Chapter Fourteen
"Why do you keep looking over at the door every two minutes?" Buzz asks with a shit-eating grin on his face.
"Shut up and drink your beer," I reply.
"She might not even show up. I hope you're not going to sulk for the rest of the night if she's a no show."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
He laughs. "You know exactly what I'm talking about." Of course I do but I'm not going to admit that to him. "Are you ever going to tell me what she looks like? You know, so I can look out for her."
"What who looks like?"
"Your woman from last night. Stop playing dumb."
"My woman? What are we, cavemen?"
"Pretty much. Trust me, women love alpha males. They eat that shit up like it's going out of style."
"Isn't that just an excuse for men to act like crazy motherfuckers and get away with it?"
"Yeah pretty much. Why do you think Fifty Shades of Grey is so popular? The main character is a moody bastard who treats that poor chick like shit but hey it's fine because he's an alpha male."
"How do you know so much about Fifty Shades of Grey?"
"I went to see the movie."
"Why?"
He winks. "Because I knew there would be hundreds of horny women leaving the cinema at the same time as me."
I laugh. "You're such a creepy bastard."
"I think the word you're looking for is genius."
"Nah, I'll stick with creep. So was it worth it?"
"Well let's just say that I went to watch it every day that week."
"And there's me thinking that women appreciate a gentleman."
"Not anymore. Open a door for a woman and you're too nice. Call her back and you're too attainable. Pay for dinner and you're sexist. These days you've gotta treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen. You've been out of the game for too long."
"I guess so."
"Don't worry, just follow my lead."
"Even if I was back in the game, I would never follow your lead."
He nearly chokes on his beer. "Even if you were back in the game? Have you heard yourself? You're either in denial or full of shit. I'm leaning towards the latter. You wouldn't have chosen a table directly opposite the door if you weren't back in the game. Your legs wouldn't be nervously bouncing up and down if you weren't back in the game and don't get me started on that fancy-ass cologne you're wearing. Not only are you back in the game, you're about to bat for the fucking Yankees, my friend." He holds up his bottle of beer. "On behalf of the entire female population, welcome back."
I ignore him and down the rest of my Jack and Coke. "Oh look, it’s time for another drink. I guess that means I'll have to go to the bar...alone." I quickly stand up before he can say anything else and begin to weave my way through the sea of people on the dance floor. Pulse is one of the busiest clubs in town and tonight is no exception. I came close to buying it last year but Emily talked me out of it. She said it attracts the wrong type of crowd but what she really meant was that it attracts other women.
When I finally make it over to the bar, I'm actually relieved that there's a wait. I'm in no rush to get back to Buzz and his theories, even if there is some truth behind them. I spend the next five minutes debating whether or not to go and wash off some of my 'fancy-ass' cologne.
"Hey Mason," Tarryn shouts from behind the bar when I make it to the front of the line. She's been working at Pulse for a couple of years but I've known her for a lot longer. She throws a bottle of liquor high in the air before catching it upside down and pouring some into a glass.
"Show off," I joke. "When are you coming to work for me instead?"
"I'm not a good fit for your business, I keep telling you this."
"You're an awesome bartender so that makes you the perfect fit."
She walks over to the cash register. "How many of your staff have tattoos?"
"I have no idea."
She hands somebody their change. "Exactly. So that means they either don't have any or they are in places where they can be covered up. I might have a problem doing that." She kisses the pin up girl which covers the whole of her right forearm. "Besides, I wouldn't want to."
"And I wouldn't ask you to. I don't care what my staff look like as long as they’re good at what they do."
She snorts. "You might not care but I'm pretty sure your customers would. Suits and tats don't mix." She hands me my usual Jack and Coke without having to ask. "Anything else?"
"Just a beer, please."
She rolls her eyes. "Let me guess, you're here with Buzz?"
I laugh. "Afraid so." Tarryn and Buzz used to be good friends until the night he took her little sister’s virginity. He swore that he had no idea she was a virgin until afterwards, not that it would have stopped him. I regularly remind her that it could be worse…he could have ended up being her brother-in-law. That always seems to make her feel better.
She gets a bottle of beer from the fridge and removes the cap. "Can I spit in it?"
"You know what Buzz is like, he would probably like it."
"I bet he would, the asshole." She places the bottle down in front of me and then shakes her head when I try to hand her a fifty dollar bill. "On the house," she tells me. I wink at her and drop it in to the tip jar instead. "Have you seen much of Indiana recently?" she asks. "I'm meeting up with her once I've finished my shift. We're going to check out that new sushi place around the corner." She laughs when I scrunch my nose up in disgust. I don't understand why anybody would spend money on that crap when God gave us pizza.
"Yeah, I saw her a couple of nights ago. She came over to the hotel."
"The hotel?"
"Don't ask. Make sure she stays out of trouble tonight, okay?"
She laughs. "Since when has your sister ever listened to me?"
"How about the time you persuaded her to skip school and get a tattoo instead? You took her to that crappy little studio that ended up getting shut down a week later for failing health and safety checks. I still remember the look on your faces when I walked in."
"You turned up just in time." She holds out her thumb and forefinger. "We were this close."
"Hey lady!" Somebody shouts from the other end of the bar. "Can we get some service down here?"
"You’d better go," I tell her. "Call me if you need a ride home later. I don't care what time it is. I'll send a car for you both."
"Okay, thanks Mason. Have a good night."
"You too." I pick up our drinks, one in each hand, and make my way back to Buzz. Surprise, surprise, he's not alone when I reach our table. He's talking to two women; a blonde and a brunette. I don't think it's physically possible for him to go longer than a minute without hitting on somebody. I pause and consider leaving him alone but it's too late, he's already spotted me. He wiggles his eyebrows up and down before motioning for me to join him. The two women turn around to see who he's looking at.
Holy shit.
It's her.