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“What’s up?” I didn’t want to deal with him but didn’t want to be rude either.
“I figured we could get a drink. Your dad told my mom that you were in town. I can’t believe I just happened to run into you. Must be fate or something,” the oily man sneered.
Dammit, Dad. Why the hell would you do this to be?
My jaw clenched in frustration and I just stopped myself from rolling my eyes. Bernard was a good guy and really sweet. Still, he sometimes forgot that I was a grown-up and could guide my own life.
“I’m not really thirsty,” I murmured with a fake smile, backing away slowly. Darren smelled a tiny bit. “I just came from my folks’ place after traveling pretty much all day, and you know how that is. I’m so tired I could just fall into bed and not leave it for a week.”
Darren looked me up and down like he was trying to see into my brain, peering left and right as his head cocked.
“Yeah, I know you were home,” Darren said. “Your dad told my mom, like I said. But it’s more than that. Bernard gave me a call and asked if I could meet up with you if I was in the neighborhood.”
If he was in the neighborhood? This smelled like a set-up. A really bad one because Dad should’ve asked Mom before he decided to butt into my business. The last thing I wanted was a blast from the past of the bad kind.
Being near at Darren with his bad skin and greasy hair just reminded me how things used to be. But that was behind me now. My present and future were all about Hard Fought. I had no intention going backwards towards Darren. Even if it was only for a drink.
“Come on, Kate,” the greaseball wheedled. “What would it hurt? It’s just one drink.”
He looked at me with a pleading smile. The same begging smile that had gotten him close—though not close enough—to plucking my virginity in high school.
“We’re both underage,” I noted suspiciously. “How would we get into a bar?” Of course, I drank with Hard Fought sometimes, but nothing more than a light wine spritzer. And it was different if you were being supervised by three men in their thirties, gorgeous and strong.
But Darren was nothing like Brody, Hudson and Gunner, and I didn’t trust him to look out for me at all. The guy had basically been trying to snare me since the Ice Ages as the only girl who gave him more than a single glance. And back then, my self-esteem had been poor, which was the only reason why we were sort-of a couple. As shitty as he and his octopus hands made me feel sometimes, I’d been dumb enough back then to want approval. Even if it was approval from Darren, it was good enough.
Now, Darren was history because no smile, no matter how pathetic, was gonna get me to hang out with him when the band was only a few steps and an elevator ride away.
“My brother bartends at this place not too far from here. No ID required if you’re with me,” he said with a wink. “I’m your free pass to Whiskeytown.”
“No thanks,” I smiled politely. “I’m good. Sorry you came all this way for nothing.”
Darren’s face drooped and he looked even more like a sad puppy. “Come on, Kate,” he wheedled. “I’m a new editor at a publishing house now. We can talk about the book you’ve been writing if you want. Doesn’t that sound awesome? It’s hard to find that kind of hook-up you know,” he said self-importantly.
Not in the mood for this, I smiled politely and started to tell him “no” again.
But Darren kept going. “Anyway, what about one for old time’s sake? You’re just going to blow off your old boyfriend you were with for so long?”
Crap. For so long. Yeah, way too long.
Guilt stabbed me right in the belly. I should’ve broken it off with him long before senior year. Darren probably would’ve gotten with some other girl in high school then, instead of getting nothing from me. The guilt twisted in my soul again and I looked over my shoulder towards the hotel.
Dammit.
I sighed. “Okay. Sure. Just one drink though.”
He looked like he’d just won the lottery. “Great. It’s just in that hotel right there. That’s where you’re staying, right?”
How did he know that?
I frowned and hid a shiver of nervousness.
What did my dad just set me up for?
Tugging at the sleeve of my coat, I cursed internally and wished I hadn’t opened up my big mouth.
“Well, the band is staying there. You know, the one I work for.”
“Cool, come on,” Darren prattled like he hadn’t heard. “I hear they have some pretty rad cocktails. My bro has always been good at making drinks.” He giggled and waggled greasy brows at me. “Get it?”
