CHAPTER FOUR
Diesel
When I needed a break from the club, I always ended up at Fate’s. It was a bar right on the edge of the big city, a little under an hour from home. It was conveniently located right next to the dive motel I always stayed at. And across the street from my favorite strip club. The Diamond Box wasn’t an upscale place by any means. But at least the girls that worked there weren’t all fucked up on whatever the dealers were selling on the corner.
First thing I did was pop into The Diamond Box and see my favorite leggy redhead, Cherry. I always made a point to see her when I was there. She was a regular in my rotation. She knew the deal and never tried to push for more than what we had. No strings attached worked as well for her as it did for me.
She didn’t get off for another three hours. So I figured I would head over to the bar to kill some time and maybe pick up an appetizer. Finding someone for a quickie in the bathroom or out the back next to the dumpster was never hard for me.
I rode across the street and parked my bike in front of the room that I always stayed in. They knew me well at the motel and kept the same room open for me no matter when I showed up. It was around the back and on the corner. Where I could tuck my bike safely away but still able to make a quick getaway if needed. Luckily, I’d never had to, so far.
Using the key I kept with me, I opened the door. I was instantly greeted with the musty and stale scent of a room that had seen better days. But somehow it set me at ease. I tossed my stuff next to the bed and put my toiletry bag in the bathroom. It was half full of condoms, as was my bag and the nightstand next to the bed. I was always prepared.
Fate’s bar was just shady enough for me to blend in but not feel the constant need to look over my shoulder. It was perfect. I slipped inside the heavy wooden door and headed directly over to the bar top. I went there often enough that I recognized everyone who worked there and most of the regulars. Blain was behind the bar tonight and I gave him a head nod as I slid onto one of the stools. He gave me a chin lift in return, then moved to pour me a whiskey without me having to ask. Scanning the area, I noticed it was a bit more crowded and noisy than normal.
“Busy tonight,” I commented as he set the glass down in front of me.
“Looks like a bachelorette party got lost,” he said nodding to the table full of girls decked out in pinks and tacky plastic accessories. I bit back a chuckle as I checked out the loud and very tasteless group of girls. “Hey, more tips for me, so I won’t complain. And you’re here now, so you can keep a few of them entertained for a bit.” He let out a loud laugh and I smirked.
He wasn’t wrong. Bachelorette parties were usually full of envious single girls. That made it easy to talk them into slipping away. All they needed was a little attention and to think they were a tiny bit special. Women could be so crazy and conniving. And who was I not to take advantage of that?
My eyes lazily roamed over each of the chicks in the group. Most of them looked the same. Hair and makeup overdone. Short, tight clothes, barely covering anything. They were like the more upscale version of the club girls back home. As I took them all in, I noticed Blain was right. They seemed to be a group that had money and were definitely on the wrong side of town. Perhaps they just wanted to slum it for the night; pick up a bad boy and brag to all their friends about it the next day. I was more than willing to help them indulge in those rights.
I watched as they all slammed down shot after shot, trying to weed out which ones were the drunkest. I liked my women able to hold themselves together while I fucked them. Plus, vomiting wasn’t in my fantasies at all. One with long brown hair bent over the table and her red, lacy thong peeked out from under her skirt. I perked up and so did other parts of me. She was skinny and there wasn’t much to her ass, but I wasn’t in the mood to be picky. At least she could stand without wobbling.
I needed to do a check and find the bride-to-be. I may not have had many rules, but no attachments was one of them. Not for me and not for the people I fucked. I liked a life without drama, and people with significant others always brought drama. Brown head sat down, revealing a tiny girl across the table from her. She was wearing the biggest tiara, pink boa, and sash; all of which pointed her out as the soon-to-be-bride.
Once I figured that out, I should have moved on. But something held me still as I took in the wisp of a woman. I wondered if she was even old enough to be in a bar. Mostly because she was so small. She looked out of place and I wondered how she had managed to end up here with a group like that. She sat there with a look of panic on her face. Her big eyes gave away her uneasiness. I felt my mouth tip upward on its own accord.
She was cute, in that adorable, wallflower sort of way. Her strawberry blonde hair brushed the tops of her shoulders. She toyed with it in a way that made me wonder if she wasn’t used to the short length. Her skin was pale, and even from across the bar, I could see the little freckles that dotted her cheeks and nose. She had on a cardigan that made her look like she was ready to hang out in a library rather than a bar. But something about it was adorable on her.
Her eyes caught mine as I scanned back up to her face. Her body jerked as our gazes met, and she sat a little taller. Her emerald green eyes widened and I could see her chest rise and fall heavily. A reaction I was used to. But for some reason, it felt different this time.
I tried to shake it off and break our stare, but something was holding my curiosity. A few of the girls at the table must have taken notice that her attention was elsewhere. All of a sudden, there were about five heads turned to look my way. I cleared my throat, not really sure why, they were too far away to even hear it. But it broke my trance enough for me to look away. I snapped my attention back towards the area behind the bar. Thankfully, Blain was bringing me over another glass of whiskey. Which I tipped back with lightning speed.
“They been here long?” I found myself asking him.
“About an hour. Poor girl looks like she is scared to death. I can’t tell whether it’s because of this place or the group that brought her.” He shrugged as he huffed out a laugh. “She paid me a hundred bucks to make sure all her drinks are water and cranberry juice. And those girls are so toasted they don’t even notice that she is still stone sober. Or maybe they just don’t care.”
I hummed a response as my gaze swung back around to look at her once more. Luckily, they weren’t all still glancing my way. I felt a twinge of disappointment that she was clearly trying her best to avoid looking in my direction. But I could see the pink tint in her cheeks grow redder the longer I stared.
“She even old enough to be in here?” I asked, swinging my attention back to Blain. He rested his forearms on the bar top, watching the commotion.
“Twenty-one. And it wasn’t a fake.” He shot me a quizzical look. I shook my head trying to shake off the strange thoughts I was having.
There was no way I was going after that girl. First, she was to be married. Second, she was too pure and innocent for a guy like me. I would only ruin and possibly break her. Whatever weird thing that was going on inside my head I was just going to have to distract with someone else.
I nursed my next drink trying to move on from the little pixie. But my eyes kept finding her in the mirrored wall behind the bar.
“What does a girl have to do to get one of you?” A very intoxicated bleach blonde asked as she threw her arm over my shoulder. I stiffened and my jaw ticked. I turned my head the slightest bit to see that I was now surrounded by three of the party girls. One of them being the brown head I’d been checking out earlier. But this time, not one part of me stirred looking at her.
What the fuck?!
“Listen, we were wondering if we could talk to you about something,” the brown head said when I didn’t respond to her friend’s question. I raised a brow in curiosity. “Ooooh the silent sexy type, huh. Sooo hot.” She licked her overly glossed lips and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
“What Carrie is trying to say,” the blonde said, “is that we need your help with something. You see that girl over there?” She pointed in the direction of the woman that was making me contemplate throwing out my rules. “Well, we are here to get her laid.” She spoke into my ear at a volume that I was sure half the bar could hear.
“Is that really a good idea?” I asked in a harsher tone than I meant to as I jerked away from her. “Isn’t she the one who is gettin’ married?” I should have just shut my mouth because everything was coming out in an accusatory way.
“Yeah well, that is the point of all of this,” Carrie continued. “Her fiancé paid for all of this and told us to help get her laid.”
My head whipped up and my body bulked with tension. There was something off here, and for some reason, it irked the shit out of me. It was time for me to go. I needed to get the hell out of there and far away from whatever fucked up thing they had going on.
“Calm down, biker boy. If you aren’t interested that’s fine. I’ll take you instead,” Blondie purred in my ear. I shrugged my shoulder trying to get her off of me.
“I think you should go. I don’t want any part in your games.” I growled low. Thank fuck they got the hint and sauntered off.
I sat there for a moment trying to collect myself. I couldn’t figure out what the fuck was wrong with me. I pulled out my wallet with every intention of paying and leaving right away. However, when I looked up in the mirror and saw the little pixie’s chair was empty, I froze. I turned my head to look and I couldn’t find her.
Where the hell did she go? This is not the place for someone like her to wander off on her own. Fuck.
I shouldn’t have been panicking. I shouldn’t have even given two shits about her. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why I did.
“Another one, sweetie?” I heard Blain say and my head snapped to the other side.
“Please. And seven shots of whatever they ordered last time.” Her voice was light and tiny, just like her body.
I could tell she was nervous standing there. She was doing her best not to look at me. I felt myself smiling over at her as she cut her eyes over in my direction. Yeah, she knew I was standing there watching her.
“They send you over here to get their drinks?” I asked, low and raw. She swallowed hard and nodded, still avoiding direct eye contact. “This their way of gettin’ you to talk to me?” I knew women, and I knew the games they played. Another tiny nod. God, she was fucking adorable.
“Look, I’m sorry. I hope they didn’t bother you. And I wasn’t coming over here to talk to you.” She still wouldn’t look at me as she talked. “I only came over here so they would stop pestering me about it. They are really drunk.” She sighed in frustration.
I turned on the stool so that I was facing her. She was close enough that I could reach out and pull her between my parted legs. And I wanted to, but I resisted the urge thinking it was all fucking wrong. After a moment of silence, she tucked her hair behind her ear and turned her head to fully look at me.
“Friends of yours?” I asked getting lost in her beautiful green eyes.
“Oh, definitely not,” she said. She quickly snapped her mouth shut as though she didn’t mean to say it like that. “I mean, I don’t know them. They are friends and associates of my fiancé. I don’t really… have any friends…” She looked down as if embarrassed by that fact. I studied her silently until Blain came back and set all the drinks down.
“You wanna get out of here?” The question flew out of my mouth before I even realized it. Oh, and I was very aware of how it sounded. And for the first time in my life, I actually didn’t mean it that way.
Her head snapped up. Her eyes went wide and her cheeks heated. She stood there frozen and I held back a chuckle.
“Relax. It just seems like you don’t really want to be here, with them,” I jutted my head towards the table. “We can get out of here. Maybe someplace you feel more comfortable. Or I could even take you home if you want.” I stood and tossed down some bills in front of all the drinks she had ordered.
I was no hero. No knight in shining armor. But the way she was looking up at me made me feel like one for the first time ever in my life. She nodded and that was all the confirmation I needed. I took her hand and led her out of the bar, not even looking back once to see if her friends had noticed.
My hand completely enveloped hers and I found myself liking the way it felt. Once we were outside, she took in a deep breath and looked up at the sky. The sun had gone down and the moon hung low in the sky. I reluctantly dropped her hand and her head sagged to look at the area between us. I wondered if I should have held on longer. I certainly wanted to.
What the hell is going on with me?