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“Well, hey there,sugar. What’s your name? You must be new in town, ‘cause I wouldn’t forget a sweet ass like yours.”
Without turning, my brows furrow as my face scrunches up a bit.What in the hell?Clearing the confusion and disinterest from my face, I turn to look over my shoulder at a disheveled man in his thirties. I can smell the bourbon on him from where I’m standing. I give him a light nod and a tight smile before turning back to the bar.
“Oh, come on now. Don’t be like that, sugar. I’m just trying to make conversation.”
My nostrils flare with irritation. I don’t mind that he’s shooting his shot. Hell, that’s what I came up here to do with Jack. Well, provided I could summon the bravery to do so. What bothers me is thewayhe’s doing it. It’s sloppy, disrespectful, and extremely rude. Not to mention smelly.
I suppress a shiver.
Before my suddenly angry “sweet ass” turns to give him an earful, a deep growl comes from the man next to me.
“Tony, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll go on and head home. Make sure you call a cab. I think you’ve had enough tonight.”
My head turns, my eyes immediately landing on Jack. He’s turned on his bar stool, now fully facing the drunk man.
The man scoffs, his body swaying slightly as one of his brows lift, his expression turning challenging. “I wasn’t talking to you,Jack.Pretty sure I was talking to the pretty young lady here.” He gestures toward me before taking a step forward, stumbling a bit as he jabs a finger into Jack’s chest. “Why don’t you let her answer for herself?”
My eyes widen, and I jerk in surprise as Jack moves lightning fast. He’s on his feet and blocking my view of the overly aggressive man as he stands between the two of us. The next thing I know, the man Jack called Tony fully shoves Jack in the chest, but the lawman is a brick wall. He doesn’t budge an inch.
Jack takes a threatening step forward, steady on his feet as Tony sways back a step. “I’m going to give you one more warning. Stay away from her and take your ass home.”
The menacing tone in Jack’s voice has the hairs on my arms standing on end. I hold my breath, waiting to see if Tony is a smart man or not.
“Whatever man. That bitch ain’t worth all this.”
He stumbles toward the exit, somehow making it out without falling a single time, which is a miracle, I think.
What the hell just happened? I’ve completely forgotten the dare, my mind spinning from the direction the night has turned.
Jack returns to his barstool, his expression much softer when he looks at me directly. “I should’ve broken his nose for calling you a bitch.” He sighs heavily with a shake of his head. “Tony’s an asshole. Steer clear of him, yeah?” I stand there, still stunned.
“Well, first… I gathered he’s an asshole, but thank you for the warning. Also, thanks for stepping in. I could’ve handled him, but it was nice to not have to.”
He nods. “Well, you should be able to come up to the bar and order a drink without being harassed.” He props his head on his hand on the bar, looking my way. His bright blue eyes are clear and warm, even in the terrible lighting.
“Yes, that would be nice and that’s how it should be, but that’s not how the world works all the time. Sometimes you encounter assholes.” I stare off, lost in thoughts of Christopher for a moment. My eyes wander down to my hands as I mumble, “Some are better at hiding it than others.”
A pregnant pause hangs in the air. “Where did you go just now?”
I turn to see a look of concern marring his face. Clearing my throat, I shake off the unwanted feelings and decide I don’t need another drink after all.
I force a smile, but it’s a nervous one. “Um… Nowhere. Thanks again for the help, Jack. Have a nice rest of your night.” I manage another small smile and head back to our table before he can respond.
“What happened? I was about to go over there, but it looked like Jack had it handled,” Charlie says with concern in her voice.
“Nothing to worry about. I’m starving!” I lie.
I sit and dig into the burger I didn’t get to finish earlier, unable to really taste anything. Honestly, I don’t even want it, but I don’t want to waste the food.
The rest of the night goes by without incident. Jack looks back at our table a couple of times. I didn’t catch it, but Charlie made sure to mention it each time she noticed. It’s like she’s being sly or something.
We stay for another couple of hours, dancing and talking, but my mind is no longer in it. Charlie drinks water for the rest of the night so she can drive us home.
Irene wants to cover the night out when we each argue over who’s paying. “I want to treat my girls, so let me,” she orders when Charlie and I both protested.
I try to get back to how I felt when we first got here—happy and carefree—but I can’t shake the uneasy feeling I have now. All it took was one asshole to trigger thoughts of Christopher, and my night became shrouded in darkness.
I know my ex-fiancé will stop at nothing to find me. He’s the monster in my nightmares. One I’m afraid I’ll have to run from for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, that means getting close to anyone at all is a bad idea. One day, I may have to run again just to protect them.
