Chapter 3
Jade
“Easy on the eyes is a nice start, but it’s not the whole shebang.”
~ Nora O’Sullivan
Hayden Reed was hijacking my date.
A tingle ran down my arm and goosebumps lifted on my flesh as I stared into eyes so blue, they were electric. Sam was tall, built, and good looking. His blond hair and athletic frame would drive any woman at this bar crazy. Except for me, unfortunately.
My chills had everything to do with the man that was seated at the table beside me. His haunting brown eyes and strong, talented hands could make my entire body vibrate with ecstasy.
When Hayden first joined Maisy and Tanya, I’ll admit I had a secret thrill that he would have to witness my date. Not that I was under any illusion that he had any interest in me anymore. He’d made his feelings crystal clear when he’d left me behind in Wishing Well all those years ago. Still, I’d felt a small rush of satisfaction that he’d have to watch as I flirted my ass off with Sam.
Sam leaned in and when his hand brushed against mine, there was no spark, no zing, no anything. Still, I tried to focus on him and not on the man sitting beside me whose presence I felt even without looking at him. It was a totally useless sixth sense.
“You have a great smile.”
“Thanks.”
“And pretty eyes.”
“Thanks.”
“And really shiny hair.”
Shiny hair?
At least he’s trying to be nice and not rating me, I reasoned.
“Thanks.” I felt like I needed to say something more than thanks. “Um, I like your hair, too.”
“People say that I look like Brad Pitt in Thelma and Louise. Do you see it?”
Young Brad Pitt? Nope.
I was saved from responding to Sam’s question when the MC stepped behind the mic stand several feet away from our table.
“Hello, everyone. I’m Woody ‘Wildman’ Russel.”
Woody was a popular radio host out of Dallas that worked with the company I’d talked my brother into hiring for Trivia Night, which Bryson had been reluctant to start. They were a little expensive since they used professional MCs and were more high tech with buzzers that rang in instead of using white boards or chalkboards like other bars did. My brother was worried about not making back his investment but as I glanced over my shoulder I knew that wasn’t going to be a problem. The place was packed on a Thursday night thanks to Trivia Night. I’d told him to try it for a month, if it wasn’t working, stop. That was three months ago.
“I want to welcome y’all to Trivia Night. It looks like we have ten teams competing tonight.”
As he read off the team names, there were hoots and hollers from each one. Some I recognized as returning teams and some were new.
“Another first timer is Rhinestone Cowgirls!”
“Whooo!” Maisy yelled.
“Woot Woot!” Tanya whooped.
I felt a small grin lift on my lips. I was sure that Hayden hadn’t known he was joining the “Rhinestone Cowgirls.”
“And our final team, that is also a newbie tonight, give it up for Nacho Average Squad!”
Our table clapped and I placed my fingers between my lips and whistled. My enthusiasm had nothing to do with our team. When we were kids, the only thing that could get my dog, Houdini, to come home was my whistle. One day I’d used it and it led to the first compliment that Hayden had ever given me.
I’ll never forget preteen Hayden riding his bike up to my front porch, completely slack-jawed.
“Wow,” he said, obviously impressed by my whistling skills. “That’s so cool.”
From that day on, I’d done everything in my power to impress the boy next door. Eighteen years later, I was still doing it. That wasn’t pathetic or anything.
“Rules.” Woody cutoff our cheers. “Each team needs to select a captain. The captain of the team will be the only player that is allowed to buzz in, so make sure you have some Quick Draw McGraws.”
There were rumblings around the room as some of the tables discussed the decision. Our table was silent. We’d agreed unanimously that I would be the Nacho Average Squad’s captain.
Beside me I heard Tanya ask, “You were a captain in the Army, right, Hayden?”
I didn’t hear him respond but I was sure that he did so with a barely perceptible nod. Hayden wasn’t a big talker. It used to frustrate me when we were kids but now it struck me as kind of sexy. After dating guys that couldn’t shut up about their favorite topic, themselves, or guys that talked just for the sake of talking, Hayden’s quiet demeanor was more appealing than ever.
“You should be our captain, then,” Tanya exclaimed as she clapped her hands together.
I had to give it to the girl. She had enthusiasm.
“Do you, Jade?” Sam interrupted my eavesdropping.
“What?” I asked, not having a clue what I’d missed.
“Do you want another?” He motioned to my glass.
I covered it with my hand. “Nope. I’m good.”
As a chronic sufferer of migraines, I had to limit my alcohol consumption. I had a firm two-drink limit and I tried not to drink more than a couple times a month. Any more than that and I was asking for trouble. I could be incapacitated for hours, sometimes even days.
A loud horn sounded and Woody stepped back up to the mic. “First question: Arachnophobia is a fear of what?”
I pressed the buzzer as Sam leaned over and whispered, “Heights.”
He said it so confidently, I was sure that he must be joking. Everyone knew that it was a fear of spiders.
“Rhinestone Cowgirls,” Woody called out, indicating that Hayden had beat me to the buzzer.
“Spiders.” Hayden responded correctly.
“Correct!” Woody enthused. “Rhinestone Cowgirls are the first on the board.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s heights,” Sam muttered beneath his breath.
Oh boy.
Four rounds and over an hour later, it was clear to me that Sam might be easy on the eyes, but there wasn’t much going on upstairs. His lack of knowledge was matched only by his unearned self-assurance that each wrong answer he gave was right. Dumb, pretty, and cocky might’ve been a winning recipe for a no-strings hook-up in my college days, but now that I was reaching the twilight of my twenties, it was just annoying.
Still, I hadn’t had a man touch me in close to two years and I was beginning to think that my dry spell was more of permanent condition than a temporary one.
“OK folks, we’ve come to the semi-finals and it’s down to four teams: Tequila Mockingbird, Suck it Trebek, Rhinestone Cowgirls, and Nacho Average Squad.”
Where Sam’s ignorance had become glaringly obvious, so had Hayden’s intelligence. I’d forgotten how much useless information his brain stored. It was like a steel trap. We used to watch Who Wants to be a Millionaire together and he always knew the answers.
“Which country does the airline Sansa come from?”
I hit my buzzer before Woody even got the question out.
“Nacho Average Squad,” he announced.
“Costa Rica,” I answered confidently because I’d been Googling Sansa from Game of Thrones and the airline had popped up. I clicked on it because I’d never heard of it before and learned it was from Costa Rica.
“Corrrrect! Nacho Average Squad just moved into third place.”
I grinned. As competitive as I was, I didn’t care about being in the number one spot. All I cared about was beating Rhinestone Cowgirls.
“How many official languages does Switzerland have?”
I glanced around my table and saw that Kelsi and Bella had no idea. Sam held up two fingers but there was no way I was going to trust his knowledge. I saw Hayden hit his buzzer. “Tequila Mockingbird!” Woody called out.
After a small pause the captain responded, “Three?”
“No, I’m sorry that is incorrect. Rhinestone Cowgirls.”
Hayden didn’t hesitate. “Four.”
“Correct!”
Of course he knew.
Both Rhinestone Cowgirls and Nacho Average Squad failed to make the final round. Which was fine. The only frustrating part was that our teams finished in a dead heat. Tied. I guess it was better than them beating us, but I would’ve really liked to beat them just to knock the smug expression off of Hayden’s face.
I was still internally pouting when Sam leaned over and whispered in my ear. “That was fun, how about we go back to my place?”
Hmmm. Part of me wanted to say yes, just so Hayden could watch me leave with him. But my hormones were just not on board. Plus, I didn’t feel like leading Sam on. Whether or not he cared.
“I have to get up early tomorrow, so I think I’m going to call it a night. But it was great meeting you.”
I stood and gave him a hug. He hugged me back and I closed my eyes as his strong arms wrapped around me. I held the hug a few seconds longer than I should’ve, hoping that I would feel…anything. I didn’t. I could just as easily be in an embrace with a family member.
After patting him twice on the back, I said a quick goodbye and excused myself to use the ladies’ room. Bella decided to make the trip with me. On our way to the bathroom, I felt the tiny hairs on my arms stand on end and I knew, just knew, that Hayden’s eyes were on me. It was that damned useless sixth sense.
A quick glance over my shoulder verified my suspicion. He was looking. I put a little extra swing in my hips as the corners of my lips turned up. The fact that Hayden was watching me shouldn’t be the highlight of my night, but for better or worse, it was.