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Uck, this was going to be bad, but there was no choice but to follow behind his roly-poly form now. At the nearly empty hotel bar, Darren nudged me away from the bar itself and toward one of the high tables by the window. It had two backless stools and overlooked the quiet urban gardens of the hotel.
A waiter in a tuxedo came around to take our order.
“Darren,” he noted, giving him a nod. The man’s French accent rolled across his tongue. “I see you’re back again.”
My ex nodded and laughed. “Not like I can drink anywhere else.”
The waiter looked annoyed. “And you brought a lady friend this time. I imagine she isn’t twenty-one, either?”
Darren winked. “Let’s just say she is.”
The waiter sighed. “This isn’t good for business. Aaron is going to get fired if you keep showing up here like this.”
Darren ignored him. “Just take the girl’s order,” he snarled nastily.
But I felt guilty, so I smiled. “A Coke with a splash of rum for me, please.”
“That’s it? Damn, you haven’t changed that much from high school, huh? Still such a lightweight.” Darren eyed me like some specimen he found hiding under a rock, then turned to the waiter. “Gimme a triple bourbon. Pronto.”
Then he sniffled and shoved greasy hair away from his face with both hands. Frankly, my ex looked puffy and extra sweaty, like he’d run all the way down the block or something. The sweat on his round face only made it more obvious how dirty and limp his hair was.
I frowned, but didn’t say anything about it.
After the waiter walked off to put in our order, I turned towards him, eyes determined to get this over and done with. Unfortunately, my hair fell out of the messy up-do I’d put it in while on the train with a big flop.
“Crap.”
With a sigh of annoyance, I shoved the broken hairclip in my purse and combed my fingers through the long, loose curls. The table shook a little while Darren leaned heavily on it and stared at me.
I ignored the man. He was just being weird for no reason.
A flick of my fingers settled my hair down my back in a long, silken fall. It had grown a lot in the time I’d been with Gunner, Brody, and Hudson, hanging almost down to the middle of my back. High school Kate never would wear it loose like this. Hard Fought loved the long ringlets though. In the middle of making love, one or all of them would pull on it, tugging gently or playing with the locks all the while giving me a scalp massage.
I squirmed again on top of the chair, but for a whole different reason this time. Oh god, the men had me entranced even just thinking of being with them.
But right, I was here for business.
“So Darren.” I tucked a curl behind my ear. “What do you want to talk about?”
The waiter came back with our drinks just then. Once he left, I took a sip of my rum and Coke and waited to see what Darren had to say.
“You look real nice, Kate. Even better than in high school.” He tried the smile on me again.
What the hell?
“Um...thanks? It hasn’t been that long.”
Didn’t he want to talk about publishing or something?
“There’s something new about you, though,” he mused, leaning closer and looking about ready to tumble off the stool and over into my lap. “Your hair looks all shiny and stuff, like a wild animal in the sun.”
A wild animal in the sun? What was going on? The old Darren was never this lyrical or flattering. He was more of the grunt and nod type.
“I’m not even sure what to say to that,” were my puzzled words. “Is that supposed to be a good thing?”
“Hell, yeah.” He reached across to table and grabbed a thick curl. I jerked my head back and my hair slithered from his hand. He kept on talking. “Back in the day you just seemed like some frumpy girl ready to get in the kitchen and cook her man some food. Real domestic, you know. Like your old lady. But now, though, you’re like pretty cat. So attractive.” He grinned at me with his crooked yellow teeth and I flinched, repulsed by the wolfish grin.
His smile was definitely aimed at the wrong Kate. She was dead and gone.
RIP. Definitely don’t miss ya.
That smile of Darren’s made him seem so desperate, and more than a little creepy. I needed to get outta here stat.
Darren wobbled on this stool toward me again. “Take me up to your room and show me how wild you got since high school.” He grabbed my arm and then squeezed my breast.
What was he smoking? No way.
I almost fell off the chair. Disgust ran down my spine, but my parents’ lessons about manners kept me from showing it.
