She clears her throat, her face going back to annoyance. “You don’t have a tab. Your drinks are on the house.”
He stuffs a hundred-dollar bill into her tip jar. “This should cover her shot then, right?” he asks her.
Tucking an invisible hair behind her ear, she purrs at him, “Uh, yeah, totally.”
“Pour up two more of those shots, and this time to the brim,” he says with a wink.
“We’ll take two Ultra Lights too,” I throw in. Hell, if I have to watch her flirt with him, might as well get something out of it.
He looks down at me and smirks like he knows what I’m up to.
Turning his head back at the bartender, he asks her, “I’m sure the band will want a few before they head out. You don’t mind sticking around, do you?”
Her back is facing us and she turns around, her cheeks a deep pink. In her hand are our two beers and a napkin. “Of course, thank you so much, Denton, and are your drinks.” She puts the napkin in his hand, brushing her fingertips against his.
When I glance down at it, it saysStephanieand her phone number written underneath it. I choke on a laugh, and she narrows her eyes at me.
Looking down at the napkin, he bites back a laugh. “Thank you—uh…Stephanie.”
God, I can’t do this. I can’t and won’t compete with women who throw themselves at men like that. I throw back the half-full shot and the full one back-to-back.
“Cheers, to you too,” he huffs a laugh, throwing his shot back.
We take our beers and leave the shot glasses on the bar. Denton gently places his hand on my elbow, steering me toward the stairs that exit the back of the stage.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“I thought we could go somewhere a little quieter to enjoy our drinks, if that’s all right with you.”
When we get to the bottom of the stairs, A trash can is off to the left. He crumples the napkin up and shoots it in like it’s a basketball hoop.
I blink, honestly surprised. “You don’t have to throw that away just because you’re having drinks with me,” I say to him.
His only response is raising an eyebrow while taking a swig of his beer.
“Just sayin’ you might have better luck with her tonight than me.”
I clearly have no filter tonight but it’s the truth. I’m not the type to sleep around. No judgment to her or people that do, but I feel my emotions too deeply. I never liked the way it made me feel and I haven't been with anyone since my ex.
He swallows deep and licks his lips. I feel my body heat rising—flushed and a little embarrassed.
“She ain't the one I just bought a drink for,” he finally responds.
I let out a short laugh. “The drinks were free, remember?”
We smile back at each other and I feel myself relaxing a bit. Letting the tension roll off my shoulders, I don’t want to come across stuck-up. He doesn’t deserve that. It’s not like he knows my past or anything about me. We’re just two people having drinks and then we’ll probably never see each other again aftertonight. I owe it to him to at least be kind. I owe myself to let loose and have a little fun.
He continues to lead the way to wherever he’s taking us. I probably should actually find out before just walking off into the dark with this man I don’t know. We’re headed in the direction to the east parking lot. I parked my rig and horses in the west parking lot.
“Okay, you have to tell me where we're going now, mystery man,” I quip and instantly cringe internally.
God, why is everything that comes out of my mouth so cheesy? It’s like I forgot how to talk to a man.
“We’re going—” He’s cut off by a deep ragged voice that comes out from behind a rig.
“Where the fuck are you going with him, Sorrel?”
It’s Huck. He must have been following us the entire time. Coming out from where he’s hiding he stalks over to us. His face is dark and threatening, looking like he’s about to snap someone’s head off. Huck’s eyes lock onto Denton’s and his jaw clenches, knuckles white around a bottle of whiskey. I could smell the liquor on him earlier, and the bottle is nearly empty now. He’s such a fucking asshole when he’s drunk. Damned cowboys and not being able to hold their liquor.
