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Crystal watched him raise his beer bottle, and then pause for a moment with it half way to his mouth as his eyes connected with hers. She felt a chill run over her skin as she looked into those eyes. Yes, he was definitely not someone to mess with. Breaking eyes contact with her, he waved two fingers at the guy behind the bar and then nodded his head toward her and Jason. A moment later, two bottles of beer were being set before them.
Crystal’s eyes connected with his again, and she mouthed the words, “Thank you.”
He winked at her, and then turned and began speaking to the guy next to him.
A couple of hours later, the party was getting wild, Marnie was getting drunk and loud, and Crystal was starting to get a headache. She made her way through the crowd to a filthy bathroom down the hall. She splashed some water on her face and looked in the small cracked mirror above the grimy sink. She was long past ready to go, but she knew Jason wasn’t anywhere near ready to leave yet.
She’d seen a side of him tonight she’d never seen before. And she didn’t like it. She’d also seen the looks the members gave him. And she could see in their expressions that they put up with him because Mack was with his sister. And that was the only reason they didn’t run his ass off the property. She was amazed Jason didn’t see it. Maybe he did. Or more likely he was so caught up in thinking he was really something, hanging with the big dogs. And she imagined somewhere in his mind, he may even be entertaining thoughts of actually becoming a member one day. If he did, those thoughts were delusional. This bunch would never really let him in. They’d tolerate him as a hang-around, but he’d never be prospect material. Even she could see that.
Yes, she could read all of that on this very first night she’d come up here.
They’d partied and had a good time tonight, but Crystal had a feeling it would be the last time she’d ever attend one of these parties. Jason had been acting like a know-it-all ass all night. And for the first time, she was embarrassed to be with him.
Slinging her leather shoulder bag on the edge of the sink, she began rummaging through it until she dug out a small bottle of aspirin. She shook out a couple of tablets and popped them in her mouth. Then she cupped her hand under the faucet and brought it to her mouth to chase the pills down.
Twisting the cap back on the bottle, she jammed it back in her bag and took out a lip gloss to quickly swipe some on. When she was through, she checked her look in the mirror, fiddled with her hair a bit and turned toward the door. As she headed down the hall and back into the big room, she immediately knew something was different. Half the guys were shoving out of the front door. Glancing over to the end of the bar, where they’d been standing, she noticed the stools were now empty and there was broken glass all over the floor.
What the hell had happened?
Crystal made her way out the front door as well. She pushed through the crowd and out to the parking lot where she found Jason, Marnie, Mack and half the club.
Marnie was shouting at Mack.
“You’re being an ass.”
Mack was ordering her brother off the property. And according to him, Marnie was welcome to ‘take her bitchy ass with him’.
The next thing Crystal knew, Jason was driving off the lot with Marnie in the rebuilt ’78 black corvette that he and Crystal had arrived in.
As she stood there, staring after the car, she’d wondered how the hell she was going to get home. The asshole had just left her there. And in a way, she was glad.
Turning, she walked back into the clubhouse and returned to the spot they’d been occupying at the end of the bar. She needed to get her jacket, which she’d left there. As she gathered it up, she looked down at the broken glass, where the tussle had obviously started. Grabbing a waste basket from behind the bar, she bent and began picking up the broken pieces, completely embarrassed that she was even connected with those two.
A few moments later, a pair of boots appeared in her peripheral vision. She turned her head, her eyes following up the legs to look up at the man who stood over her. Her eyes took in the leather cut and then his face. Good God, but he was gorgeous. He had dark hair and a beard and the sexiest brown eyes she’d ever seen. He was intimidating as hell with the stern look on his face as he stared down at her a long moment. Then as Crystal knelt there, stupidly mute, the stern look faded and his warm brown eyes crinkled at the corner as he smiled, revealing gorgeous white teeth.
“You don’t have to do that, darlin’. That’s what we’ve got prospects for.” His eyes cut over her head to the man behind the bar, who turned his palms up and shrugged his shoulders as if he didn’t have a clue why she was down on her knees.
Before she could respond, Mack appeared at the man’s side, also staring down at her.
She looked up at him and apologized, even though she hadn’t done anything wrong. “I’m so sorry. We were guests here. That shouldn’t have happened.”
She wasn’t even sure what she was apologizing for, since she wasn’t even sure what actually had happened. She supposed she was just apologizing for Jason being a jerk.
Mack put it more bluntly.
“You’re man’s a dick.”
She nodded. After tonight, she couldn’t help but agree with him. “I’m beginning to see that.”
“Why the hell are you with him?” the other man asked.
“I’m starting to wonder that myself,” she murmured. “It’s becoming apparent he’s just a braggart and a jerk.”
“You’re the only one out of the three that gave a shit enough to apologize. And you
didn’t even do anything,” Mack noted.
“I’m so embarrassed they acted like that.”
