AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Broken Sky
SKYLAR
PERSEPHONE AUTUMN
Chapter One
SKYLAR
“He’s looking at you again,” Kirsten says in my ear.
I lift the brown bottle to my lips, take a sip, and peer down the bar. For the third time, the man at the end has his eyes locked on my profile. Before he catches my stare, I avert my gaze to the wall of liquor bottles. Study the colored glass with too much interest.
“Can we go?” I twist to face Kirsten. “Please.”
Coming out to the bar was not my idea. Personally, I’d rather sit on the couch with sour cream and onion potato chips, red licorice, chocolate, and a can of Dr Pepper. Binge-watch true crime documentaries all night with the lights off and curtains drawn.
Sounds like heaven.
Unlike these constricting heels Kirsten insisted I wear tonight. Along with the skintight, leaves-nothing-to-the-imagination red dress. Both of which came from her closet. Not that I wouldn’t own them, but I tend to lean toward nonconstrictive apparel and flatter shoes.
Kirsten pushes out her bottom lip and tilts her head. “But we haven’t danced yet.”
Dancing and I are not best friends. Kirsten is well aware of this fact. If she wasn’t already on her second Long Island Iced Tea, she would remember this. And I would probably say no. But then she sticks her lower lip out farther and bounces like a child ready to throw a hissy fit.
So, like the good friend I am, I cave.
“Fine.” She smiles and claps and bounces for a different reason. I hold a finger up and point at her. “But only for a few minutes. Then, I’m leaving.”
“You’re like an old lady. It’s not even midnight.” I cock a brow and she raises her hands in surrender. “But I’ll take what I can get. Sheesh.”
I drink the last of my beer before she drags me onto the dance floor. Literally. I almost face-plant from these ridiculous heels.
One dance, then I can kick these heels off.
Dead center in Dalton’s Pub and Billiards, with maybe thirty other people on the open dance floor space, Kirsten throws her hands in the air, tips her head back, and swings her hips to the music. My skin dampens as I join in. My eyes dart around the crowd, making a mental note of everyone here. I love to dance, but prefer to embarrass myself in privacy.
Thankfully, I know no one here tonight.
Live a little, Sky. You’re young, vivacious, and gorgeous. That is what everyone tells me, anyway.
The pub music varies from song to song, depending on who gets to the jukebox first. At the moment, a pop song from early last year spills from hidden speakers. I close my eyes for two deep breaths, then sway to the beat. One song transitions into another and I get lost in the music. Forget about my dislike of crowds, my phobia of being the center of attention, and enjoy the night out.
When my eyes reopen, Kirsten’s widen as they look over my shoulder. Before I open my mouth to ask what is wrong, a wall of heat blankets my backside. Whoever it is, they aren’t so close we touch. Our bodies inches apart. A stranger standing far too close. An invasion of my private bubble.
I mouth to Kirsten, “Is it him?”
Imperceptibly, she nods.
Great.
Somehow, some unfamiliar instinct deep down knew it was him.
My eyes close for one deep breath before I spin to face the man from the end of the bar. Ask him why he kept staring my way. Why he followed me to the dance floor. In the process, and because grace is not my middle name, I twist my ankle and fall forward. On him.
Fuck. My. Life.
“Are you okay?” he shouts above the music, hands cupping my elbows.
