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“I always forget how blunt you are, man.”
“No point in beating around the bush,” I said. “She wasn't going to get anywhere with me and she needs to earn a living after all. Better she finds somebody willing to pay for her services.”
Danielle had always hated this place, and I could see why. Temptation and vice lurked in every corner. Beautiful women threw themselves at you left and right. She'd never had anything to worry about when she was with me, though. I took my promises very seriously, and cheating went against everything I stood for. If you're not happy with your current partner, leave. Don't fuck around with them and don't fuck around on them.
Not that I'd always felt that way but seeing how an affair turned my mother's life upside down and changed her, I'd sworn to never get caught up in that sort of thing myself. For her. Because I knew if my mother ever discovered I was unfaithful like my father, it would kill her. That was the last thing I ever wanted to do.
“Well, look who's here,” Greg said.
I looked up and followed his eyes to see what he was staring at, and spotted Casey – the feisty, take no shit waitress he'd talked about earlier. She saw us and smiled, a huge, genuine smile that showed off her full lips. Her dark, nearly black hair had caramel highlights I'd never noticed before – and I only noticed then because the light hit her hair just right. Her thick, wavy hair fell down around her shoulders and down her back. Her skin was almost too pale for hair that dark and reminded me a lot of Snow White. But, it was her large brown eyes that seemed to tie all together.
“You should go talk to her,” Greg said.
“I told you, I'm not interested in dating right now,” I said. “I have a lot of family stuff to deal with. I don't have the time or interest for anything else.”
“Suit yourself,” he said. “So, what was that important family meeting about anyway?”
I hesitated and wished I had a drink. I wasn't sure it was something I wanted talk about outside the family – even with Greg. He may have been my friend, but he was not the most level-headed of guys out there. Not to mention the pressure he'd put on me to sleep around would have been even stronger, because he'd be able to hold the whole baby thing over me.
Not that I'd wanted to impregnate some random woman I met in the club anyway. That's not how I wanted to go about doing this. I wasn't sure how I wanted to go about it, but I knew that wasn't the way.
“My dad has a brain tumor,” I said.
I looked up again, and saw that Casey was making her way toward us to get us some drinks, which couldn't have come at a better time. I had the sudden urge for something stiff to take the edge off.
“Fuck, man,” Greg said. “I'm really sorry to hear that.”
Casey asked, “Sorry to hear what?”
Greg answered before I had the chance to shut him down. “His old man is dying.”
“I didn't say he was dying.”
I flinched as I remembered what Dad had said. It was terminal, even if the tumor was benign. Casey looked at me, wide-eyed as if she was trying to decide whether or not she should stick around. There was nothing but kindness in compassion in those big doe-eyes of her.
“It's okay,” I said. “It's a brain tumor, it's benign, but he's still terminal. He's got a few years left in him, at least.”
Casey's eyes softened, and she said, “I can come back, if you need to talk to your friend.”
“No, it's fine. I need a drink,” I said, smiling up at her. “Can I have the usual?”
“Scotch on the rocks, got it,” she said and turned to Greg. “And for you?”
Greg slid over in the seat, making it obvious that he was checking out her ass, his neck craning to get a view. A slick, greasy smile made its way across his face and I just shook my head.
“I'll take whatever you're offering, sugar,” Greg said, his voice dripping with suggestion.
The smile on Casey's grew, and she spoke with the sweetest voice possible. “You couldn't handle what I have to offer up, sugar.”
The last word dripped with sarcasm, and I stifled a laugh. She continued grinning down at him, as if everything was fine. Greg, on the other hand, didn't take a hint easily. If anything, he seemed encouraged by what she said. Dumbass.
“Oh yeah?” he asked, sounding like a greasy, used car salesman. “Well, I'd certainly like to try –”
He reached out to grab her ass, but she was faster than he was. A lot faster. She grabbed his arm with the well-practiced ease of a woman used to fending off creepers. She gripped his arm and held it tight.
“Listen, I just had a run-in with Jon Lincoln – you know, the big asshole football star that's built like The Hulk?” she sneered. “And you've got nothing on him. If I can make him run out of here like a little bitch, you sure as hell don't stand a chance, dude. So, do yourself a favor and back off.”
I tried not to laugh. Greg finally got the hint, a flash of embarrassment in his eyes.
