell if that made her more beautiful or more frustrating.
