“Guys, this is my friend, Darren. He owns this place.” She looks up at him with what can only be described as affection and admiration.
“It’s a great place,” Kyle says. “I’m Kyle. Good to meet you, man.” I glare at my friend.
“Thanks, man.”
“And I am Moira,” Doc says, stretching her hand out for a kiss. “I have heard so many great things about you from Ocea here. Glad to finally put a face to a name.” Darren’s lips linger on Moira’s skin.
So, Ocea talks about him? What was that whole car breakdown stunt and the kiss? Darren has that charm that women are drawn to.
“Starfish here tends to exaggerate a bit.” He winks at my girl.My Girl? Where did that come from?Starfish? What kind of a lame-ass nickname is that? Fragile creatures, nothing like Ocea.
Jealousy is like a monster lying dormant, and when it rears its head, it’s an ugly fucker. In retrospect, I don’t know what it was, the way he smiled at Ocea, the kiss she planted on his cheek. Whatever it was had me flying across the table, over Ocea, and pinning him to the floor.
“Get the fuck away from her.”
“Aidan, what the hell?” I can hear her shouting behind me. Kyle is on his crutch, trying to pull me off, but all I see is red.
“She’s a friend, man,” Darren says, pushing against me.
“He’s married, Aidan,” Ocea yells. “And frankly not interested in me in that way.”
“What?” I look back at her.
“Yeah, you’re more my type.” Darren’s voice strains and I let him go. I stand and give him a hand up. I turn to Ocea, who is glowering up at me.
“I’m sorry.” Her small hand connects with my face, and she pushes past me and out the door. My cheeks burn, and I feel like an asshole for my behavior.
I go after her. It’s chilly, and there’s a slight drizzle when I step outside. I catch sight of her about a block away, and I make a run for it.
I grab her arm, and she shrugs free. “What the hell?”
“Look, I’m sorry, okay. I just thought—”
“What? That Darren was into me, so you’d punch his lights out? And so what if he was, huh?” She jabs at my chest. “What if he wanted me?”
“Then he’d get his lights punched out for sure.”
“Why is that? ’Cause, I’m your girl?” She lets out a humorless laugh. “I don’t know why I bother showing you I’m interested. And that kiss, what was that about?”
“God, what do you want me to say?” This conversation is going downhill fast. Why did I react the way I did? She isn’t mine, so why should I care?
“You can start by telling me why you didn’t text or call for two weeks?”
I run my hands through my hair. “I don’t know, okay? I don’t.”
She looks at me, her brows creasing together. “Then, don’t pretend like I mean something to you by beating up people who may show more interest than you do.”
She walks away, and I let her. I’m an asshole. I should go after her and tell her I like her. That she’s been on my mind since the night we met, and I’m afraid of it.
But I walk back to the bar and get in my truck instead of stepping back in there. I made a fool of myself, and I don’t even have the guts to tell a woman how I feel.
7
Ocea
Iwalk into the bar, and Darren has a guilty face. I lift an eyebrow. The one thing my friend does not have is the ability to hold a poker face. I take my usual seat, and I’m not sitting down a second before Aidan joins me, placing a beer on the bar in front of him. I sigh, casting him a sideways glance. He looks sinful in a black leather jacket and a white T-shirt, but I am still pissed at him.
“Can I buy the pretty lady a drink?”
