“I don’t,” I argued.
“It’s fine. The radio covered most of it. Barely heard a thing. But you might want to…” He swiped his thumb and forefinger down both sides of his mouth.
Aghast, I rubbed my mouth before laughter danced in his eyes.
“You jerk,” I huffed.
“Couldn’t resist. You’re fun to piss off.”
I pretended to pout, but internally I preened. Beau and I never played like this, and my next relationship needed this easy laughter and playfulness.
Stop! I cannot keep comparing Beau and Jake. For one, Jake is a million times the man Beau is, but more importantly, Jake is my friend. Just a friend.
“In all seriousness, Jake, thanks for coming with me today.”
“You can handle yourself, but I’d have been a regular old worrywart,” he joked.
My heart swelled with affection when he tried to play off my nerves as his own worry.
“I’ll have to keep looking, but my situation’s not so bad. For now, don’t be surprised if you find me in your backyard on Wednesdays and random evening to hide from my parents again.”
I mock-shuddered. His rumble of laughter made the hairs on my arms stand at attention. I crossed my arms to hide the nipples that also perked up.
Get control of yourself, Dani.
“Do you work tonight?” he asked.
“Yup. I work every Friday and Saturday night. Speaking of which,” I gave him a sly smile, “it’s open-mic again tonight. I got tons of extra tips. All the ladies in town were desperate for information on you.”
His laughter reverberated around the cab of his truck, and my lady parts went up in flames. Obviously, I needed to take care of some business before I lost my mind and did something unforgivable, like make a pass at my oldest friend.
“I’ll leave open-mic night and desperate ladies for Ben,” he said in a droll voice.
My trill of laughter followed me as I headed towards my driveway.
“Do you have any other sketchy apartments to visit?” he asked.
“Not yet, but maybe I’ll meet someone at open-mic tonight.”
His grumble of annoyance sent me into another fit of laughter. Despite the failure of my outing, I was in great spirits. I worked hard on my design work for a few hours, refreshed after my little cat nap.
When it was time to get ready for my shift, I dug through the pile of clothes I stored here because of Beau. As I sorted through them, angerflared. None of these clothes were inappropriate, and I was mad at myself again for letting him bully me into giving up the things I liked, including my style and laughter.
I settled on an off-the-shoulder top with an Audrey Hepburn feel paired with some baggy cargo pants. My boobs were nothing to write home about, but I enjoyed yoga and weightlifting, and it showed. I looked good.
Work started off great. While I kept an eye out for Jake, I didn’t expect him. Most of Sierra Rose Ridge was at the Tavern tonight, though.
The night was busy. Beau showed up and tried his nonsense again, but I wasn’t having it. I’d forgotten who I was for too long, but the old me was still in there and had no patience for manipulative men. When I laughed at his latest attempt to shame my clothing, he scowled, and I was freer than I had in years.
We cleaned up after open-mic ended. Closing wasn’t for another hour, but the crowd had thinned after the entertainment ended. The kitchen was off and mostly cleaned up, and Dakota had already left. The other bartender, Bethany, cashed out her register since Neil and I closed on Friday and Saturday nights.
Those who remained were a mix of folks still on the lookout for their next hookup, unrepentant party-goers, and those determined to eke every bit of fun out of their Saturday night with their friends.
“Your soldier’s here,” Neil said.
I spun around, and a smile broke over my face. He came!
Neil’s quiet laughter faded as I made my way towards Jake.
