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“That’s the consensus around here, but we have a dinner date and I’m not leaving you with that fucker.”
“Blaze, I deal with guys like that all the time. We can have dinner another night.”
“Or you can both take off and Blair can drive you to the hospital. I’ll pack you both up some burgers and fries to go,” Joker offered.
“I can’t ask you to cover my shift,” Blair said.
“Sure you can,” Joker said. “You’re here almost every night, Blair. You can take off early and I’ll cover the bar. Besides, it’s not that busy around here and Ryker should be back from his supply run soon enough and he can help me close this place.”
“Thanks, Joker,” she said, going up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “You’re a good friend.”
“Yeah, thanks, man,” Blaze said. “I’m not going to kiss you and shit, but I appreciate it.”
“Not a problem,” he said. “Now get out of here before Blaze ends up punching some other asshole.”
“Got it,” Blair agreed, “can you behave while I grab my stuff and the food from Joker.”
“I think that I can control myself for at least a few minutes,” he agreed.
“Awesome,” Blair mumbled, following Joker to the kitchen. She appeared a few minutes later holding a bag and her stuff. “Ready?” she asked him.
“Yep,” he agreed. He hoped like hell that he hadn’t just fucked up their whole night, and she’d still want to spend the night with him. But he had to admit, hearing her say that she was his did crazy things to his heart and was well worth a couple of broken bones.
Blair
Blair had spent the last month at Blaze’s townhome, and she was running out of her favorite shampoo. She planned on running back to her apartment before heading into the Smokey Bandits, but that would mean having to tell her brother that she didn’t plan on coming home any time soon. Blair was sure that Dell had probably already figured that out, but saying the words out loud scared the hell out of her. With any luck, her brother would be asleep, and she’d be able to grab the few things that she needed and take off before he woke.
She carefully unlocked the front door, pushed her way into her apartment, and practically ran right into her brother. “Dell,” she breathed.
“Well, look who’s finally come home,” he teased. He wasn’t using his crutches, just a cane and she looked down to find that he was out of his cast.
“You’re in a walking boot,” she said.
He looked down at his food and smiled, “Yeah. I had an appointment yesterday, not that you remembered. They took off my cast and put me in this thing for the next three to four weeks. Then, I should be good as new and ready to go back out to work.”
“Well, you don’t need to hurry back to work on my account,” Blair said. “I don’t mind you staying here.”
“Of course, you don’t,” Dell said. “You’re hardly home anymore anyway. How is Blaze?” he asked. She was sure that he really didn’t want to know but was just being polite. She hated when her brother was polite—it usually led to a fight.
“Just say what you mean to say, Dell,” she spat.
“I don’t know what you mean, sis,” he lied.
“You do too,” she insisted. “You don’t really care about how Blaze is doing. You want to ask me about my staying with him. Just ask.”
Dell sighed, “Fine, what’s up with you staying at his place for the past month? I’ve been trying to call you and you’ve been just letting my calls go to voicemail.”
She was avoiding her brother, that much was true. Every time he called her, she let the call go to voicemail and then, she’d go to work and forget to call him back until he tried to call her again the next day. She was a coward, but that wasn’t anything new. Having to tell her brother that she was going to stay with Blaze every night didn’t feel right. Plus, she was an adult, so she could stay wherever she wanted and didn’t need to explain herself to her older brother or anyone else.
“I’m sorry that I’ve been avoiding your calls. I just didn’t think that my staying with Blaze was any of your business,” she said.
“It would have been nice to know so that I didn’t wait up for you like I did the first few nights. I mean, sure, I’m slow, but it would have been good of you to let me know sis,” he said.
He was right and knowing that took away her argument. “You’re right,” she mumbled. “I’m sorry.”
“Wait—you just admitted that I’m right,” he said. His smile broadened and she knew that he was about to gloat.
“I know and I don’t have time to stand here and listen to you gloat. I have to grab a few things and head to work. Will you be okay here without me?” she asked.
