Chapter Three
Dylan
"Did I just see a woman walk away from you?" Joey asked.
I shrugged. "Seems fair."
I slumped back into the booth next to Joey. He'd had just enough to drink that his attention was drifting away from women and back to his true love: cars. I watched him scroll through another page of auction cars. Then Joey lowered his phone and turned to me.
"She didn't think you looked familiar? My ex-wife did that all the time. Made me think I was in one of those sci-fi movies where my dimension looked the same but wasn't normal."
Joey prepared to explain his sci-fi theory further, but I held up a hand. "She thought I was using a line on her. Obviously, my conversation was not up to par."
"Look at her. High expectations are the least of your worries." Joey snorted and turned his attention back to the available cars.
"You're right," I sighed. "She's the kind of girl who wouldn't look kindly on my checkered past. Once she got to know me, there'd be no way I was good enough for her."
Joey's phone clattered to the table. "You're worried you're not good enough for her?"
I crumpled up a cocktail napkin. "She's a lawyer, law-school, and has a career. I didn't go to college. Most of the time I have grease under my nails and oil on my clothes."
"And none of those things have ever stopped you." Joey's phone was now forgotten, the screen going dim over the image of a '67 Chevy Impala. "So, there's something different about this girl."
"Not really. She just seems familiar." Saying it out loud didn't make Bethany's effect on me any less. My chest felt as if my last shot of whiskey was still burning its way down.
Joey hooked an arm over the back of the booth and scratched his stomach, a surefire sign he was going to try to be wise and give me advice. "You're attracted to this girl. What's the problem? She doesn't have any idea what your life has been like. All she knows is you tonight. So, go for it."
I snorted. "Go for it. Yeah, it's always that simple."
"All I'm saying is you don't have to be the one to complicate it," Joey said.
I glanced over at Bethany and briefly caught her looking back at me. So, she'd walked away from me. That didn't stop me from being on her mind. Now she was more of challenge. I felt it igniting in my gut. Her eyes flickered in my direction again, but I didn't even have time to smile before she turned primly back to her party.
"Having a criminal past is always a little complicated," I said.
Joey groaned. "A few joy-rides and some vandalism here and there hardly make you a hardened criminal."
"Yeah, but she looks like the good girl. Never out after dark. Always said 'please' and 'thank you.' She ate an apple every day of fourth grade because she'd heard it was a healthy habit." I chuckled a little at the sudden disjointed memory and rubbed my chest again.
"And never once had any fun. Until you came along," Joey conjectured.
"Bethany will be better off if I leave her alone," I said. "Can you imagine her being impressed with a quick ride in a sports car? She wouldn't even notice the color."
Joey looked at Bethany again and licked his lips. "Yes, actually I can imagine her in a sports car. Hair down, blowing in the wind— Ouch!"
I kept my fist tight and aimed at his shoulder in case he needed another reminder to be polite. "That's a nice woman you're talking about."
"Damn, man." Joey rubbed his shoulder. "Feeling protective, are we?"
My fist dropped to my lap. This was getting out of control. I didn't have any claim over Bethany. She wasn't my type, and it didn't look like our lives would ever overlap again. It didn't matter that the thought of not seeing her again started a wildfire in my brain.
The thought gripped me: I wanted to see Bethany again. It felt like the only possible way to get her out of my system.
Her appropriate yet dead-boring colleague was not holding Bethany's attention. I waited until her eyes drifted my way again and then gave her a little wave. Her almond eyes widened, and she carefully shifted to get me out of her sight lines.
"I'm going to ask her out," I declared.
Joey laughed. "Thank god. I thought you were going to stew over that for another hour. So, what's the hold-up?"
"About five years of bad decisions," I reminded Joey.
"Yeah, you were a delinquent when I hired you but look at what's happened since then." Joey sat up and tossed his gilded business card on the table. "I wouldn't have that fancy little calling card without you."
I picked it up like a lucky charm. "Fine. I'll say it again. Italy was a damn good idea."
"And now you're a custom mechanic for celebrities with your own following." Joey snatched his card out of my hand. "Face it. We're catches."
"Women think they're going to catch something from you when they see that shirt," I joked.
Joey shoved me out of the booth. I might have been taller, but he was built like a bull and rock solid from years of manual labor.
"Was it something I said?" I asked.
"All your whining. You like the look of that prim little lady then go and ask the girl out!" Joey heaved himself out of the booth and headed toward the bar. "I'm getting us one more round."
"You're not buying that Impala," I called after him. "We're supposed to be specializing in foreign cars!"
Joey's one-fingered response made me laugh but the easy feeling slipped away when I turned in Bethany's direction.
What would she say when she found out I'd gone to juvenile hall?
I shook it off. That was all in the past. I held my mistakes like a badge, a wall between me and the idealized life I’d had before. I didn't deserve that anymore, but I was working my way up. I was going to earn back the life I had once thrown away.
Thanks to Joey, I had gotten a job right out of juvenile hall. I'd walked the straight and narrow until Joey proposed his brilliant plan: move to Italy, work on cars there, get experience in the world of high-end sports cars, and come back to the United States with all the connections and know-how we needed to succeed.
Bethany was watching me. Actually, a few people were sending me curious looks. I was standing in the middle of the VIP lounge and making people scoot around me in the tight space.
I took a step toward Bethany but a bright blond head blocked my way. "Hello, handsome. How was your whiskey?"
I glanced down and saw the diminutive blonde from the bar. "Jasmine, right? Thanks for flagging down the bartender earlier. Why don't you get yourself a drink on our tab?"
She smiled but did not head over to the bar or get out of my way. "How come you're not dancing tonight?"
I watched as she dipped into a sexy little shimmy in front of me. "Sorry. I'm not much of a dancer," I said.
"I wouldn't mind dancing for you," Jasmine purred.
"Not tonight, sexy. Though my friend in the loud shirt over there might like you to keep him company." I gently put my hands on her shoulder and tried to shift the persistent blonde out of my way.
Jasmine pouted and hooked a finger into my belt. "But not you? And here I thought you were looking a little lonely."
I sighed and unhooked her hand. "Not lonely. Just trying to get reacquainted with someone I swear I know. An old friend, maybe."
"New friends are much more fun. I can prove it to you," Jasmine said.
She pressed closer to me, her head only coming up to the middle of my chest. Her back arched as she lifted her face way up to give me another flirty smile. I felt her perky breasts rub against me.
Normally an adorable and aggressive little blonde was just the easy-going companion I was looking for but tonight was different. I didn't dare glance over at Bethany's table for fear that she was witnessing the blonde draping herself all over me. I wanted more than a little bit of fun.
Again, I put my hands on the petite blonde's shoulders and set her back. Hopefully that was what Bethany would see if she was giving me any more secret glances.
"Sorry, cutie. I've got to catch up with someone else," I said.
"Who?" Jasmine asked. "That snobby-looking one in the booth over there?"
"She's not snobby; she's nice." I stepped around the short blonde.
"She's on a set-up. Sure you want to stroll into the middle of that?" Jasmine asked.
I turned around. "How can you tell?"
Jasmine smiled, glad to be of service. "Her friend's been trying to shift the seating chart over there for at least an hour to get those two next to each other. He looks nice. A bit boring but a really good guy."
I scowled. "He does look boring."
Jasmine giggled. "Jealous? I know the best cure for that."
She slunk under my arm and pressed her curvy little body against mine. Then one hand drifted up my stomach, and her delicate fingers danced up to my chest.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Making her jealous right back. I think it's working," Jasmine said.
There was a sweet little crease in the middle of Bethany's forehead. Her shoulders were stiffly set, as if she was forcing herself not to turn toward me. I watched as she trained her eyes on the boring guy's face but her glance couldn't keep still. Another few seconds and her eyes slid in my direction.
Bethany was interested in me! The only problem was the crease in her forehead was deepening. There was no way she'd talk to me with a sexy little blonde hanging on my arm.
"Thanks for the assist, sweetheart, but I think I can take it from here." I unhooked Jasmine's arms from my body again and gave her a gentle shove toward the bar. "Go get yourself a free drink on me."
She caught my hand and tugged me along after her. "I'll have what you're having."
I shook her off like a playful kitten. "I'm done drinking tonight. I've got to drive home."
"Later. We've still got hours to play," Jasmine said.
I extricated myself from her grip and turned away. She wasn't taking any gentle hints, so I was just going to have to walk away.
That's when I saw Bethany's booth was empty. Her shining auburn hair was drifting above the sea of dancing club-goers on her way to the front door. The boring man was trailing close behind her, almost forgotten.
I took a step after her and then I remembered.
This was exactly what I had done to dozens of women: walked away and never looked back.
My shoulders slumped and once again, I stood in the middle of the crowded VIP lounge and made people move around me.
"The one that got away, huh?" Joey clapped a hand on my shoulder.
I could have run after her and made a scene but Bethany would think everything out of my mouth was a line. She'd laugh at me for trying to pick her up and then she'd walk away again.
For her, I had to figure out a new strategy. I couldn't be a player, I had to be a real man.
"She's not getting away," I told Joey. "I'm just giving her a one-night head start."