Chapter 5
He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to remind himself to relax. This woman was giving him undue stress. He just couldn’t stop thinking about her. Anna. What was she doing? Where was she right now? Would he ever see her again? His dick had been rock hard since she left and he needed relief. He decided to drive into town.
There was a bar there, and it was Friday night. Burning off steam shouldn’t prove too difficult. Even though he'd been living in the mountains for almost a year, he didn’t know anyone personally yet. Inadvertently, the town held some familiar faces.
“Hey, Dom,” the waitress said, sliding her hands down his arm.
He wouldn’t have known her name if it wasn’t for the name tag on her chest.
“Hey, Cherie.”
In general, he avoided the people in town, but it was a small town. People talked. He was foreign, and worse, elusive; of course people were interested in who he was and how they could get to know more about him. Which was why he didn’t come into town often and never brought women to his cabin.
A woman was sitting by herself in an empty booth, curl of hair around her index finger, eye-fucking Dom and daring him to come over and speak. He had more self-control than that. He might have been harder than steel, but he hadn’t lost all the blood in his head.
“Something on your mind?” Cherie slid her finger under his chin, refocusing him to look at her and not around the bar.
“No. Let me get a rum and coke.” If there was something on his mind, he wasn’t planning to spill the beans to her. Dom knew people did that, but his worries were not for sharing. Plus, he had to be careful how much he drank and where. He did not have the kind of life story that anyone could hear. Unfortunately, his secrets and past were a little bit heavier than the average woeful tales.
“One rum and coke, coming right up,” she said, popping a bubble from her gum.
The manager came from around back and held his arms out, as if inviting Dom in for a hug.
“Mister Italy. Long time no see. How are you doing?”
“It’s good, Jim,” he said, holding his glass up as a toast.
“You should come around more often. The ladies love you, man. Every time you leave, women ask about you, you old bastard. Leaving a trail of broken hearts.”
He shrugged just as an older man came into the bar and sat right beside him. As if there weren’t tons of bar stools vacant.
“Hey, Charlie!” Jim clearly made it a priority to know his customers.
“How are you doing, Jim?”
Cherie poured whatever Charlie's regular was and tipped her.
“What’s a guy like you doing here?”
“Where should I be?”
“In between a long pair of legs. There are tons offering,” he said, looking around the bar. “Take your pick.”
Dom shrugged. Charlie looked to be in his early 50s and was obviously wealthy. He didn't look like he was from around here. “I hadn’t noticed.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m in oil. I’m taking a break from an entire day of trying to invest in a pipeline going through the area.”
That was very helpful information.
“That’s interesting,” he said to be polite, not because he actually wanted to talk. If there was anything that screamed leave me alone, it was drinking before five o’clock and alone. He was looking for quiet, not a pep talk from a pervy old man.
“Maybe to some. What I’m finding more interesting is all this cat meowing around you.”
That was a way to say it. “Like I said, I hadn’t noticed,” Dom growled, hoping to make it clear he wasn’t interested in talking.
“Well, I’ve got eyes. I'll notice for the both of us,” he said, appreciating one blonde who was staring at both of them while chewing on a cherry stem.
A brunette with long legs came up and sat one stool down from Dom before crossing her legs and swiveling toward him, giving him a good view.
“Cherie, can I get a sandwich to go?”
“Sure thing, toots,” she said, turning towards the rarely used kitchen.
“Hello, gentleman,” the brunette said, squaring her shoulders.
“Hello yourself.” Charlie said suggestively.
Dom chose to speak by raising his glass.
“Isn’t it a bit early for drinking?” she asked, licking her lips.
“It’s five o’clock somewhere,” Charlie murmured before raising his glass for a refill.
“And what about you, Mister Tall, Dark, and Mysterious?”
“What about me?”
“What’s got you drinking in the middle of the day?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he said with a smirk, hoping it would soften the sting of his rejection.
Cherie returned with wrapped aluminum and the brunette rose to her feet.
“Here you go, dear.”
She paid with her debit card and smiled. She waited with her chest thrust out, but Dom couldn’t pay attention. All he could think of was Anna and what she might look like waking up in his bed.
“See you later, Cher,” she said with a twinge of disappointment as she turned to leave.
“See you later, honey,” Charlie yelled after her, though it was obvious the brunette wasn’t looking to hear from him.
As soon as the door closed, he spoke up. “Good lord. Do us both a favor and pick one.”
Maybe he would have, if the blonde had had more curves. She was skinny with huge tits and a ridiculous shade of red lipstick that reminded him of a clown. He was more interested in a sleepy blue-eyed woman with curves that he could hold onto and perky nips.
“No can do, man,” he said, tipping his cup back before slamming it down on the aged wood.
“Why not?”
“None of them are what I’m looking for.”
He stood up and grabbed money from his wallet before throwing it on the bar counter.
“The one I’m looking for already got away.”